Pearly Jawfish

A Caribbean sand-dweller with a pale pearly body and a yellow head that hovers vertically over a burrow it builds itself and dives into tail-first when startled. It needs a deep sand bed — roughly 12–18 cm of mixed fine sand, shell and small rubble — because it lines the burrow walls with the coarse pieces; a thin bed means no burrow and a stressed fish. It is peaceful with everything and reef-safe, but it is a determined jumper and a very common carpet-loss, so a tight lid or full mesh screen is not optional. Keep one per tank unless the sand area is large enough to give each fish its own territory.