Freshwater Flounder

[fraggs]

hi everyone i have just brought a freshwater flounder and i forgot to ask if it would be ok with rosy barbs
if any one can help that would be great.

THANKS

 

[nmonks]

No.

The so-called "freshwater" flounders in the trade are almost always brackish/saltwater soles (rather than flounders) caught in rivers. While tolerant of freshwater up to a point, they never last very long kept in freshwater tanks. Even in brackish water aquaria they are difficult to keep.

The usual species in the trade depends on where you live; in the US, it's commonly Trinectes maculatus, while in Europe the Asian species of Brachirus are more common. If your retailer doesn't know the Latin name of the fish, then he CERTAINLY doesn't know for certain that it's one of the (few) truly freshwater species!

In any event, mixing these would rosy barbs would be unwise, given that even the true freshwater flounders and soles are all tropical fish, whereas rosy barbs are subtropical fish, so you couldn't keep them in the same tank at the same temperature. As you hopefully already know, rosy barbs do best around 18 C in winter and 22-24 in summer. They are not long lived kept in tropical tanks, so rarely reach their full size and colouration.

Cheers, Neale

hi everyone i have just brought a freshwater flounder and i forgot to ask if it would be ok with rosy barbs
if any one can help that would be great.

THANKS

 

[simonas]

your flounder would almost certainly come second best to the barb for any food pu in th tank and the end reslt would be starvation for the flounder

 

[fraggs]

would he eat pellets?
how long do you think he would last if he was left how he is ..
is there any think i can do to help him or not
cheers

 

[nmonks]

would he eat pellets?

Not a chance.

how long do you think he would last if he was left how he is ..

If they are eating the live or wet-frozen foods they need, the brackish water species can last several months in freshwater, but inevitably die. If the fish isn't given the food it needs, then obviously it will die quite quickly, within a couple of weeks probably.

is there any think i can do to help him or not
cheers

Depends on whether you're prepared to create the conditions and provide the food it needs.

Cheers, Neale

 

[fraggs]

cheers mate i will give that a read
thanks

 

[fraggs]

my otherhalf just told me that it was a asian one is that any help
sorry to be apain

 

[nmonks]

Depends what you mean by "help". It's almost certainly one of the Brachirus species, and as such, unless you can positively identify it (to species level, i.e., a Latin name) as one of the freshwater species, then assume it's a brackish species. My money would be on B. panoides or B. orientalis. Keep in a brackish water aquarium at around 25% seawater salinity (SG 1.005 at 25 C). Feed live foods initially, and once settled, wet frozen foods. Do not keep with any other bottom feeders, and ideally no other fish, until you are 100% sure it's settled and feeding. These are nocturnal fish that will not feed during the day.

A gentle reminder: don't buy a fish until you've researched it's needs; going by what "the guy" in the store says often ends badly.

Cheers, Neale

my otherhalf just told me that it was a asian one is that any help