Spotfin Butterflyfish ~ New Jersey Scuba Diving

Spotfin Butterflyfish

Chaetodon ocellatus

Size: juveniles 1-2"; adults to 6"

Habitat: inlets and rivers, late in the season

Notes: The adult fish is shown above, the juvenile below.

The best time to view or capture these fishes is at night when they are asleep. During the day they are wary and very quick. Nighttime coloration is completely different from daytime - dark vertical bars and blotches over the entire body.

Tropical Fishes

Yes, New Jersey even gets some tropicals. These are babies, born on the coral reefs of the Caribbean, and swept north in the Gulf Stream. Unlike in the Caribbean, capturing these fish for your aquarium is perfectly legal, and is actually doing them a favor, since otherwise, they will only survive until the winter cold kills them. Almost any tropical fish can end up here, these are just some examples, although these are by far the most common.

Sargassum Fish
Lionfish

More: Tropical Fishes ...

New Jersey Scuba Diving

Spotfin Butterflyfish

Tropical Fishes

Dutch Springs (Lake Hydra)

1980 - 2021: The End of an Era