ANIMAL: Scrawled Filefish Aluterus scriptus Type of Animal: Filefish Habitat: Found at depths of up to 400 ft (mostly marine but sometimes in brackish water)-lagoons, reefs, seagrass beds, wrecks, sargassum seaweed mats, weed rafts/seaweed in open ocean, coastal waters, seaweed fields, pinnacles, open waters, flotsam, rocky areas, coral areas, Location(s): W Atlantic from Nova Scotia to S Brazil (including Gulf of Mexico & Caribbean), E Atlantic from St. Paul’s Rocks to South Africa, E Pacific from Gulf of California to Colombia, Indo-Pacific, & Oceania Appearance: Strongly compressed elongated oval shaped fish w/ olive-brown to gray background color & irregular blue spots/lines mixed w/ black spots on heads, juveniles yellow to yellowish-brown w/ black spots Food/Diet: Algae, seagrass, hydrozoans, gorgonians, anemones, tunicates, phytoplankton, octocoral polyps, fire coral, crustaceans Status in Wild: Stable Conservation: Breeding in aquariums & aquaculture Lifestyle: Solitary Additional Info: Called: Male Female Young: Fry Group: Solitary Weight: 2 lbs Gestation: 3 days Life Span: 10 years Body Length: 1.83-2 ft Main predators are dolphinfish, large tuna, & barracudas. These fish not common in aquarium trade but fairly common in public aquariums. These fish tend to be shy but inquisitive. Also called Scribbled Leatherjacket, Broomtail Filefish, Scribbled Filefish, Scrolled Filefish, Scribbled Fish, & Scrawled Tilefish. Largest of all filefish species. After spawning, females guard nest & fry. While resting, these fish flatten themselves against substrate, matching their color. Juveniles often swim in vertical head-down position among drifting vegetation/flotsam to avoid detection by predators. Mostly active during day (diurnal) but sometimes active at night as well. These fish tend to be slow-moving. Females lay eggs on substrate, which male then fertilizes. Fun Fact(s): Many years ago, fishermen used skin to light matches due to roughness of skin. These fish poisonous to eat. In fact, flesh is 50 times more toxic than pufferfish. Get name from irregular patterns. These fish have excellent camouflage, being able to change color patterns to match area. Besides camouflage, these fish will wedge themselves into tight crevices/holes, locking spines in place.
