Convict fish

Microcanthus strigatus

Fish
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth1–69 m
Water temperature15–27 °C
Best monthsJanuary, March, and December
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Grady Duffy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The stripey, also known as the footballer or convict fish, is a species of ray-finned fish, a sea chub from the subfamily Microcanthinae which is part of the family Kyphosidae. It is native to the Pacific Ocean where it has a wide range. This species may be found in the aquarium trade.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Stripey”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 118 records
February: 110 records
March: 146 records
April: 88 records
May: 90 records
June: 77 records
July: 94 records
August: 81 records
September: 110 records
October: 94 records
November: 84 records
December: 114 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–69 m · Deepest record: 317.5 m

0–10 m: 37 records
10–20 m: 39 records
20–30 m: 22 records
30–40 m: 13 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 17 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 2 records
100–110 m: 2 records
110+ m: 7 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 15–27 °C

14–16 °C: 2 records
16–18 °C: 3 records
18–20 °C: 44 records
20–22 °C: 131 records
22–24 °C: 145 records
24–26 °C: 48 records
26–28 °C: 6 records

Photos

(c) Grady Duffy, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Belinda Forbes, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Bruce Deagle, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Oscar Beighton, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) 呂一起(Lyu yi-chi), some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Convict fish, Eastern stripey, Footballer, Stripey, Western Stripey

Names in 6 more languages

German: Nagasakifisch
Spanish: Chopa rayada
French: Microcanthe
Japanese: Kagokaki-dai, Kagokakidai, カゴカキダイ
Korean: 범돔, Pom-dom
Simplified Chinese: 柴魚, 條紋蝶, 花并/斑馬蝶

Other scientific names: Chaetodon strigatus, Microcanthus hawaiiensis, Microcanthus vittatus, Micrognathus strigatus, Neochaetodon vittatum, Neochaetodon vittatus, Therapaina strigatus

Similar species

East-Australian Stripey
Microcanthus joyceae
Footballer Sweep
Neatypus obliquus
Australian Mado
Atypichthys strigatus
Mado
Atypichthys latus

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
1,334 open-data records from 1889 to 2023.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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