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THE ANGEL-FISH
(Chætodipterus faber)
Chætodipterus faber. The Angel-fish. Body much elevated and compressed, its outline nearly orbicular, the anterior profile nearly vertical; head 3; depth 1 to 1-1/2; scales 60; D. VIII-I, 20; A. III, 18; jaws about equal; no teeth on vomer or palatines; teeth on jaws slender, somewhat movable; preopercle finely serrate; two dorsal fins, somewhat connected; vertical fins falcate in the adult; first soft ray of dorsal filamentous; ventral fin with a large accessory scale.
There are a number of angel-fishes in Florida, remarkable for their bizarre and beautiful coloration, but of no importance to the angler as they do not often take the baited hook, their very small mouths and weak teeth being only adapted for feeding on the minute organisms about the coral reefs. The common angel-fish, or spade-fish, is more sombre in hue than the others, and belongs to a different family, Ephippidæ; it has a somewhat larger mouth, and is more widely distributed. It was described by Broussonet, in 1782, from Jamaica, who named it faber, or "blacksmith," though why is difficult to imagine, except that it is dark in its general hue, with smutty cross bars. It is very abundant from the South Atlantic coast to South America, and is not uncommon, occasionally, as far north as Cape Cod. It is very common on the east and west coasts of Florida.
It has a short, very deep body, nearly round in outline, and very much compressed; it is almost as deep as long. Its head is short and deep, with its profile nearly vertical. The mouth is small, with slender, movable teeth, on jaws only; the soft dorsal and anal fins are quite large and winglike, extending far backward nearly to the tail; they are quite scaly, which adds much to their thickness and stiffness; the caudal fin is broad and nearly square.
The general color is usually gray or slate color, often bluish with iridescent tints; there are several dusky, broad vertical bars across the body, becoming obsolete or faint with age.
It feeds on small marine organisms, and grows to a length of two feet, occasionally, though its usual size is ten or twelve inches, and average weight from one to three or four pounds. It is an excellent food-fish, though its good qualities in this respect are not generally known. It spawns in the spring.
It is usually taken in seines in the bays of the Gulf coast, and salted with mullet and sheepshead by the fishermen. It can be caught by the angler with a very small hook, No. 5 or 6, and cut clam or conch bait. It is a fair game-fish on light tackle, which may be the same as advised for the Bermuda chub.