jawfish story (part)

Ok, this is a start if anyone is interested. The set up.  Pearly jaw fish (Opistoganathus aurifrons) the fish were just picked out at a local store.

 I bought them two years ago. The sand bed is 6 and one half inches deep. I have them in a sixty gallon tank filtered with a bio wheel on each side with about 20 pounds of live rock and lots of grape colurepa.  Lighting about six to ten hours of natural sunlight a day temp of eighty to eighty three each day at nights I let the temp drop down to seventy eight degrees.  The tank received three to five hours of direct sunlight a day.  (I am embarrassed to say I left out the hair algae that grew quite profusely I still do not know why.

            The jaw fish quickly paired off and used the same hole by the time a month was up they were happily eating whatever food I put into the tank (they especially liked PEmysis) they were not shy at all as time went on they would come out when I came to watch them they were hopping for few a tender morsel it seemed as though they were begging.  I know that they recognized me somehow because when my wife or kids came by they would run and hide only poking their heads out at them. (I cannot blame them for hiding from my kids four and six at this time)

            About three months later I saw the first sights of them dancing they would shake at each other then lock jaws something like kissing or fighting  kiss-fighting  (I don’t know)  soon it happened eggs the larger of the two, though only slightly larger had eggs in his mouth what a sight too see. The eggs were a light brown (My wife said cream) in color and at times I could clearly see the eggs. He became shy and much more reclusive at this time barely poking his head out of the hole.  They were still sharing the same hole the female also became more skittish at this time but as I feed them she quickly became “normal”.  Responding to me as she had before (still afraid of the kids,  I cannot blame them I am too)  the male would spit the eggs out of his mouth about half  the way spin them and suck them back in.   

I am out of time if anyone is interested i'll write the rest of my saga later.

Jason, I am very interested. Please keep writing.

Mike