Scrawled Filefish
Aluterus scriptus
A large, compressed filefish with distinctive blue scribble-like markings across its olive to brown body. Known for its ability to change color and its habit of swimming head-down among coral formations.
Scrawled Filefish at a glance
- Scientific name
- Aluterus scriptus
- Typical size
- 12-36 inches, 2-8 lbs
- Water
- Saltwater
- Habitat
- Reef
- Rarity in the Fishdex™
- Common
Habitat
Found around coral reefs, rocky areas, and seagrass beds in tropical and subtropical waters. Often encountered by divers and snorkelers, but rarely targeted by anglers due to their poor eating quality and tendency to inhabit protected reef areas.
Catch one and it is yours
Log a scrawled filefish through the Cobia Camera and this entry fills in with your photo, your personal best, and the exact conditions on the day. The app also carries the slot and season rules for wherever you are standing.
How the Fishdex™ worksScrawled Filefish questions people ask
Scrawled Filefish is Aluterus scriptus.
A typical scrawled filefish runs 12-36 inches, 2-8 lbs. Cobia records the length and weight of every scrawled filefish you log and keeps your personal best on its Fishdex entry.
Found around coral reefs, rocky areas, and seagrass beds in tropical and subtropical waters. Often encountered by divers and snorkelers, but rarely targeted by anglers due to their poor eating quality and tendency to inhabit protected reef areas. It is a salt water species, filed under reef in the Fishdex.
Yes. Log one through the Cobia Camera and this entry fills in with your own photo, your personal best, and the conditions on the day you caught it. The app also carries the slot limits and season dates for wherever you are standing. It is free.
Tomorrow morning starts tonight
Set your home water, pick a drive radius, and wake up to a plan.
Android coming soon
iPhone, iOS 17 or later. Setup takes about a minute.