At a glance the quick version
Looks how to spot one
Scaled, elongated burrowing fish with a large mouth
A slim, elongated jawfish with large eyes and a roomy mouth used for digging. The head and front of the body glow yellow, fading into a pale, pearly blue-grey body sprinkled with small light blue dots. A pair of dark spots is often visible on the chin.12
Personality what they are like
Gentle and peaceful. It hovers upright above its burrow and drops tail-first inside at any hint of danger. It rarely bothers other fish and is one of the most tolerant jawfish toward its own kind.213
Daily activity how busy a day looks
Moderate. It spends the day hovering near its burrow and busily rearranging sand, shell and small stones with its mouth.21
Grooming and care the hands-on bits
A deep, mixed-grain sand bed with small rubble is essential for burrowing, and a tight lid is a must because jawfish can jump when startled. Place food near the burrow, as it can be a shy feeder. Typical reef water: about 22 to 26 °C (72 to 78 °F), pH 8.1 to 8.4, dKH 8 to 12, specific gravity 1.020 to 1.025.32
Home where they are happiest
An aquarium of at least about 30 US gallons (about 115 L) with a sand bed roughly 13 to 18 cm (5 to 7 in) deep and scattered rubble to reinforce burrows. Wild fish live over sand and rubble near reefs at about 3 to 40 m.312
Food basics what goes in the bowl
Carnivorous plankton picker. Offer small meaty foods such as mysis, brine shrimp and chopped seafood, plus quality pellets.23
Company who they like around
Can be kept singly or in a small group if there is enough floor space, roughly one fish per 10 US gallons. Wild fish form loose colonies and pair up to breed.21
The story where it all began
David Starr Jordan and Joseph Cheesman Thompson described the yellowhead jawfish in 1905. It has since become a favourite with divers and aquarists for its engineering skills and upright 'hovering' pose above its burrow.12
Fun facts for the dinner table
- 1
The male carries the fertilised eggs, glued together in a ball, inside his mouth until they hatch.1
- 2
It builds and repairs its burrow by carrying sand, shells and small stones in its mouth.2
- 3
When a threat appears it may seal the burrow with a stone or spit sand at the intruder.2
- 4
A courting male swims in an arched posture with his fins spread toward the female.1
Recognised by the official bits
- IUCN Red List
- Least Concern1
- Taxonomy
- Family Opistognathidae; described by Jordan and Thompson in 19051
The care rhythm Furry Diary remembers it for you
A typical home-care rhythm for a Yellowhead Jawfish. It is our own starting plan, not a vet's advice, and you can change every line in the app.
- FeedingSmall amounts once or twice a dayevery day
- Temperature checkevery day
- Salinity checkevery week
- Top-upTop up evaporation with fresh RO water, not salt waterevery day
- Water testevery week
- Water changeAbout 10 to 20% of the waterevery 2 weeks
- Glass cleanevery week
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Where this comes from
Every breed page shows where each fact comes from. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are pet people, not a science magazine. Tell us at support@furrydiary.app and we will fix it.
- FishBase: Opistognathus aurifrons fishbase.seused for origin, size, habitat, colouration, reproduction, IUCN status
- Wikipedia: Yellowhead jawfish en.wikipedia.orgused for burrowing, behaviour, social needs, aquarium notes
- LiveAquaria: Yellowhead Jawfish liveaquaria.comused for care level, tank size, sand depth, water parameters, feeding
Checked 2026-09-30. Text is written in our own words from these sources.