flat fish care?

[ryan90]

hi all. i was a c328 about 2 weeks ago and saw they have flatfish for sale. like 4 to 8 bucks each. anyone here kept before? is it difficult? how large can they get? i tried looking for the species but not sure what is it.

[Urban Aquaria]

Are you referring to hillstream loaches? They tend to prefer fast moving currents, a river-style tank with high flow rate would suit them best.

Here is some care info on them: http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.u...t.php?sid=5455

[qool]

When you say flat fish are you referring to something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0Zfq...hl=en-GB&gl=SG

if yes I have kept one before. You will need at least some sandy area it will rush to that area lie down and cover itself with sand. Until it feels like making a special appearance then you will see it. If you do not have sandy area it will become an otto wannabe sticking to your aquarium glass.... tested that before

As to how big they can grow I am not too sure as mine didn't survive that long...
I learned the hard way that even flat fish can leap out of water so do take note of this if you buy one!

[ryan90]

its not hillstream loaches. its the one in youtube. what did you feed it?

[Trichopsis]

Flatfish are generally predatory, so I'd say frozen bloodworms or live tubifex should be ideal for the sole.

The soles found in the aquarium trade are supposedly Brachirus panoides, although it's possible that several other related species are involved.

Some sites state that the sole should be kept in brackish water; many of the fishes we find being sold as freshwater fishes are actually brackish/marine species that can survive in freshwater.

Here's a site that provides lots of information on caring for soles: http://www.tropicalfishfinder.co.uk/...tail.asp?id=35

[astro]

Had them on a few occasions, but none survived. Wonder why

[stormhawk]

If you could not keep them alive, that means your water conditions were not to its liking. While some are freshwater, they do better at pH around neutral. The majority of tank set ups out there are almost always around pH 6 due to the use of soils and such for plants and shrimp. They also prefer sandy bottoms and will not thrive in typical setups. Since these are ambush predators that lie under the sand in wait for their food to come by, you need to feed it live foods or frozen foods that can actually catch their attention. Often the ones sold at the LFS are starving and/or close to death.