Platax orbicularis Circular Spadefish, Batfish

Platax orbicularis is commonly referred to as Circular Spadefish, Batfish. Difficulty in the aquarium: suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only. A aquarium size of at least 50000 Liter is recommended. Toxicity: Toxic hazard unknown.

Anne Frijsinger & Mat Vestjens, Holland

© Anne Frijsinger & Mat Vestjens, Holland

Courtesy of the author Anne Frijsinger & Mat Vestjens, Holland Anne Frijsinger & Mat Vestjens, Holland. Please visit www.natuurlijkmooi.net for more information.

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lexID:: 426
AphiaID:: 218711

Scientific:: Platax orbicularis
German:: Rundkopf-Fledermausfisch
English:: Circular Spadefish, Batfish

Category:: Batfishes

Family tree:: Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Actinopterygii (Class) > Perciformes (Order) > Ephippidae (Family) > Platax (Genus) > orbicularis (Species)
Initial determination:: (Forsskål, ), 1775

Occurrence:: Eritrea, Kuwait, Sudan, Hong Kong, Vereinigte Arabische Emirate, (the) Maldives, Africa, American Samoa, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Arabian Sea, Australia, Bahrain, Cambodia, China, Christmas Islands, Comores, Cook Islands, Djibouti, East Africa, Egypt, Fiji, Florida, French Polynesia, Guam, Gulf of Oman / Oman, India, Indian Ocean, Indo Pacific, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Madagascar, Malaysia, Marschall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, New Caledonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Quatar, Raja Amat, Red Sea, Réunion , Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South-Africa, Sumatra, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tansania, Thailand, The Bangai Archipelago, The Chagos Archipelago (the Chagos Islands), the Cocos Islands / Keeling Islands, the Seychelles, Togean Islands, Tonga, Tuamoto Islands, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West-Atlantic Ocean, Yemen
Marine Zone:: Subtidal, sublittoral, infralittoral, deep zone of the oceans from the lower limit of the intertidal zone (intertidal) to the shelf edge at about 200 m water depth. neritic.
Sea depth:: 0 - 30 Meter
Habitats:: Brackish water, Coastal waters, Lagoons, Mangrove Zones, Muddy grounds, Reef-associated, Seaward facing reefs, Seawater, Sea water, Ship Wrecks
Size:: 17.72" - 23.62" (45cm - 60cm)
Temperature:: 71.6 °F - 82.4 °F (22°C - 28°C)
Food:: Algae (Algivore), Fish (little fishes), Invertebrates
Tank:: 10998.92 gal (~ 50000L)
Difficulty:: suitable for large display tanks (public aquarium or zoo) only
Offspring:: Possible to breed
Toxicity:: Toxic hazard unknown

CITES:

Not evaluated

Red List:

Least concern (LC)

Related species at Catalog of Life:

Author:: Meerwasser-Lexikon Team
Publisher:: Meerwasser-Lexikon.de
Created:: 2004-09-04 17:37:04
Last edit:: 2026-09-14 19:07:41

Captive breeding / propagation

The offspring of Platax orbicularis are possible. Unfortunately, the number of offspring is not large enough to cover the demand of the trade. If you are interested in Platax orbicularis, please ask your dealer for offspring. If you already own Platax orbicularis, try breeding yourself. This will help to improve the availability of offspring in the trade and to conserve natural stocks.

Info

Platax orbicularis (Forsskål, 1775)

Quite interesting species but not suitable for a small or medium reef tank. These fishes grow very rapidly and get way to large. It has been reported that this peacefull fish the might eat Aiptasia and even Mayano Sea anemomes.

Synonymised names
Chaetodon orbicularis Forsskål, 1775 · unaccepted
Chaetodon vespertilio Bloch, 1787 · unaccepted
Platax albipunctatus Rüppell, 1829 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Platax blochii Cuvier, 1831 · unaccepted
Platax ehrenbergii Cuvier, 1831 · unaccepted
Platax guttulatuas Cuvier, 1831 · unaccepted
Platax guttulatus Cuvier, 1831 · unaccepted
Platax obricularis (Forsskål, 1775) · unaccepted (misspelling)
Platax orbicularia (Forsskål, 1775) · unaccepted (misspelling)
Platax orbicularius (Forsskål, 1775) · unaccepted (misspelling)
Platax vespertilio (Bloch, 1787) · unaccepted

External links

FishBase (multi). Abgerufen am 07.08.2020.
underwaterkwaj (en). Abgerufen am 14.09.2026.
Wikipedia (de). Abgerufen am 07.08.2020.

Stockliste

MasterFisch

Tip: Wenn Sie in Ihrem Profil Ihre PLZ angeben, werden die Händler nach der Entfernung zu Ihnen sortiert.

Pictures

Adult

Foto: südliches Mayotte, Westlicher Indischer Ozean

Platax orbicularis o. Gewöhnlicher Fledermausfisch

Juvenile

Foto: La Réunion, Westlicher Indischer Ozean

Semiadult

Platax orbicularis subadults, Orbicular batfish 2022

Group of fishes

© Anne Frijsinger & Mat Vestjens, Holland

Platax orbicularis - Gewöhnlicher Fledermausfisch - November 2007 - Egypt - Red Sea - Safari - Canon PowerShot G7

Fish swarm

Commonly

Husbandry know-how of owners

Muelly
@Muelly
Admin

vor 2 Tage#4

Hallo Tierpfleger,
danke für deinen berechtigten Hinweis. Der Artikel bedurfte einiger Überarbeitung.Ich habe den Artikel überarbeitet und auch deinen Hinweis der Literzahl übernommen.

Tierpflege
@Tierpflege

vor 2 Tage#3

Diese Schwarmfische sollten in keinem Becken unter 5m Kantenlänge oder 50.000 Liter gepflegt werden, bitte die Literzahl der Haltungsangabe mal aktualisieren.

Hiroyuki Tanaka
@Hiroyuki Tanaka

am 20.05.05#2

Indo-Pacific; 57 cm; common
Seen in northern Japan from Iwate Prefecture; very common in our area, and very easy to catch, when floating like a leaf on the surface in nature; eats anything and grows fast, but needs a large tank; adult with an oval body with silvery coloration; my specimen became
feeding on foods directly from my hand

4 husbandary tips from our users available
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