Description
One Dusky Jawfish, hand-collected and quarantined right here in Key West. Photographed under blue spectrum reef lighting, this fish is shown doing exactly what jawfish do best — peering out of a burrow it excavated itself, mottled brown-and-cream head framed by the rock, ready to bolt tail-first at the first sign of trouble.
About the Dusky Jawfish (Opistognathus whitehursti)
The Dusky Jawfish is a small, endlessly entertaining Florida Keys and Caribbean native. It spends its life engineering and defending a vertical burrow, carrying mouthfuls of sand and shell rubble to reinforce the rim, then hovering just above the entrance to pick plankton from the water column. Males are mouthbrooders, incubating the egg mass in their jaws. Unlike the more delicate Pearly Jawfish, the Dusky is hardy, adaptable, and quick to settle in. Locally collected stock is already acclimated to our water and eating prepared foods before it ships.
Care Guide
An easy, characterful fish for a peaceful tank — give it the right substrate and it will reward you with constant activity.
- Lighting: Not light-dependent; any standard reef lighting is fine.
- Flow: Low to moderate over the sandbed so the burrow stays intact.
- Placement: Needs a deep sandbed of at least 3 inches with mixed rubble, shell, and small rock so it can build and shore up a burrow.
- Feeding/Nutrients: Carnivore — mysis, brine, finely chopped seafood, and quality pellets. Feed 2-3 times daily; it takes food from the water column near its burrow.
- Aggression/Reef Safe: 100% reef safe and peaceful toward tankmates, though territorial with other jawfish. Not a threat to corals or inverts.
- Water Parameters: Stable reef parameters required — Temp 76-78°F, pH 8.1-8.4, Salinity 1.024-1.026.
- Important: Jawfish are accomplished jumpers. A covered tank or mesh lid is not optional.
Every animal is hand-selected and quarantined at our Key West facility before shipping, backed by our Live Arrival Guarantee.
SHIPPING: Free shipping on orders over $299 (livestock only). Orders under $299 ship UPS Overnight, Tuesday and Wednesday only. Orders placed on our website include a $15 per-box handling fee; eBay orders are charged shipping as calculated by eBay at checkout.
5 per-box handling fee; eBay orders are charged shipping as calculated by eBay at checkout.
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