Pearly Jawfish staying in its hole

[small alien]

Greetings friends. My lovely little pearly jawfish has been staying in it's burrough 99% of the time for the last week or so. It will come out when I feed but doesn't eat hardly anything. It's belly looks ever so slightly distended and at one point it's anus seemed to be protruding a tiny bit. For the last two days I haven't seen it at all and it's just been barricaded in it's burrough. Always seemed the picture of health. Nobody has been bothering it. It's a very peaceful tank. Parameters are good. Weekly water changes, etc.

Everything else in the tank seems healthy and happy.

What could be wrong? Eggs? Parasite? Constipated? Bad mood? Any thoughts or experiences would be appreciated.

Best, small

 

[leebca]

The two greatest possibilities is that fish has an internal (intestinal) parasite and/or the fish hasn't acclimated. The third concern which is more or less evident might be the choice of foods you feed (feeding less nutritional foods) and/or the frequency of feeding (not often enough).

The proper quarantine of a fish helps in the acclimation of the fish to captivity. It may overcome this before it starves. Every fish is different in this respect.

If it's intestinal worms, you'll need to de-worm the fish. Please read this: De-Worming and Fishes with Intestinal Problems

 

[small alien]

Thank you for your response, Lee. The jawfish has been in the tank for nearly a year, so I would guess it did/has acclimated well. I feed frozen mysis, prawn roe, cyclopeeze and blood worms 1-2 times daily. The jawfish's body weight looks good. I've seen it twice yesterday and today. It poked it's head out of it's burrough during feeding but didn't appear to eat anything much. It looked slightly disoriented. Definately not itself. Are you suggesting I remove it from the DT and treat it for worms/parasites? Would there be any other way to diagnose the problem before tearing down my tank to remove the jawfish? I want to save the fish, but I'm not excited about the prospect of tearing down the tank to get it. Also, how effective is treatment in general?

 

[leebca]

The deworming of a fish that is still eating does not require the fish be moved from its display tank. Please give that link a read.

If the mysis is saltwater mysis, that is good. Blood worms are not saltwater. You'll need a more meaty saltwater source diet and I would suggest even sneaking in some vegetable matter (e.g., spirulina). The Cyclopeze is good for occassional feedings, not routine (high in fat). Foods every other day should be soaked in a vitamin supplement. Don't feed less than 3 times per day, for this fish.

With regards to feeding, please also read this link: Fish Health Through Proper Nutrition.

You could benefit from reading.

 

[small alien]

Thanks so much, Lee. I will read these links and work on improving the nutritional value of what I'm feeding my fish. I really appreciate your time. Best, Paul

 

[small alien]

Lee, Both articles are excellent! Informative and clear. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for your efforts on behalf of the fish we keep. Thanks, Paul

 

[small alien]

Seeing a bit more of the fish the last two days at feedings. Today I think it ate a couple pieces of mysis. I have not treated the fish in any way at this time. I suspect constipation and am trying to get some fatty foods into it. Does anyone suspect the frozen blood worms (I was told by a fairly reliable source that they were nutritious for marine fish and freshwater) could cause constipation? I've heard freeze dried ones can. Thanks.

 

[leebca]

Marine ornamental fishes eat only seafood. Blood worms are freshwater. As always, choose foods for the fish type AND foods from the sea. Bloodworms are fine for about one feeding out of 21.

 

[small alien]

Thanks, Lee. The jawfish ate a couple big bites of frozen formula 1 yesterday which pleased me greatly. I'm hoping it's on the mend. Still hiding most of the time, but eating is good!