Fish
Striped Eel Catfish
Plotosus lineatus
A venomous eel-tailed catfish of KZN reefs, dark with white stripes; juveniles form dense writhing balls.
Also known as catfish(eel), coral catfish, eel catfish
- Typical size
- Commonly 15-30 cm
- Habitat
- Reefs, rubble and estuaries
- Depth
- Shallows to about 30 m
The striped eel catfish is an eel-tailed catfish common on KwaZulu-Natal reefs and in estuaries. It is dark brown to black with two or three pale longitudinal stripes, and the dorsal and pectoral fins each carry a sharp, strongly venomous spine. Juveniles are famous for gathering into tight, ball-shaped schools that roll and swirl over the bottom, while adults are more solitary and secretive around ledges and rubble.
Divers and spearos should treat this fish with real caution. A sting from the serrated spines is intensely painful and can be dangerous, so never handle it and give the juvenile balls a wide berth. It feeds on invertebrates and small fish rooted from the sand.