Scatophagus argus

Scatophagus argus
Spotted Scat
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Scatophagidae
Genus: Scatophagus
Species: S. argus
Binomial name
Scatophagus argus
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms

Cacodoxus argus
Chaetodon argus
Chaetodon atromaculatus
Ephippus argus
Scatophagus argus argus
Scatophagus argus atromaculatus

Scatophagus argus belong to the scat family (Scatophagidae) and occur in 2 basic color morphs which are called Green Scat and Ruby Scat or Red Scat. As a whole, the species is called Spotted Scat. This fish is generally distributed around the Indo-Pacific region, to Japan, New Guinea and Southeastern Australia. They are quite popular aquarium fish.

These fish are kept for their looks and curious behavior, especially in body structure resembling the famous discus fish. Unlike the delicate freshwater discus cichlids, the scats are hard fish of brackish and seawater that tolerate freshwater only when young. Otherwise they are fairly easy to keep, and they look very beautiful with black spots on their body.

As a baby they live in a fresh water environment, but as they mature they move to salt water environment. Since they do not live in temperate waters, they require at least a little warmth (21C to 28C).

As a young they may not require a big aquarium but they can grow big, so big aquarium with salty water is much preferred for this fish. This species is fairly peaceful if enough space is given. But sometimes they harass other species.

The Common Scat is omnivorous and an indiscriminate eater. Food includes vegetables, small animals and debris, and they usually readily take frozen and flake food. They also tend to eat aquarium plants. And due to their eating habit they are quite messy fish, requiring a strong filtration. Ironically, for older specimens water quality is actually a bigger issue the saltier the water – in the purest freshwater (as required by many rainforest fish) they will quickly succumb, tolerating hard and somewhat dirty freshwater far better. In seawater, their messy eating habits make buildup of toxic protein decay prioducts a significant issue to be controlled, if they are kept in groups as they prefer given enough space.

Scatophagus argus is eaten by some people from its original environment, and can sting with small spikes in its anterior parts, inflicting a venom that causes pain greater than the wound size, and dizzyness. Treatment of the wound is often done by soaking the infliction in hot water.[1]

References

  1. ^ Gisha Sivan; K. Venketesvaran, C.K. Radhakrishnan (15 September 2007). "Biological and biochemical properties of Scatophagus argus venom". Toxicon (Elsevier Ltd) 50 (4): 563–571. doi:10.1016/j.toxicon.2007.05.002. PMID 17599379. 

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Scatophagus argus — Pavillon tacheté Pour les articles homonymes, voir Argus vert et Scatophage …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Scatophagus argus — šiukšliaėdis statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Scatophagus argus angl. argus fish; spadefish; spotted butterfish; spotted scaty rus. обыкновенный аргус ryšiai: platesnis terminas – šiukšliaėdžiai …   Žuvų pavadinimų žodynas

  • Scatophagus — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Scatophage …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Scatophagus — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Scatophage. Scatophagus …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Argus — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Cet article possède un paronyme, voir : Argos. Sur les autres projets Wikimedia  …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Argus vert — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Argus. Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. En zoologie, l appellation Argus vert peut désigner : Un papillon, la Thècle de la ronce (Callophrys rubi …   Wikipédia en Français

  • argus-fish — šiukšliaėdis statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas taksono rangas rūšis atitikmenys: lot. Scatophagus argus angl. argus fish; spadefish; spotted butterfish; spotted scaty rus. обыкновенный аргус ryšiai: platesnis terminas – šiukšliaėdžiai …   Žuvų pavadinimų žodynas

  • Cacodoxus argus — Pavillon tacheté Pour les articles homonymes, voir Argus vert et Scatophage …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Chaetodon argus — Pavillon tacheté Pour les articles homonymes, voir Argus vert et Scatophage …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ephippus argus — Pavillon tacheté Pour les articles homonymes, voir Argus vert et Scatophage …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”