In Spanish, this fish is called Traganavis Dorado. Which we love because it translates roughly as the golden swallower. From this, maybe you can guess what the most common English name for this fish is already, yup, Yellowhead Jawfish; sometimes also called Pearly Jawfish. Scientifically this fish goes by the name Opistognathus aurifrons. Another interesting moniker for this fish comes from the ABC (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao) Islands, where it is called the Jack in The Box. This comes from their activity. Understand that it is a burrowing fish, and they both dart into their burrow to avoid danger and pop out of it to look around when they think the danger has passed. This activity, popping their heads out of the sand, earned them the Jack in The Box nickname.
As a result of their burrowing nature, they obviously need substrate. In the wild, they find this near rubble and coral reef edges, and usually in fairly shallow water; think less than 40 feet down, but it could be as much as 100. In the home aquarium, they won't need the depth, the rock, or the coral, but they're still going to need some sand and the right sand is an important part of the husbandry of these fish. You want something with mixed grain sizes, and even some coral rubble mixed in wouldn't hurt as it will help support the burrow they dig. The internet is full of sources saying you need four full inches of sand for them, but two to three where some spots are deeper than others is plenty. You can use live rock, cultured rock or faux rock in a tank for Yelllowheads, but it isn't strictly necessary (it's still good for filtration and looks nice). If you do decide to aquascape with rock, make sure it is sitting firmly on the bottom of the tank, and preferably affixed there so that it can't be undermined by your digging obsessed fish!
That wild feeding behavior makes for a fish that isn't all that picky when eating in the home aquarium. They'll take generally any frozen / thawed food that floats past them, and it's the “floating past them” that's the tricky bit. They'll learn in time to be bolder at mealtime, but initially it's fairly likely that you'll need to make sure food floats past their hidey-hole more than once a day. We use Gamma and Nutramar Foods here almost universally and suggest you do too. The Yellowhead Jawfish will love the Mysis, Chopped Prawn, Rotifers, Copepods, Chopped Mussel, and all the Brine Plus products Gamma offers. We suggest offering them some Nutramar Complete Pellets mixed in with the meaty offerings so they start to associate those with food as well, which usually doesn't take more than a few feedings. As we offer both here, your fish may come already looking for bits of processed food! Click here to learn more
As a result of their burrowing nature, they obviously need substrate. In the wild, they find this near rubble and coral reef edges, and usually in fairly shallow water; think less than 40 feet down, but it could be as much as 100. In the home aquarium, they won't need the depth, the rock, or the coral, but they're still going to need some sand and the right sand is an important part of the husbandry of these fish. You want something with mixed grain sizes, and even some coral rubble mixed in wouldn't hurt as it will help support the burrow they dig. The internet is full of sources saying you need four full inches of sand for them, but two to three where some spots are deeper than others is plenty. You can use live rock, cultured rock or faux rock in a tank for Yelllowheads, but it isn't strictly necessary (it's still good for filtration and looks nice). If you do decide to aquascape with rock, make sure it is sitting firmly on the bottom of the tank, and preferably affixed there so that it can't be undermined by your digging obsessed fish!
That wild feeding behavior makes for a fish that isn't all that picky when eating in the home aquarium. They'll take generally any frozen / thawed food that floats past them, and it's the “floating past them” that's the tricky bit. They'll learn in time to be bolder at mealtime, but initially it's fairly likely that you'll need to make sure food floats past their hidey-hole more than once a day. We use Gamma and Nutramar Foods here almost universally and suggest you do too. The Yellowhead Jawfish will love the Mysis, Chopped Prawn, Rotifers, Copepods, Chopped Mussel, and all the Brine Plus products Gamma offers. We suggest offering them some Nutramar Complete Pellets mixed in with the meaty offerings so they start to associate those with food as well, which usually doesn't take more than a few feedings. As we offer both here, your fish may come already looking for bits of processed food! Click here to learn more
