Salt-pan Sole(brachinus Salinarum), Anyone Have Experience?

[Dave Legacy]

I'm pretty interested in obtaining a Salt-pan Sole for my brackish tank but haven't seen them in any of my local fishstores... has anyone seen these around? Seems like it might work out pretty well with my archers since it sounds like they like a mid-range salinity.

Anyone have poor experiences with these fish that I should know about before I have a LFS track one down for me? btw, I have a moonlight so I figure I'll be able to enjoy it at night since they're a nocturnal fish.

 

[nmonks]

Hi Dave,

The salt-pan sole is a freshwater (not brackish) species from Australia. It doesn't seem at all regularly traded, despite being featured in a number of aquarium books. I'm sure it can be kept at low salinities, but in the wild it is an honest-to-goodness freshwater species.

At the moment, you are much more likely to encounter things like the hogchoker sole Trinectes maculatus or one of the Asian pan soles Brachirus spp. In the UK, Brachirus orientalis seems especially common, often being sold as Brachirus pan or Brachirus panoides. Both Trinectes maculatus and Brachirus orientalis will do well at mid to high salinities.

To be honest, none of the soles is an "easy" fish. They are nocturnal, and can be difficult to wean onto dead foods. I kept Brachirus orientalis for a few months, but lost it when I had a pH crash, so what I can say is that this species doesn't tolerate pH levels below 6! On the other hand, i used to look after a juvenile coldwater plaice, and it was greedy and hardy, even at room temperatures. Loved trout pellets! So it seems to me that the species offered to aquarists are on the delicate end of the spectrum as far as flatfish go.

If I was planning on keeping a 'freshwater' sole again, I think I'd try and ensure a steady supply of live foods to begin with. Bloodworms and tubifex are ideal for the smaller specimens. Fatten the fish up in a quarantine tank before combining with other fishes: chances are that they haven't eaten for weeks before you buy them. Healthy fish are chunky, while sickly ones look limp and you can almost see the bones.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Dave Legacy]

Neale,

I had thought they were mid-range brackish, especially with a name w/"salt" in it, but seeing that I really have Toxotes Microlepis and not Jaculatrix, maybe I can still have one. Do you know of any other flatfish that are in the same size range that will be ok between 1.003-1.005? I'd really like to put one in my tank with my archers. =)

 

[nmonks]

Hi Dave,

My guess is that the salinarum part of the name refers to salt pans, i.e., a desert pool. These fish perhaps being tolerant of mineral-rich waters. Be that as it may, they are tolerant of brackish water, and some authors suggest keeping them in very slightly brackish waters anyway. But they are freshwater fish, and are most commonly found in rivers (according to my fish-collecting friends in Australia).

Really, the thing with flatfish is that none are commonly traded, and it's basically a case of which species you encounter. All should be fine at the SG you suggest, even the freshwater species, so I'd just take whatever you can get. Unarguably, some species would prefer higher SGs, but they should do tolerably well at the lower SG provided they are feeding well and the pH and hardness is kept suitably high.

Cheers,

Neale

Neale,

I had thought they were mid-range brackish, especially with a name w/"salt" in it, but seeing that I really have Toxotes Microlepis and not Jaculatrix, maybe I can still have one. Do you know of any other flatfish that are in the same size range that will be ok between 1.003-1.005? I'd really like to put one in my tank with my archers. =)

 

[goldfish261]

Freshwater flounders will be happy at that sort of salinity as even though their name suggest they live in freshwater they are in fact brackish fish and will live quite happily in marine once fully grown. From what i can remember they dont grow very big maybe 3-4 inches tops so are ideal for small setups. I have kept them myself and someone did do a good thread on these little fellas somewhere but i cant seem to find it at the moment.

Hope this is of some use, will try and find some more info for you soon!

LungfishUK.

 

[nmonks]

Hello,

These "freshwater" soles seem to be quite popular in Japan, where they're called 'mosquito rays'. I've found at least two quite detailed sites on them. Unless you read Japanese, you'll need to use an online translating service such as Babelfish.

It's important to note that some species are strictly freshwater, and will tolerate specific gravities no higher than 1.005. See Schaefer's Aqualog book if you have it, or else check the Brackish FAQ where I've listed which species need fresh and which salty water. To be fair, most of the commonly seen species are brackish to marine. As a rule of thumb, the elongate, tongue-like ones are usually freshwater, while the round or rhomboid ones are brackish, but there are lots of exceptions. Thus, it is crucial to identify the sole before purchase. Dealers seem to get the names wrong. The ones being offered as "Brachirus pan" by Wholesale Tropicals in London are certainly not that, and most probably Brachirus orientalis, a marine species tolerant of brackish water.

Cheers,

Neale

http/homepage.mac.com/nmonks/aquaria/brackfaqpart4.html

http/ww8.tiki.ne.jp/~yashu/page003.html

http/www.geocities.co.jp/AnimalPark-Shir...kareiindex.html

http/babelfish.altavista.com/