Bat fish

[SimonWoodstock]

Anyone know anything about the Bat Fish. I read a little on them and it says they get 20in. Is this long or tall? Either way I suppose a 75g for them is out of the question?

[OrionGirl]

The measurement is usually for the height. There are several species of batfish, and they range from fairly easy if you make the effort, to pretty well impossible to keep. The common bat fish seen orbitculus, are brown and look like a leaf while young, but develop black striping as adults and look similar to the large SW angels. Very active fish, and they need a large tank. My LFS has a beauty that's about 18" right now, very social, fast swimmer, in a 200 gallon tank with a lion, a marine betta, and a yellow tang.

There are several other species that sometimes show up in the hobby, but they are not suitable for community tanks, and are usually tough to keep feeding. I would not have a bat in a newly setup tank, and I don't consider them a good starter fish.

[MonoSebaelover]

You are definitely right on 75 is out of the question. They get 20 inches TALL with length being pretty close to that (they loose most of the long flowing fins and just become a dull large dinner plate type fish) and require at least a 200 gallon tank. Plus they are highly carnivorous and will eat corals, anemones, and all mobile inverts. Anyway, hope this helps.

[SimonWoodstock]

cool, thanks for the info. i was reading about them in this book i have, but you know they never really go into details in most of those books. it is just sort of an over view of it.

[OrionGirl]

The December '03 Aquarium Fish magazine has a pretty good article on batfish--including specific profiles, and care advice.