Pearly Jawfish

Facts about the Pearly Jawfish, it is a class of Jawfish that comes from the Opistognathus genus of the Opistognathidae family. The scientific name of this jawfish is Opistognathus aurifrons and it is also commonly called as the Yellowhead Jawfish or Yellow-headed Pearly Jawfish. These Pearly Jawfish fish species hail from the Caribbean Sea and they are largely found in coral reefs. The Pearly Jawfish is an attractive fish with a immense personality and is good-humored and like to people observe.

The Pearly Jawfish is capable of attaining a maximum body length of 5 inches (12.5 cm) in the wild, whereas in the aquarium, it can attain a maximum body length of 4 inches (10 cm). The Pearly Jawfish has a pale blue-green body with a yellow color head. The Pearly Jawfish mostly lives in the grimy, rubble-strewn regions on the coral reefs of the tropical Western Atlantic Ocean, and it can be mostly seen in close propinquity to its cave or burrow.

The Pearly Jawfish is reasonably hardy and it is an ideal fish for coral aquarium. The Pearly Jawfish is inclined to be shy, so it can be best maintained with other passive fish species. Though this Pearly Jawfish species does not trouble its companions in the tank, other burrowing fish may frighten it.

When kept in an aquarium, the Pearly Jawfish needs a tank with a minimum capacity of 30 gallons, filled with water with the ideal temperature that ranges from 72 degrees Fahrenheit to 82 degrees Fahrenheit, with the specific gravity between 1.021and 1.023 and with the pH value between 8.1 and 8.4.

In the aquarium, the Pearly Jawfish needs to be maintained on 5 inches to 7 inches ( 12.5 cm to 17.5 cm) of fine spongy substrate, like sand of a variety of particle sizes, but not fine. This fish species is well-known for its leaping nature when it is frightened or startled. So, the aquarium of these fish species are provided with a strong lid.

In the aquarium, the Pearly Jawfish will spend the majority of its in its burrow and when it ventures out and if it is troubled, it will first secure its tail back into its hole with lightning pace. As long as the container is big enough, several such fish species can be maintained in the same tank. Manifold specimens provide extremely interesting behavior while they jazz up and down in the hole. The tank should be equipped with various rocks of different sizes in the middle of the flexible substrate to assist strengthen the holes against them.

Even though other jawfish species may show color variations during their breeding season, the Pearly Jawfish does not. One distinguishing characteristic of this fish is that because it is a mouth breeder, the male fish will grasp the eggs in his mouth pending they hatch.

The Pearly Jawfish can be found at a depth that ranges from 9.8 feet to 131.2 feet (3 meters to 40 meters). The Pearly Jawfish remains close to its moderately small territory, and it can be usually seen with its head and the upper part of its body projecting from its burrow, though occasionally, it can be found hanging nearby. The Pearly Jawfish is capable of arranging matter by making use of its mouth, carrying shells, sand, or small rocks from one place to another. When other fish comes close to its territory, the Pearly Jawfish will wide open its jaw and try to caution them off, but it seldom attacks.

The Pearly Jawfish is a carnivorous fish and it is usually a shy feeder, feeding on extremely petite live foods that roam near its hole in the wild. In the aquarium, the Pearly Jawfish is usually nourished with tiny pieces of daphnia, mussel, bloodworms, brine shrimp, or other fleshy foods. In the aquarium, the fish needs to be fed close to its burrow.

The average lifespan of the Pearly Jawfish is 5 years in the wild, whereas in the aquarium, they can live for a longer period.