coral debris/empty shells/small chunks of small things

[Quinn]

as my first addition to my tank once it is up and running will be a jawfish, i am looking for a fairly large quantity of chunks of coral skeleton, small pieces of rock, empty shells, etc., for the fish to use in constructing its burrow. does anyone know of a source for such items, or better yet, do any of you have something along these lines i could take off your hands? i am looking for quite a bit, probably about an ice cream pail full.

[Delphinus]

I've got a bag you can take off my hands.

There is a store down here on the south side of the city, called Animal House, that sells bulk crushed coral in the size that makes for perfect burrow making. Next time you're down visiting me or Jonathan or whatever (one of us "southies") pay this place a visit too, it's by the Canyon Meadows theatres. They have a rudimentary SW section and are OK as far as supplies go, but the real strength is the stuff you can buy in bulk (no-one else in Calgary offers bulk CC, AFAIK, anyways). Some of the larger pieces are useless for a substrate, but not bad for mounting frags... and the small to medium size is perfect for a jawfish.

As for the jawfish. Cool fish. I do miss the one I had (he lived for about 2 years). Stress rather easily though. Make sure you have a spot where they can make their burrow and see 360 degress around them. Unfortunately one potential problem that is hard to overcome, is that bristleworms sometimes invade their burrows and the fish get blisters.

[Quinn]

thanks for the reply and offer tony, i'll take you up on it as soon as i'm down again. the more i read about jawfish the more i am in love with them. as he will be the first addition, he will have free reign of the tank to build a burrow. i will try to leave an open area that will suit his needs. hopefully i won't have any bristle worms (i don't plan on buying any). do you have any comments on brittle stars? this is another animal i was planning to keep, simply because i like to watch them eat, perhaps i should leave him in the refugium? i've heard they can cause problems for jawfish as well.

[Canadian Man]

Ahh but Quinn you will desire bristle worms :D They keep your sand bed clean and rocks too. There is a good chance you will get many with your rock weather you like it or not and they will multiply.

[Quinn]

ok well i'll cross my fingers then and hope they don't cause problems. :D

worked on my stand today, soooo close now! i will post pics tomorrow if i remember my ftp login info.

[Quinn]

ok reading on wet web media, i found out that it's likely not a good idea to put collected sea shells/debris into a tank. i realized after starting this thread that i had a box full of that type of stuff, so i sorted it all and found a bunch that would work well for jawfish. the stuff was collected in the caiman islands and on the bc coast in the 70s/80s (yes it's been around a while), would it be safe to use if i bleach and boil it all?

[Canadian Man]

If it's that old and it's clam shell type stuff. I wouldnt hesitate to use it if you boil it first.
If you do bleach it make sure you rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse rinse and rinse again

[Delphinus]

And then rinse again :)

Also see if you can get some dechlorinator and then rinse with that, too...

:)