Meet Beaker, the pearly jawfish...
He shares his home with a seahorse, a citrine goby, a rainford's goby, and a marble starfish. We've had him for three or four months, and he has provided hours of entertainment. In those months, we have several funny stories about things he has done, so I thought I'd share some here.
The Night He Can't Remember
It was about three in the morning, and I must have been half asleep. I woke up to a very loud splash in the tank (the tank is located in our bedroom). It was loud enough that I got up and tried to check to make sure everything was ok. It was dark, and the moonlights aren't that bright, so I couldn't see much. It looked like Beaker wasn't in his hole, and knowing they are notorious jumpers, I figured he tried to jump out and obviously didn't make it.
The next morning when we fed the fish, Beaker was nowhere to be found. He wasn't in his hole, and we feared the worst. We quickly checked all sides and behind the tank, before my wife exclaimed "Oh! There he is!" Looking where she was pointing, I saw Beaker, lazily sitting on the live rock, looking half drunk and half asleep. At this point it became apparent to me that our poor jawfish had suffered a concussion, the result of last night's splashing I heard.
I quickly decided to prod Beaker with an algae scraper, to make sure he was still alive. He quickly darted to the back of the tank before I could get within six inches of him. We thought that was a good sign, and left for work.
Later that night, we arrived home to a tank with no jawfish, at least no jawfish we could find. Finally, after an hour of searching, I saw him in the back of the tank, under some macro algae, building a new home! Maybe he wanted a bigger place, perhaps a summer home, I'm not sure. At that point we knew he was ok, but were saddened by his choice of location for this new home. However, we were not disappointed to learn that the next morning he had moved yet again, to the spot of his first home in the tank. Finally, the next evening, he had found his current home, and abandoned all others (the new ones he was digging).
What happened? Well, my best guess, is a slight case of amnesia due to his concussion. He couldn't remember where he was, so he started to dig a new home. The digging stirred something in his memory, causing him to go to the location of his original hole, which was filled in, but he started to dig it again. Finally, perhaps searchinig for shells to fortify his walls, stumbled upon his real and current home, which he still lives in today.
I've got to get to work, but stay tuned for another story later today, titled CRAB IN THE HOLE!
He shares his home with a seahorse, a citrine goby, a rainford's goby, and a marble starfish. We've had him for three or four months, and he has provided hours of entertainment. In those months, we have several funny stories about things he has done, so I thought I'd share some here.
The Night He Can't Remember
It was about three in the morning, and I must have been half asleep. I woke up to a very loud splash in the tank (the tank is located in our bedroom). It was loud enough that I got up and tried to check to make sure everything was ok. It was dark, and the moonlights aren't that bright, so I couldn't see much. It looked like Beaker wasn't in his hole, and knowing they are notorious jumpers, I figured he tried to jump out and obviously didn't make it.
The next morning when we fed the fish, Beaker was nowhere to be found. He wasn't in his hole, and we feared the worst. We quickly checked all sides and behind the tank, before my wife exclaimed "Oh! There he is!" Looking where she was pointing, I saw Beaker, lazily sitting on the live rock, looking half drunk and half asleep. At this point it became apparent to me that our poor jawfish had suffered a concussion, the result of last night's splashing I heard.
I quickly decided to prod Beaker with an algae scraper, to make sure he was still alive. He quickly darted to the back of the tank before I could get within six inches of him. We thought that was a good sign, and left for work.
Later that night, we arrived home to a tank with no jawfish, at least no jawfish we could find. Finally, after an hour of searching, I saw him in the back of the tank, under some macro algae, building a new home! Maybe he wanted a bigger place, perhaps a summer home, I'm not sure. At that point we knew he was ok, but were saddened by his choice of location for this new home. However, we were not disappointed to learn that the next morning he had moved yet again, to the spot of his first home in the tank. Finally, the next evening, he had found his current home, and abandoned all others (the new ones he was digging).
What happened? Well, my best guess, is a slight case of amnesia due to his concussion. He couldn't remember where he was, so he started to dig a new home. The digging stirred something in his memory, causing him to go to the location of his original hole, which was filled in, but he started to dig it again. Finally, perhaps searchinig for shells to fortify his walls, stumbled upon his real and current home, which he still lives in today.
I've got to get to work, but stay tuned for another story later today, titled CRAB IN THE HOLE!
