Orbiculate Batfish

[Freedom18]

About how long will it take for a 3 inch Orbiculate Batfish to out grow a 55 gallon tank? I'm planning on making a 115 to move him to eventually.

EDIT: Species name is Platax orbicularis

 

[kkyyllee]

a 115 wont be big enough, you will need at least a 180, it will outgrow the 55 fairly quickly, probably around 3-6 months

 

[Lynden]

Actually Bob Fenner of wetwebmedia.com (probably the best aquarium website) recommends that a single specimen could be kept in a 55 gallon "show" tank as a minimum. I see no problem in keeping one in a 110 (assuming it has at least 2' of height), and if the time comes that the fish seems to be too big, simply rehome it or euthanize it.

However, in any case, I would recommend a tank larger than a 110 ultimately so that you can still have a fair amount of tankmates. It's your choice, really.

-Lynden

 

[kkyyllee]

those get up to 1 ft 10 inches it wouldnt be able to move in a 55, that must not be a good website..everyother website says 180 min

 

[rhysiboy]

can i aks kkkyylle what are your sources? because there are a few posts that have you conflicting other views. Also wet web is a very very well respected website.

 

[@ombomb]

I see no problem in keeping one in a 110 (assuming it has at least 2' of height), and if the time comes that the fish seems to be too big, simply rehome it or euthanize it.

what an awesome attitude to take... kill it if it gets too big.

disgusting

 

[kkyyllee]

sure

http/www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...;articleid=1782
http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...y.cfm?pCatId=51
http/www.petsolutions.com/articles/108000.html
http/www.aquariumdomain.com/species/batfish_orbiculate.asp
http/www.aquariumaid.com/saltwater_fish/...te_batfish.html

those are just a few..

i agree disgusting to kill it...

 

[Lynden]

I see no problem in keeping one in a 110 (assuming it has at least 2' of height), and if the time comes that the fish seems to be too big, simply rehome it or euthanize it.

what an awesome attitude to take... kill it if it gets too big.

disgusting

Well, what would you prefer? It having to languish in a tank that it got too big for, or it being put to a peaceful death with the use of anesthetics after all efforts to rehome the fish have failed? Really a case of the pot calling the kettle black here...

sure

http/www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cl...;articleid=1782
http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...y.cfm?pCatId=51
http/www.petsolutions.com/articles/108000.html
http/www.aquariumdomain.com/species/batfish_orbiculate.asp
http/www.aquariumaid.com/saltwater_fish/...te_batfish.html

those are just a few..

Hmm... the first two are written by the same people... the third is questionable... and the last two I have never heard of. How respectable.

Kkyyllee I find the majority of your advice hardly worth the time it takes to read... perhaps you should focus on a few specialties instead of trying to cover a myriad of topics in which you clearly have no idea of what you are writing about. Try reading wetwebmedia for awhile; I can guarantee you it is a million times better than those sites you listed and it will certainly make you appear at least somewhat well-read. A good start would be realizing that not all fish are going to grow to the exact dimensions that the biggest specimen ever caught was.

-Lynden

 

[@ombomb]

Well, what would you prefer? It having to languish in a tank that it got too big for, or it being put to a peaceful death with the use of anesthetics after all efforts to rehome the fish have failed? Really a case of the pot calling the kettle black here...

Hardly as I'm not stupid enough to recommend people buy fish that get way too big for them. If you can't keep it, don't buy it.

 

[Lynden]

I'm not stupid enough to recommend people buy fish that get way too big for them

Nor am I, friend... and Bob Fenner is certainly not. This guy has been working with fish for much longer than any of us have and has had experience with nearly every species found in the trade. If he recommends it, it is most likely correct.

Furthermore, not every fish is going to max out in aquaria. For all you know it will only grow to 10''... for such a slow-moving fish a fifty five gallon tank is no problem.

I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told kkyyllee... please, if you don't know what you're talking about, leave the thread alone and let the people who have a clue handle it...

 

[@ombomb]

well this is taken straight from WWM:

This is a fabulous aquarium species (Platax orbicularis)... that will soon be more like a dog following your every move than a "fish"... It eats most any/everything with gusto... and gets big-fast, so take it easy on meal times... as it can easily get too big in a fifty five within a year...

So maybe there's some selective reading going on.

Either way I have little interest in debating the minimum tank size for a batfish, I was purely commenting on the attitude that it's ok to buy a fish and just kill it if it gets too big.

 

[kkyyllee]

sorry for helping lynden, doesnt sound like you have a clue...

 

[Lynden]

well this is taken straight from WWM:

This is a fabulous aquarium species (Platax orbicularis)... that will soon be more like a dog following your every move than a "fish"... It eats most any/everything with gusto... and gets big-fast, so take it easy on meal times... as it can easily get too big in a fifty five within a year...

So maybe there's some selective reading going on.

Either way I have little interest in debating the minimum tank size for a batfish, I was purely commenting on the attitude that it's ok to buy a fish and just kill it if it gets too big.

Hmm... could say the same.

Can you say, BIG? You and your batfish need a large tank. It will get some-teen inches tall in a matter of months and so the aquarium has to be at least that tall. A fifty five gallon "show", in my opinion, is an absolute minimum size/volume.

Also, "commenting" my ass... more like a cheap shot, trying to take a perfectly acceptable (and humane) way of dealing with a fish - that for whatever reasons was purchased, outgrew it's home and then could not be found a bigger home - and turn it around in a (pathetic) attempt to make someone else feel smaller than you.




To the original poster: we seem to have covered this issue "rather well", that bat will outgrow the 55 given enough time/food... notice that I personally did not recommend this size as a permanent home, and that I would say that a 110 is much better (and Fenner does too). If you want to be really safe (by which I mean not "offending" some of our friends here) then stick with a 180 gallon. So to answer your question, about a year or so assuming he is fed sparingly.

-Lynden

 

[@ombomb]

Hmm... could say the same.

True, you selected a generic comment about batfish, I selected comment specific to the species.

Also, "commenting" my ass... more like a cheap shot, trying to take a perfectly acceptable (and humane) way of dealing with a fish - that for whatever reasons was purchased, outgrew it's home and then could not be found a bigger home - and turn it around in a (pathetic) attempt to make someone else feel smaller than you.

Actually, I don't think it's acceptable. I can see little reason people should buy a fish they can't care for and even less to rehome it should it get too big for them to care for.

I'm not trying to make you feel small Lynden, I do however find your attitude to some people here rather obnoxoius and arrogant, particularly when you attempt to shout someone down with a source you are totally misrepresenting and with as little experience of keeping the fish as the person you are arguing with.

 

[Lynden]

Not much left to say here... I suppose we'll have to "agree to disagree".