Tropical Fish Forums

[T]

So I was at my Japanese LFS yesterday to pick up a new heater, and when I was browsing all the fish tanks I saw what looked like my idea of what a juvenile haddock would look like. It was labeled as a ハラハラキャット (harahara cat), which after going home and researching turns out to be a banjo catfish, which these fish clearly were not.

I've been trying to find some info online, but it seems pretty sparse.

Anyone have an idea what it could be, and care info like size and temperament? Apparently freshwater flatfish don't get too large, so I'm mainly concerned about whether it would start eating anybody as it grew up.

The fish store was keeping it with kuhliis and guppies, so I assume tank conditions are pretty close to what I have at home.

[UncleWillie]

I am a bit confused. Are you talking about flatfish as in fish like soles, tonguefish, flounder, etc, etc? I was wondering b/c what we call a haddock is a fish similar to cod. This is why scientific names are so important. Many LFS never even think about scientific names.

If you are seeing a truly freshwater flatfish, then you may have potential problems as the fish grows. Our hogchokers (Trinectes maculatus) are beautiful little flatfishes and do well in aquaria if proper care is given. They are for the advanced aquarist, and require high protein, mostly live foods. They make their living as ambush predators (with this fish, main diet is aquatic insects, worms shrimps, etc. so any small tankmates have the potential to get eaten. I think they may eventually take frozen foods (cocktail shrimp, worms).

I think there are similar fish found in East Asia and you may have a local species in your LFS. I'd imagine they'd be very close to our hogchokers if they are considered small, freshwater flatfish. Let us know if you get it!

[T]

[T]

Ah, turned out I mixed up the labels. Turns out there was one fingernail sized banjo cat buried in the sand, and the flatfish was actually matched to a different label which translates to North American flatfish, so it must be a hogchoker like you said!


I bought one, and now it's virtually impossible to find in my 90cm aquarium :/


But still cool!

[UncleWillie]

If it is a hogchoker, they will max out around 7-8 inches. Congrats on the buy. It may be important to try and find the little guy to make sure it is eating. If you have trouble feeding it initially, try live worms, then eventually you can move it to frozen foods and possibly prepared foods. If you get a chance, try to snap a pic or two.