"freshwater" Soles

[geb0205]

Hi there, I've been pointed to this forum for more information on Soles. My Local Fish Shop has a freshwater sole in, and in my love of odd fish I have reserved it. I have a 10 gallon tank with silver sand in the bottom and access to a 125 litre tank with sand in that it could go in but am on the look out for further information on them. I have found very conflicting information on the internet... Any experiences?

 

[mattlee]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/67770-freshwater-flounders/

 

[geb0205]

Ahhh you lovely person, thanks for that! The LFS has it labelled as an Achirus lineatus, I took a piccy of him but whether or not it is is another matter!...

What kind of timespan do you have to start increasing the salinity of the water for them according to their age?

 

[mattlee]

cant get the link to the pic...

neal monks is the guy to talk to about these fish, im sure he can put you right

pic now working
http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/marinefish/linedsole.php
http/aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,%20Flounder.htm
http/www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/62/1/Trinectes-maculatus-Achirus-lineatus-Achirus-achirus-freshwater-flounder/Page1.html
hope this helps

 

[geb0205]

Now thats interesting, the fish shop have it down as an Achirus lineatus, but according to your link, its marine. Its being kept in freshwater.... Poor little Sole...

ETA: My apologies, I've already given its supposed latin name in my haste to find out more about them!

 

[nmonks]

Unless the angle you took the photo at is very odd, that is not Achirus lineatus. It looks much more like Brachirus pan or one of the Cynoglossus species.

Actually, this could be good news; Cynoglossus spp are strictly freshwater soles from Asia.

Do see my FAQ for some discussion on telling them apart.

Cheers, Neale

 

[geb0205]

Ahh thankyou for that! The angle is not all that wierd, well, as much as it can be for a square tank full of water! The tank was slightly lower than my shoulders, and I'm around 5'8'' so would have been looking down into the tank but obviously from infront of the fish. I shall indeed go and find your FAQ!

 

[nmonks]

The page you want is here:

http/homepage.mac.com/nmonks/Projects/FAQ/4h.html

Cheers, Neale

I shall indeed go and find your FAQ!

 

[geb0205]

I think, and this is only from what I can read and having compared it to the sole in question, it is a Cynoglossus Feldmanni but I could be mistaken. Do they have any specific feeding requirements aside from being meat eaters that need nocturnal feeding?

 

[nmonks]

If you can, get them feeding on their own first, or at worst, in a tank without any other nighttime fish. No catfish, loaches, etc.

They prefer "worms" of one sort or another, live bloodworms and tubifex are ideal, though the latter are slightly risky. Wet-frozen bloodworms are good too. Once settled they should eat a wider variety of things.

Cheers, Neale

 

[geb0205]

Bloodworm is in plentiful supply here... they can have the ones that the dwarf puffers rejected as too big, the fussy little creatures! (I have a tray of it frozen...) Thanks for that. I don't suppose you have any idea how quickly they grow do you? Its more than likely going in to a 125 litre tank with sand substrate that will ultimatly be used for breeding Kribensis. Is the sole likely to eat Krib fry?

 

[nmonks]

You can but hope. Kribs produce fry on a monthly basis. If you can get your sole to eat them for you, saves you a lot of bother.

Actually, the risk is probably pretty small, but it does exist.

Cheers, Neale

Is the sole likely to eat Krib fry?

 

[geb0205]

I did manage to take a slightly better picture of the Sole, and its markings. Its sat under the flow of water into the tank enjoying the bubbles... I did ask one question to the LFS to which they have no idea how to answer, how do you tell if a sole is fat?!

 

[nmonks]

Does look like Cynoglossus feldmanni to me, which is good.

As for feeding, healthy specimens will have distinctly rounded abdomens and the "upper" surface will look quite thick and slightly convex. Starving specimens look thin, to the degree their bones are visible. My coldwater plaice enjoyed trout pellets, so if you have some of those, add a couple at night and see what happens; he did become day active quite quickly. Otherwise I'd feed moderately generously 3-4 nights per week and hope for the best.

Cheers, Neale

 

[geb0205]

Where do I get trout pellets from?

He really is quite a bizzare fish! I got him on saturday and he was obviously somewhat disturbed by the move. He spent saturday night quietly in a sheltered spot by the front of the tank, and by sunday, had started to move round a little. He has been eating mini bloodworm (I put the tank lights off around 9pm and feed him about 10:30pm) which are hoovered up within about 5 mins, generally the 3 green tiger barbs that are in with him have been fed around 8pm and have gone to sleep by the time I feed the sole.

This morning, he has been doing something odd, in that he sits lifting his head up (as a human would tip its head back to sneeze) then resting back down again. I've no idea what is normal sole behaviour, so am wondering if this is. The pH is about 7.4, Ammonia and Nitrite 0.25 as the tank is approaching the end of its cycle, and Nitrate 5ppm. I'm still doing 10% daily water changes. At the time I've written this post he has stopped. I did move him along a little so I could suck up some dirt from near where he was sitting and he now appears to just be cross and has stopped this head flipping thing. Not overly concerned about him as he does have a nice arc over his "back" (or should that be side?) and as I say, appears to be eating well in the dark!

Thanks for your help... They are bizzare fish!