Mado

Silver Sweep

Mado

Common Name: Mado
Scientific Name: Atypichthys strigatus
Family: Scorpididae
Found: QLD, NSW, VIC
Maximum Length: 25 cm

Mado are one of the most common marine fish species in NSW. They are found in great numbers in coastal areas and estuaries

Mado, also known as the Australian Mado, have a silver body colour with thick, dark brown or black, horizontal stripes on top of their bodies that become thinner towards the ventral area. The stripes continue uninterrupted over the face. They also have yellow fins.

Confusing Species: New Zealand Mado and Stripey

New Zealand Mado will occasionally appear in NSW waters. They differ from Australian Mado by being deeper in the body and by having a vertical line at the back of the head that interrupts the horizontal stripes as they approach the face.

Stripeys (next species) are from the same family as the Mado. They range from a white to yellow body colouration, have a deeper body than the Mado and have a vertical line behind the head that interrupts the horizontal stripes.

Silver Sweep

Common Name: Silver Sweep
Scientific Name: Scopris lineolata
Family: Scorpididae
Found: QLD, NSW, VIC
Maximum Length: 36 cm

Common NSW species with a small range from southern Queensland to mid-coast Victoria and Tasmania. Silver Sweep inhabit a depth range from 1 metre to 30 metres over rocky reefs and around man-made objects, sometimes forming very large schools. Silver Sweeps feed in mid-water on floating plankton and algae.

Silver Sweeps are a greyish green colour all over. They are deep-bodied and have a deeply forked caudal fin. Their dorsal and anal fins are almost identically shaped and they have a dark edge marking the rear of the gill cover.

Confusing Species: Sea Sweep

Sea Sweeps are similar in size and shape however they are a more silvery colour and have two darker vertical bands down their sides. These bands can be difficult to see leading to the potential for misidentification. Sea Sweeps are found in the southernmost part of NSW only.