First Addition

[jpalmer]

Hello everyone.....it's been a LONG time! I have a few simple questions, but I know everyone likes to have the Stats. before recommendations!
First off, I was given a JBJ 12g. DX for christmas and It's been up and runnin for 3 weeks. It has 9.6lbs of FIJI LR and exactly 4 inches of sand which takes up like 1/5-1/4 of the tank. I Established a refugium in the rear with Growing Micro but no LS yet! My ammonia has not gone above .25 yet and No changes in Nitrite. I did a water change 4 days ago and I have had minimal die-off on LR. First question......Should I continue to wait till the Nitrite raises and falls till I add my first and maybe only fish? Second and MOST important!!!! Would a TIGER JAWFISH bee to big for my tank..I know that the yellowhead is OK..Forgot to mention I mexed in quiet a LOT of CC throughout the sand bed knowing that I was going to put in a Jawfish of some sort!
Thanks

[FishinInTheDark]

Yes, you should wait until your nitrites peak and subside before adding livestock. Doing water changes will slow this process slightly. Using cured live rock could make the cycle go very quickly, and your ammonia may never go higher than .25. Mine never did.

Tiger jawfish appear to have a minimum recommended tank size of 20 gallons, but they really aren't swimmers at all. If it were the only fish in the tank, I'd say go ahead. They are jumpers, but I don't think that's an issue in the nanocubes.

Congrats on getting things rolling, and good luck!

[Doctor_Reef]

Ditto's with Conni!!!!

[Sugar Magnolia]

A tiger jawfish would be an excellent choice as the sole occupant of that tank. Such a pretty fish. One thing to be aware of though, it may go after any shrimp if you try to add any to the tank.

[Sefu]

I don't recommend putting livesand in the back chambers, I've had live sand back there before and it really becomes a nuisance for the whole filtration process (it slows the water flow from chamber 1 to 2), what I have found to work Great is Live rock rubble !!

Also how are you providing light for the macro algae ?

I provided some pictures of my back chambers to help yall with your quest !

Mine is a 6 gallon nano cube, I've had it up and running for nearly 9 months now !

[Sefu]

Chamber 1 is Live Rock Rubble
Chamber 2 is Filter Floss / Macro Algae
Chamber 3 is small bag of Purigen / Heater / Mj606

[Sefu]

to provide light to the macro algae, just use an exacto knife to cut the sticker type substance off the back of your nano cube.

First outline the shape that you want with an exacto knife, then slit it, then peelllllllll

(make sure you don't push down to hard, might damage the glass)

[jpalmer]

thanks for that great tip on addin a light for the back....I've read about the hood upgrades that could be done but that looked sketchy and/or too much work...

Had another question......I purchased a pearly jawfish Friday 1/20 and introduces him at around 8pm...I went ahead and turned of the lights and left on just the lunars all night....He sat in the same spot for over 2 hrs, and before I went to be he was still quiet stressed.....Well Sat. morning I could not find him or any opening for a hole....I lifted my LR later that day and still he was a no show...Well, I knew that they could dig but, I was worried..So today Sund. 22nd, I took out all LR and personally dug throughout all the substrate....I didnt feel him nor notice it slide through my fingers when sifting through the sand.....Where O Where could my Pearly Jaw be, O Where O Where could he BEEEEEEEEEEEE?
Sorry for the long post!

[maxwellwhothunk]

I would say leave the tank alone whenever something like this happens. If it was still alive, then you may have stressed the fish out even more than it was before. Usually when I have a fish disappear, I tend to ignore it... it will help the biological filtration become tougher per say.

I hope you find him... keep looking!

[FishinInTheDark]

How did you acclimate him?

[jpalmer]

I definitely agree with it helping out the biological filter, since the tank is still fairly new, but I'm in shock that I didn't feel him or scoop him out (even though there is a LOT of sand in my little 12g).....I acclimated him in my always standard process 1) Place air filled bag in tank for 15mins to adjust temp 2) Open bag and pour 1/2 cup tank water every 10 mins for an hour or more (depending on how much water was initially in bag)....I feel like a newb again.....This will be the first fish/coral I've lost in almost 6 months!!!

[maxwellwhothunk]

I highly suggest you move to a drip acclimation method, especially with less hardy fish. Generally for more sensitive fish I let the bag float in the aquarium (with the lights off) for about 10-15 minutes. Then I start the drip and I will drip for about 20-30 minutes. For corals I will let it float for about 20-25 minutes and drip for 45 or more minutes. I have had the best success with this process.

Also when you drip I will pour out about 1/2 of the water thats in the bag originally, then drip, once it is back to the original level I pour out 1/2 again, I add it after its back to the original level the 3rd time. The drip rate will determine how quick the acclimation goes.

[FishinInTheDark]

But the way you initially acclimated should have been fine. Have you checked the filter area of the tank? As I said, these guys are real jumpers.

[jpalmer]

I know that everyone always says to drip acclimate....but I've had very good success with the way I do it. I did check the back chambers, but I did not lift out the sponge in the first chamber, I guess I'll look there later today...I havent seen him today yet either?!?

[gman0526]

Are there any other pieces of furniture nearby? I found a yellowhead JF I was missing under my bed that is about 6 feet from the tank it was in.

I agree that the acclimation method should be more than fine. That's how i do it FWIW. I only use drip for corals or any delicate fish, which I haven't had in a while. Jawfish are, along with fairy wrasses, very skilled jumpers. I've read about JF jumping out of eggcrate covered tanks. They're very jittery and even a regular lightning cycle is enough to stress them and induce them to jump. HTH

[jpalmer]

I'm pretty much assuming that there is no way he could have gotten out of my cube (top was obviously down all night), but if he SOMEHOW got out.........One of my two ferocious lion cats probably had fun for a while before induling!!

[jpalmer]

Nope cats didnt get him.....Got home from school and saw some "meat" stuck in the directional flow thingy....pulled it out and it was little bones with some muscle still attached....Totaly unidentifiable, but theres nothing else in the tank so it had to be the jawfish!! Scenario....Fish gets stressed, jumps in rear chamber, has the pleasure of meeting Mr. Powerhead, ends up minced meat!! The next jawfish I purcase will be placed in the tank early in morning or afternoon, that way I have the entire day to keep up with his progress, not just 2 hrs!!

[Sefu]

He was trying to do a Nemo !

Hope you have more success with your next addition :o

[gman0526]

Well the case of the missing jawfish is done and over with. Let's hope the next addition will be less jittery. I would introduce the next one with lights off, then next day after the acclimation process is done, resume your regular lightning regime. Good luck!!!!

[jpalmer]

I hope the next one goes much better as well! Also, I did acclimate him with lights off, I just introduced him at around 8:30pm and didnt have time to watch over him and make sure he didnt go jumpin into chambers!!! Thanx though

[FishinInTheDark]

Chances are very, very good that the next one will end up in the back chamber too. That's just their nature. You may have to figure out a way to better screen the entrance.

GL,

[maxwellwhothunk]

And its better to be offensive then defensive. So take the steps to avoid it before it happens, rather than fixing it after it happens.

This hobby is a lot like chess... well I think it is I have never played chess LOL... but you have to think ahead many steps, this will usually increase your chances of 'winning' in this hobby.

[FishinInTheDark]

Great analogy, Max!