Gold-Specs Jawfish

Care at a glance

Overview

Provide a 115 litre or larger tank with at least 8 cm of mixed sand and rubble and a secure lid, kept at 23 to 27 C and pH 8.1 to 8.4. It is reef safe and peaceful toward other species but territorial to its own kind, so keep one unless you have a pair and a large footprint. Feed small meaty foods such as mysis, enriched brine, and chopped seafood. Keep tiny ornamental shrimp out of reach of its mouth.

In the wild

The gold-specs jawfish builds a burrow in mixed sand and rubble and hovers above it, watching for food and threats. It is pale with a dark cap on the head and a gold ring around the eye. It carries mouthfuls of substrate to shore up the burrow walls. A deep bed of mixed grain sizes lets it dig and line its home.

Good to know

Opistognathus randalli is a western Pacific jawfish in the family Opistognathidae, named after the ichthyologist John Randall. It is a mouthbrooding fish, with the male incubating the eggs in his mouth. It uses shells and coral bits to reinforce the mouth of its burrow.

Did you know

Watching a jawfish rebuild its burrow, carrying one mouthful of gravel at a time, is one of the more entertaining sights in a sand bed tank.

Related species

• 

  Pearly Jawfish

  Opistognathus aurifrons

  3.9 in (10 cm)29 gal (110 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
• Blue-Spotted Jawfish

  Opistognathus rosenblatti

  3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (115 L)70–77°F (21–25°C)

• 

  Twinspot Goby

  Signigobius biocellatus

  3.9 in (10 cm)30 gal (115 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Pinkbar Goby

  Amblyeleotris aurora

  4.3 in (11 cm)30 gal (115 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Disco Blenny

  Meiacanthus smithi

  3.1 in (8 cm)26 gal (100 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Red Sea Mimic Blenny

  Ecsenius gravieri

  3.1 in (8 cm)20 gal (75 L)75–81°F (24–27°C)