Blue Spot Jawfish – Complete Care Guide

The Blue Spot Jawfish is an incredibly gorgeous fish with a yellow/orange/black body with vibrant blue spots seen throughout. This amazing fish spends most of its time digging burrows and perfecting its home. Growing to be about 3.5 inches in length, the Blue Spot Jawfish requires a deep sand bed to keep it comfortable. Also, having a lot of sifting space will help keep this fish satisfied.

It can be aggressive towards other jawfish but normally does not bother other inhabitants in the aquarium. It is a little tougher to keep because it is known to jump out of the aquarium and making sure it is being fed isn’t always easy. Many fish keepers are weary about keeping this fish because of the difficulty in keeping it alive. This guide will discuss aquarium and dietary requirements, diet, and compatible tank mates for the Blue Spot Jawfish.

Aquarium Requirements

The Blue Spot Jawfish doesn’t fare well in anything smaller than a 30-gallon fish tank. It will grow to about 4 inches and requires at least a three-inch sandbed to keep it happy. A deeper sandbed is recommended for this fish but three is the minimum.

I highly recommend you make sure your live rock is secure in its place. Jawfish love to build their burrow near the base of rockwork. Unstable rocks can crush this fish. Also, a tightly sealed lid is a must because this species of fish will jump out of your aquarium.

Is the Blue Spot Jawfish Reef Safe?

The Blue Spot Jawfish is reef-safe. It may move coral or coral plugs away from its burrow or may bury coral when sifting and building burrows. Besides that, this fish should not bother coral in any other way, and it won’t bother shrimp, crabs, snails, and other crustaceans.

Water Parameters

The water parameter requirements for the Blue Spot Jawfish are similar to many other marine fish:

• • Water Temperature 72° – 78° Fahrenheit

• • pH 8.0 – 8.4

• • KH 8 – 12

• • Salinity 1.020 and 1.025 sg.

These water parameters will help keep your fish happy and healthy. The most important thing with water parameters is stability. Swinging water parameters can be detrimental to a fish. Did you know there are many tools used to test salinity levels? You can learn about them by checking out, “Different Salinity Reading Tools for Saltwater Fish Tanks”.

Food & Diet

The Blue Spot Jawfish is a carnivorous fish and its diet should reflect that. They should eat mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, and pellet food. I encourage feeding the fish multiple times a day. If you have a stubborn jawfish that won’t eat, or is getting outcompeted for food, check out, 4 Tricks To Feed Stubborn Gobies and Jawfish.

Blue Spot Jawfish will also sift through sand and consume copepods that are within the sand. After introducing a jawfish into the aquarium, I normally siphon food into a coral feeder. Then, place the feeder close to the Blue Spot’s burrow and release food. This guarantees a successful feeding and makes sure the Blue Spot Jawfish is not getting outcompeted for food. After doing this for a week or so and seeing the jawfish successfully eat, I normally stop feeding it with a coral feeder and let it collect food on its own. I normally use mysis shrimp and/or pellet food when feeding.

Tank Mates

The Blue Spot Jawfish is a pretty stand-up citizen in the aquarium. This fish is completely reef-safe and it will also not actively bother other fish in the aquarium and will do great with most community saltwater fish.

It does well with many fish. The problems arise when more jawfish or gobies are introduced into the aquarium. This species of jawfish does not like having other jawfish or gobies in its domain. In much larger aquariums, multiple jawfish and gobies can be kept together, because there is plenty of room for each to establish a territory. able to figure out territories. For most fishkeepers, it’s not recommended to keep multiple gobies and jawfish because most of our aquariums aren’t large enough to do so. The only exception is a mated pair of Blue Spots, which is incredibly hard to come by.

Breeding

Keeping this fish happy and alive is challenging but breeding is even more challenging. There isn’t much information floating around about how to breed this fish but the most challenging part is finding a mated pair.

Final Notes

Although this fish is probably one of the most beautiful ones on the market, the challenge of keeping it alive sometimes outweighs the desire to keep it in the home aquarium. Take all the precautions before adding this fish. The color patterns and personality are phenomenal and it can be an excellent addition to many saltwater fish tanks.

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