Pinneatus batfish?

[saltwaterbeginner48]

A pinneatus batfish has been my dream fish since I was young. Like for real, my favorite colors were black and orange for a while because of them lol. I just think when they are juveniles the orange outline on the black is so beautiful. I have never seen on IRL, but I came across them in my big saltwater fish encyclopedia my dad gave me when I was a kid. I probably will never be able to get one though because I know they are hard to keep alive and need very large tanks. In fact, I myself have never actually seen a juvenile one. But I was just curious if anyone on here has owned one before and what their experience was like and if they had any pictures of them? I just like looking at them and hearing about them lol.

 

[Reefing102]

@Biota_Marine occasionally has them (haven’t checked in a while. They may be able to shed some light on them

Pinnate Batfish

Platax pinnatus-As juveniles the pinnate batfish has a deep jet black body with a vibrant orange lining. As they age that jet black fades into a dusky red and grey body. These fish have beautiful finnage and wild-caught they tend to be incredibly finicky. Although very elegant and beautiful they...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

 

[Biota_Marine]

@Biota_Marine occasionally has them (haven’t checked in a while. They may be able to shed some light on them

Pinnate Batfish

Platax pinnatus-As juveniles the pinnate batfish has a deep jet black body with a vibrant orange lining. As they age that jet black fades into a dusky red and grey body. These fish have beautiful finnage and wild-caught they tend to be incredibly finicky. Although very elegant and beautiful they...

shop.thebiotagroup.com

They only spawn seasonally so they're usually only available for a month or so. These are from the breeder in Bali who does a ton of our angelfish species. Unfortunately, even when captive-bred they are a species that can be difficult to get feeding solely on prepared diets. Also keep in mind they get huge and lose that coloration as they grow up.

 

[Fishnut]

Was also a dream fish for me. The wild caught ones ship poorly. They use to become available at around 3” high. Now the last ones available around here were tank raised and sold at about 1.5 “ high. Mine grew extremely fast. 8” high in one year. Ate everything including earthworms. They do get ugly as they grow, losing most of their beautiful red edging when young and turning into a dark dinner plate with an endless appetite when older. It would just pace the front of the tank endlessly until a clown fish would nip it’s fins which sent the bat darting away and water onto the floor. Out grew my 90 in two years. I did get lucky and was able to give it away to a local shop.
IMO not worth having in the home aquarium. Reminds me of the Panther grouper; beautiful when small, but quickly turns into a big ugly fish.