Aquarist Atlas
Oddballs & Brackish · Brackish fish · Datnioides

Datnioides polota

(Hamilton, 1822)

Four-barred tigerfish, Indian tigerfish, Datnoid

Formerly known as Coius polota.

Full synonymy (5)
  • Chaetodon quadrifasciatus Sevastianoff 1809 · junior synonym
  • Coius binotatus Gray 1834 · junior synonym
  • Coius polota Hamilton 1822 · original combination
  • Datnioides polata (Hamilton 1822) · earlier combination
  • Lobotes hexazona Bleeker 1850 · junior synonym

Source: Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (Fricke, Eschmeyer & Van der Laan, eds.), California Academy of Sciences.

3 cited sourcesName checked against Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes, update of

IUCNLEAST CONCERN · 2019
CARESNOT LISTED
Type localityGanges River estuaries, Indiaper Catalog of Fishes
Scientific size12 in30 cm standard length
Temperature72–79 °F22–26 °C
Depth—not recorded
DietFishes, prawns, crabs and some insect larvae
BreedingNot documented in the sources used by the atlas
Sexual dimorphismNot documentedNot documented in the sources used by the atlas
PhotographsSee photosGoogle Images →

Datnioides polota is a tigerfish of South and Southeast Asia that lives in estuaries and in freshwater above the tide. Hamilton described it in 1822, and FishBase gives a maximum of 12 in SL.

Taxonomy & naming

Datnioides polota was described by Hamilton in 1822 from the Ganges River estuaries in India, as Coius polota. It belongs to Lobotidae, the tripletails and tigerfishes, in the genus Datnioides. It has been sold as the four-barred tigerfish.

Morphology

FishBase gives a maximum length of 12 in SL. Tigerfishes are deep-bodied, laterally compressed fish with broad dark bars on a pale body.

Habitat

FishBase describes it as living in brackish water at the mouths of large rivers and in coastal lagoons, and also in freshwater lakes and rivers above tidal influence. The range runs from India to Indonesia and New Guinea, with a temperature of 22 to 26 C.

Feeding

It feeds on fishes, prawns, crabs and some insect larvae, according to FishBase.

Mating

Courtship has not been described in the sources used by the atlas.

Breeding

Breeding in captivity is not described in the sources used by the atlas.

In the aquarium

Datnioides polota is an ambush predator that needs a large tank, since it reaches about 12 in. Keep it with tankmates too big to swallow. It takes live and meaty foods and can be trained to frozen fish. Brackish conditions may suit it, since it ranges into estuaries; FishBase gives 22 to 26 C.

Conservation

The IUCN Red List lists Datnioides polota as Least Concern, assessed 9 August 2019. FishBase notes it is marketed fresh as a food fish.

Common questions

Four-barred tigerfish (Datnioides polota): how big does it get?
Up to 12 in standard length (SL).
Four-barred tigerfish (Datnioides polota): what water temperature does it need?
The atlas records 72–79 °F for this species.
Four-barred tigerfish (Datnioides polota): where does it come from?
It is recorded from India and Indonesia.

Related species compared · Datnioides

SpeciesAdult sizeTemperaturepHHardnessIUCN
Four-barred tigerfishDatnioides polotathis species12 in SL72–79 °F——LC
New Guinea tigerfishDatnioides campbelli12.5 in SL———LC
Mekong tigerfishDatnioides undecimradiatus15.5 in SL———VU
Finescale tigerfishDatnioides microlepis21.5 in TL72–79 °F——LC

Recorded ranges from each species’ own page; hardness is the tolerance its sources give, not a measurement of the water it lives in.

Also from the Ganges delta

Sources

  1. FishBase — Datnioides polota (Hamilton, 1822)
  2. Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes (California Academy of Sciences) — Datnioides polota
  3. IUCN Red List — Datnioides polota

Naming authority: Datnioides polota in Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes ↗

Last reviewed 2026-10-05.

How to cite

Aquarist Atlas (2026). Datnioides polota. Aquarist Atlas.https://www.aquaristatlas.com/oddballs/datnioides-polota/

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Where it has been recorded

47 georeferenced records (GBIF). Each point is a field observation or museum specimen — pan and zoom to explore where this species turns up. The coordinates come straight from GBIF and are often rounded or tied to the nearest town or river landing, so a dot can sit just beside the actual water rather than in it.

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