Orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus)

Scientific name: Hoplostethus atlanticus Collett, 1889

Orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus)

The Orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) is a marine fish of the family Trachichthyidae. In the aquarium it needs water at 3–9°C (37–48°F).

Orange roughy care at a glance

Temperature
3–9°C (37–48°F)

Biology

Inhabits deep, cold waters over steep continental slopes, ocean ridges and sea-mounts. Shallow range of usual occurrence from. Appears to be dispersed over both rough bottoms and steep, rough grounds where it feeds on crustaceans and fish. In New Zealand, the main prey include mesopelagic and benthopelagic prawns, fish, and squid, with other organisms such as mysids, amphipods and euphausiids occasionally being important. Juveniles feed mainly on crustaceans. Grows very slowly and is one of the longest lived fish species known. Based on parasite and trace-element analyses, orange roughy is a sedentary species with little movement between fish-management zones. Little is known of the larvae and juveniles which are probably confined to deep water. The fishery targets sporadically formed d

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Hoplostethus atlanticus
Family
Trachichthyidae (Slimeheads)
Order
Beryciformes (Sawbellies)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
75.0
Common length
40.0
Depth range
180–1809 m (591–5935 ft)
Environment
Marine; bathypelagic; oceanodromous; depth range 180 - 1809 m, usually 400 - 900 m
Climate
Deep-water
Distribution
Western Atlantic: Gulf of Maine [in error according to Moore (Fishes of the Gulf of Maine, in press), should be off northern Nova Scotia]. Eastern Atlantic: Iceland to Morocco; Walvis Bay, Namibia to off Durban, South Africa. Indo-Pacific: south-central Indian Ocean and New Zealand. Eastern Pacific: Chile. Several stocks may exist as suggested by distinct spawning sites and seasons.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.04-0.06; tm=5-33; tmax=140; Fec=10,000)

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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