placating a freaked out jawfish?

[phishphood]

So I'm in a little bit of a quandry, which again, probably would've been avoided had I QT'd. I have what otherwise seemed to be a healthy pearly jawfish. But I guess transport from store to tank was a little stressful and he's been freaked out. Went into the tank on Wed and promptly hid under a rock that forms a natural cave over the bottom of the tank and is just about surrounded by sand except one or 2 small openings. As far as I can tell, it's never ventured out of the hole at all (not even poking the head out), thusly not eating anything. I've put all kinds of food (flake, pellet, frozen brine, mysis, live brine) in front of and into the hole as much as possible. However, it doesn't seem to elicit any sort of response. I know the fish is still alive because I can view the bottom of the tank from inside my stand and you can see the fish's body. It moves positions and also sometimes you can see the gills, which move just fine (not rapidly). Any thoughts on what I can do for the guy before he gets too emaciated? Last resort which I'll hit on Tues night/Wed is to tear the rockwork apart to get him and QT him. Hopefully he'll get a little braver before then.


And before you mention that I might be scaring him w/ my presence, and that he comes out when I'm gone, I understand that possibility. But I've also sat a ways from my tank for 2+hrs on at least 2 occasions not moving more than my head, and constantly checked on the front of the hole.

 

[Eight]

As long as your tank parameters are good, I would just let him be in his cave. Ripping the tank apart and throwing him into QT is just going to stress if home more.

Are there any fish in the tank that are picking on him?

 

[JAR]

I agree with Jason.
When I put my blue spot jaw in QT he was fine and I got him eating and stuff.
When I transferred him to the show he/she was freaked for a while by the other fish.
Adapted almost naturally now

 

[ModernReefKeeper]

I agree with Jason and Jar 100%

if you have some "larger" than substrate pieces of gravel (like size 10 calcium reactor media crushed coral), move a handfull of them closer to the opening.
It will build a barricaded font door, and that will make it feel more safe in doing so.
Soon it will be creeping up to the front of the "doorway"

If you can see him from the bottom, he can see out too..
maby put some blue masking tape on the glass down there.
I would think he thinks of that "window" down there as a unsecure opening.

 

[phishphood]

He's got some small rubble/CC stuff standing by near the entrance to the cave. Nothing in there is picking on him. The most violent fish is a lawnmower that ignores everyone else, but sometimes thinks his reflection in the glass is out to get him (Wil, it's the one I got from you). As for the bottom "window", it's black 98% of the time except when I open everything up/clear the way to check on him (every other day or so). It's the only way I can assure myself that he's still alive (pretty low on a CUC in that tank).