The Two Oceans Aquarium has a new superhero: Batfish!

You may think Batman is cool, but have you heard of the batfish? This ocean superhero doesn’t need gadgets or a mask – the batfish has some incredible tricks up its fin just as it is! We have some longfin batfish on display at the Two Oceans Aquarium – come check them out.

First of all, what is a batfish?

Batfish are members of the genus Platax, of which there are only five species of true batfish! These five fish all change appearance drastically between the juvenile and adult phases of their lifecycles. In fact, you can see this for yourself at our Longfin Batfish Exhibit at the Aquarium!

In the juvenile phase, all batfish species possess long, flowing fins from which they draw their names. These long fins allow the vulnerable juveniles to camouflage themselves in fascinating ways. At this stage of transition to adulthood, batfish are often mistaken for large butterflyfish.

Four of the five batfish species are migrants or residents of South African waters, particularly the warm coastal waters of KwaZulu-Natal. Two of these species, the longfin batfish and the orbicular batfish, are most common. You can meet the longfin batfish at the Aquarium.

Learn about the longfin batfish…

Longfin batfish (Platax tiera) has the widest range of all batfish, from South Africa and the Red Sea on the East African coast to the Pacific coasts of North and Central America and everywhere in between. They have even colonised the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal.

With this wide range, longfin batfish are found living in a variety of habitats, from seagrass beds to coral reefs. Here, they feed on plankton, anemones, coral and algae. Their omnivorous diet plays a particular role in regulating the algal growth amongst coral reefs, preventing eutrophication (nutrient overload).

Longfin batfish are large, growing up to 60cm. As adults, they can be distinguished from the other batfishes by the characteristic dark blotch below their pectoral fins, a dark vertical bar through the eye, and another blotch along the bottom edge of their anal fins.

Juvenile batfish have anal and dorsal fins that are much longer and larger than their bodies and are more darkly coloured than their adult counterparts. These long, floppy fins are used to mimic the sway of floating marine debris, such as seaweed, and are used as camouflage to hide. You can see how the juvenile batfish almost resemble floating leaves! If the juvenile is living on a reef, rather than with debris in the open water, it can lie on its side and pretend to be a flatworm or nudibranch when threatened.

Batfish are highly social and tend to form schools with the fish they meet as juveniles - this often includes a range of different species. As they meet other batfish, they will form groups that stay together for the rest of their lives. Because of this friendly nature and their affinity for large, shady objects, juvenile longfin batfish will often approach divers.

As they mature and their fins shorten, adult batfish will take up residence in lagoons, around protected reefs, inside shipwrecks, or under floating mats of seaweed. Adults that are not part of a group tend to be pelagic and travel the open ocean.