hello, i have a blue dot jawfish that has been doing great for about a month now but tonight he is quickly swimming up to the top of the water and then back down, over and over again.  I think he is getting ready to jump. i've put a net material over the top of my tank and secured it so i hope it will keep him in, but i dont know why he doing what hes doing.  None of the other fish are bothering him. but heres what i have in my tank diamond goby, cleaner wrasse, firefish goby, blue hippo tang, blonde naso tang, kole tang, three clowns, three chromis, two bartlett anthias, flame angel, mystery wrasse, flasher wrasse and three pajama cardinals. temp 77, salinity 1.026, ph 8.2 all other parameters looking good i have a auto feeder with new life spectrum small fish sinking pellets that feeds small amounts 4 times daily and i feed cyco-eeze gel stuff for instant ocean once a day and dry sea weed and flake food 250 gallon with sump and refugium, 2x250w mh and one 400w mh. any ideas on how to get this guy to stay at the bottom and calm down?
just an update, he has not tried to jump that i know of yet, he is now doing a lot of swimming from one side of tank to other, right on the top of the water. He is swimming around like a chromis or something, but other than that seems to be good. thanks
found him dead, i don't know what he died from. He was on the bottom breathing fast and his body was pale and discolored, then dead a few hours later
Sorry to hear that, but we don't know what treatment these animals have been exposed to during capture, shipment, and holding before we finally get them to our systems. Sometimes the stress damage dosen't show up for a few weeks. As a little consulation, things are sooooo much better than even 10 years ago. When I started saltwater many years ago we had no live rock, corals, and even powerheads. We used undergravel filters with air lift tubes and of course fish only systems. Things continue to improve with advancements in handeling techniques, shipping, and equipment. All we can do is the best we can and don't get discouraged. This is sometimes a challenging hobby.
