Platax batavianus

Cuvier, 1831

Humpback Batfish, Zebra Batfish

Range: Indo-West Pacific Ocean: Madagascar to Indonesia, and south to Australia.

Size: 26 inches (65 cm)

Natural Environment: Inhabits continental shelf reef areas and often found at depths between 15 – 130 feet (5 – 40 m) where it feeds on zooplankton, small fishes, jellyfish, worms, and other small invertebrate.

General Husbandry: Extremely rare in the trade. Best maintained in a large fish-only aquarium and since it can reach 20 inches in height (50 cm), a high aquarium with wide-open swimming areas is a must, along with peaceful tankmates that are not fin nippers as this is a slow moving species. Slow smaller fishes are at risk of being eaten.

As to diet, requires a meaty diet and will accept all kinds of meaty foods whether its flake foods, frozen or freeze-dried, or freshly chopped fish and shrimp flesh, and should be fed two or three times daily.

Since it consumes large amounts of food, it's a major waste producer, therefore additional filtration is highly recommended.

Taxonomy:

Order: Perciformes

Suborder: Acanthuroidei

Family: Ephippidae

Genus: Platax

FYI: Pretty as a juvenile, yet too large for most home aquariums.

Fond of earthworms.

Better suited for the large fish-only public aquariums

Experience Level: Professional

Temperament: Peaceful

Diet: Carnivore

Coral Safe: Yes

Fish Safe: No

Invertebrate Safe: With caution

Acclimation Time: 30 minutes+

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Tankmates: Peaceful

Minimum Tank Size: 250 gallons

Temperature Range: 72 - 80°F (22 – 27°C)

Specific Gravity: 1.020 - 1.026

pH: 8.0 - 8.5