View Full Version : Freshwater Flounder
hemiboo
03-07-2006, 6:50 PM
Can anyone give me some info on freshwater flounders, like are they particular to any water parameters or temperatures? My local fish guy said bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp and other live/frozen food. Would they be fine with a pair of rams and maybe some tetra's in a 20 gallon (until I get something bigger for it). I'm going with a sand bottom with a few plastic plants. Two bucks for a 1-2" flounder. I'm only getting one to try things out, but it won't be for a few days, I need to get the sand in it. This will be my first time with sand so some tips on sand would help too.
guppy
03-08-2006, 11:43 PM
They can be fin nippers and as they get bigger they eat small fish, there are several species sold and some require a little salt. It would help to know which species you had. Some get 6-8" others max out at under 3" and a few require an unheated tank.
hemiboo
03-10-2006, 10:09 AM
I'm just gathering facts on them now, I don't know what species they are until they come in. I wish I knew it would make researching easier. :confused:
lizardfishman
03-10-2006, 10:34 AM
my lfs has some that are 1-2" long. i want some but i dont know what to feed them. will they eat frozen brine shrimp?
They will eat frozen brine shrimp, sinking granules, frozen black or tubifex worms, minced fish/shrimp/clams/worms, but do best one appropriately sized live food such as guppy fry, brine shrimp, and various worms. A 3" one will easily clear out all your small tetras.
rasdbo
04-01-2006, 5:43 PM
LFS has some in. he said it was a chinese flounder for $9 @ 3-4". Might get one for the 30, got enough bottom in the 120.
Will try to get a pic. He said they've been eating flakes. tried searching for em but I get more recipes than fish info. here's 1 decent site
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball, Flounder.htm
fishnthings
04-01-2006, 5:46 PM
ive been thinking of getting a flounder... sounds like they might be kind of cool!
'Chinese Flounder' I would assume to actually be the asian hillstream loach or whatever they call it.. An actual loach that is flat and looks like the FW flounder..
The FW flounder that come out of the peruvian amazon are Achirus Lineatus (sp), and I believe they are the more aggressive counterpart that max out at around 6-8"..
aquariageek
04-02-2006, 5:30 PM
FW Flounder go pretty fast out of my LFS. However, be careful as they are not truly FW- they are brackish- as they spawn in FW and move into saltwater. I acquired two 'FW Flounder" and both died within a week of being in my tank. I am not sure wether they were not eating or if they need more salt then the 1 TBSP per 5 Gallon I use. My girlfriend's mother is fascinated with them, she has at least 6 in her FW tank. She puts a sprinkle of table salt in ( :screwy: she wont listen to me!) and the eldest flounder has already died. I would make sure you keep your water at the right salinity- maybe even increase it gradually as they age. Make sure you feed them bloodworms or something of the like. They are not very fond of flakes.
Heres a few shots of them pre-death :cry:
Kieranuk
04-02-2006, 6:19 PM
I used to have a FW flounder but they don't seem to travel well even in short distances. I was at a totally new LFS and saw it and had to have it. THey bagged it up with alot of water and hardly any oxygen and it was around 30 min before I got home. It was ok but didnt like to good and in 48 hours it was curled up dead :(. I returned it to the shop and they asked for a water sample. Somehow on their tests my water had super high ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and my PH was about 6.0. I was worried for my other fish but when I tested my water myself it was perfect 0 ammonia 0 nitrita 15 nitrate (no where near the 300 they said). I then went to another shop and they also found my water to be spot on. When I went back with another water sample they tested my water and again they were saying how bad it was and saying I needed a RO unit and special sponges in my tank to stop nitrate. I then walked over to their discus tank and asked if my water would be ok for one and they said yeah, it will be fine. I then realised they knew that they should have refunded me the money for the flounder but they wouldn't so I havent returned since :-(. There not really a cheap fish at the size I got so I wasnt too happy. Anyway I included some pics of the bried time it was alive.
rasdbo
04-02-2006, 7:10 PM
so whats better, reg aquarium salt or saltwater salt? and do you place more with water changes or is it just a 1 time input?
aquariageek
04-03-2006, 8:17 PM
IMHO, I would use regular aquarium salt for them. Doc Wellfish's always works for me. 1 rounded TBSP per 5 gallons. The salt generally wont evaporate out, so only add salt when you do a water change- I usually add about 1 TBSP per half tank change when I do a monthly gravel vaccuum. However, for brackish conditions, youll want to use more- but Im not really sure how much...
A lot of people argue over whether or not to use regular salt or the synthetic stuff...
Taz2478
04-04-2006, 11:43 PM
I got one, it doing good so far. dont see it eating anything or even trying.
For brackish water, you need to use marine salt. Remember, brackish is a mix of freshwater and marine conditions, where freshwater rivers and such run into oceans. You need marine salt to provide the minerals (to a much lesser degree) of salt water for true brackish conditions. Get a hydrometer. You'd be surprised how much salt it actually takes for a brackish environment.
Taz2478
04-13-2006, 11:32 PM
yeah I need a new one anyway, are there any special ones or they all the same? My old one from 15yrs ago is a gonner. I was testing the water we fish to see about keeping local fish.
Just a point about "chinese"flounders, there are 4 tongue soles, one true sole, and one flounder that commonly spend at least some time in Chinese freshwaters, they are seldom imported. there are at least 2 fully freshwater flounders from SA but they are also rarely imported.
There are several asian and SA tropicals that are brackish that do show up but just as common are brackish water soles from the southern US. They do poorly in heated tanks.
The point of this ramble is that common names don't mean a thing and don't blame the LFS on this one as most the time they don't know what species they were sent either.