Filefish Identification

[Domboski]

I was thinking this is a Scrawled Filefish (Aluterus scriptus) but only because of body shape and behavior. It was locally collected. It definitely picked at corals until it started eating pellets and mysis. Now it doesn't touch anything else. It's tail was really long but when it was in QT the small puffers picked at its tail. My current guess it is the Orange filefish (Aluterus schoepfi).


The only Filefish found locally (including tropical strays) that I know of are:

• Orange filefish (Aluterus schoepfi)
• Scrawled filefish (Aluterus scriptus)
• Slender filefish (Monacanthus tuckeri)
• Whitespotted filefish (Cantherhines macrocerus)

 

[Mr. Softy]

That looks like a juvi Schoepfi. Note the turned up nose.

 

[MikeyZO]

Sure looks like it.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://graysreef.noaa.gov/fishguide/Group10/orange.gif&imgrefurl=http://graysreef.noaa.gov/fishguide/Group10/Group10.html&h=159&w=329&sz=13&hl=en&start=9&usg=__Ilz8vPw2abJ9WKhjwNUKirbeUNI=&tbnid=e2VprErqXekEyM:&tbnh=58&tbnw=119&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dorange%2Bfilefish%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff
Second one down is a decent description of what they should look like.

 

[Domboski]

Thanks guys. It definitely is an Orange. Thanks for confirming. The link was helpful. I missed it somehow.

 

[Bumpylemon]

I caught two of these in rhode island this summer. They are great.

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