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Guide of Tropical Aquarium Fish

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Spotted Scat (Scatophagus Argus)

December 20, 2010 by

Spotted scat has a very slim, laterally compressed body, which is almost disc-like in outline. It is coloured grey to green, or pink to bronze-yellow, and is marked by big circular spots that vary in colour from a dark green to black. The body colour and markings are so variable with this species that they’re frequently erroneously thought to be various species.

There are numerous sub-species, but as these have not as yet been accurately classified the aquarist can think about these numerous sub-species as S. argus.

Under natural conditions these fish are found in brackish water, and for this reason it has not been designated here as a community specimen. It could be kept in a fresh water aquarium, nevertheless, if a small salt is added to the water; one ounce of sea salt to eight gallons of water, or preferably one part of sea water to 20 parts of fresh water. If no salt is added, the water should be maintained in an alkaline condition of pH 7.4 or a small above. Brackish water is, nevertheless, preferable.

Even though the spotted scats grow to 12 inches long in their natural environment, aquarium specimens rarely exceed 4 inches. They’re active, harmless fish, and turn out to be very tame when acclimatised.

To date, they’ve not been bred in captivity, and no certain means have yet been determined to differentiate the sexes.

These fish are natural scavengers and are found in estuaries, mouths of rivers, and harbours of tropical ports. They’re omnivorous and will eat nearly anything.

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