Info
The body is silver-white to brown and has six to eight black bands of variable width. Endemic of Australia. Juveniles live in estuaries.
Enoplosus armatus has a deep and compressed body and a concave forehead. FishBase gives 50 cm as size, other websites write up to 25 cm. This fish is easily recognized by its silver-black, vertical, zebra-striped coloration and two prominent dorsal fins. The second dorsal fin is very long and sickle-shaped.
They are often seen singly, but also in schools. They are endemic from Australia and not known to the trade or to us.
About keeping we can say little, because hardly anything is known about aquarium keeping about the fish.
The name "Old Wife" comes from the grinding or rubbing sound made when the fish is caught.
Attention: These animals have poisonous spines in the dorsal and anal fins!
$actively poisonous
Synonymised names:
Chaetodon armatus White, 1790