#hogchoker

[marinebiologyshitposts]

why so flatfish?-the hogchoker

[aquariuminfobureau]

The curious fish that is called the hogchoker, Trinectes maculatus, is one of the few true flatfishes or pleuronectiforms, that are encountered in the aquarium trade with any regularity. In North America, where the species is native - for it is distributed from Massachusetts down to Panama - wild caught hogchokers turn up in retailers tanks fairly regularly, where they are usually sold as 'freshwater flounders'. Elsewhere else, this species is quite an infrequent import, and those flatfish that are explicitly traded as freshwater soles or flounders, at least in Europe, are more likely to belong to truly freshwater species indigenous to tropical South America, Asia and Australasia.

None of them is imported with great regularity, but in North America, it is wild caught juvenile hogchokers that are the flatfishes most often traded as a freshwater fish. This is not entirely accurate, because although the mature hogchokers can be found far upstream, juveniles are more strictly brackish fishes in the wild, inhabiting only estuarine waters during the summer months. Hogchokers are almost always sold when they are small individuals, for which a brackish setup would be more authentic. Juvenile hogchokers actually do survive and grow in freshwater environments, but such is suboptimal for their growth rate, and this is because freshwater creates higher metabolic stresses for them. Ideally, little hogchokers should be maintained in mildly brackish aquaria, and at a temperture of perhaps 22-26 degrees centigrade, based on the summer water temperatures that wild hogchokers this size would regularly encounter in their natural habitats.

Adult hogchokers show no preferences of salinity at such temperatures, being fine at a specific gravity of 0, or freshwater, upward to 1.02. in parts of their range, wild hogchokers experience water temperatures that may be quite low during the wintertime, but rising as high as standard tropical aquariums in the summertime. When they are kept at a temperture of 15 degrees, hogchokers grow best at a specific gravity of 1.01 to 1.02. Curiously, at the warmer temperatures that wild hogchokers might encounter in the southern part of their distribution, they puts on more weight when they are living in freshwater conditions.

On average, the hogchoker grows only to about 10 centimeters or 4 inches long, although individual fishes of twice this length are recorded, reaching a length of 20 centimeters, or 8 inches. These are small flatfishes, and they take only small prey in the wild, where they consume annelids, arthropods, and molluscs. Trinectes may need acclimatising to a frozen captive diet, but this can certainly be done, and they consume suitably sized meaty morsels. It is unlikely they will adjust to eating dried rather than defrosted foodstuffs, although it is not exactly unknown

The hogchoker is common on soft, sandy bottoms where it burrows itself in classic flatfish style, and it is also rokerant of still finer grained mud or silt bottoms. Such a fine substrate should be replicated in the aquarium, because hogchokers use the substrate to conceal themselves and this makes feel safe and relaxed. Flatfishes may be bothered or even injured by fishes that bite at the substrate, or are highly active at the bottom of the water column. Naturally, as predators, hogchokers in the aquarium may themselves consume small tankmates, so cohabitants must be too large for the flounders to see as prey.

By and large, however, hogchokers are not in the least confrontational by nature, and they may be considered reasonably indifferent to the activities of other fishes, using the water overhead in the same aquarium Although hogchokers camouflage themselves well, and are not very active, this very crypsis and their fascinating, asymmetrical anatomy make them a great, quiet oddball species, for those who accept these fish have specific care needs in our home tanks

[toad-wife]

trying to make a flatfish guy. I like the leftmost one best.

[thebrackishtank]

Hogchoker sole Genus: Trinectes Species: T. maculatus

See below for care details

Maximum Size: 8”, but 4-6″ more likely Aggression: Low Temperature: 64-68 F pH: 8-8.5 Hardness: 15-25 dH Brackish Tolerance: 1.005-1.010 best, tolerates 1.010-1.025 Minimum Tank Size: 55 gallons Feeding: Probably will need live foods at first. Ghost shrimp and earthworms are good staples during this time. Will eventually convert to frozen foods and best kept on choices like brine and mysis shrimp, earthworm pieces, small pieces of fish and shellfish. Unlikely to convert to dry foods. Notes: The Hogchoker is one of the several species of flatfish across several families sold as the “Freshwater Flounder”, also sometimes sold under the obsolete latin name Achirus fasciatus. Though it does travel into freshwater at times, it is indeed a brackish fish that does poorly when kept in freshwater long term.

The Hogchoker typically spends most of the day buried in the substrate with only its eyes showing. Though it will attempt to burrow in just about any substrate, sharp ones like gravel or some sand types (like Tahitian Moon Sand, a glass by-product) are likely to scratch them up and can lead to illness. Your best choice is to use something soft like silica sand or sugar fine aragonite. Other tank decor is largely immaterial. Plants, plastic or otherwise, are likely to be uprooted and are best when weighted down. Perhaps oddly for flatfish, Hogchokers also seem to like eating small portions of algae as well. They are better added to mature aquariums because of this, however they will never clean the glass or the ornaments for you.

Though not aggressive fish, they are predators and should not be kept with anything that can fit in their mouths. Smaller gobies and livebearers like Guppies should be avoided. They can be kept with reasonably sized, non-nippy fish like Giant Sailfin Mollies. Nippy fish like puffers should also be avoided. Hogchokers are only active eaters at night and should be fed after the lights have gone off. They are not competitive feeders, though, and should not be housed with other nocturnal fish like Tete Sea Catfish.

Sources

Freshwater Soles (family Soleidae and others), Neale Monks

Giving your aquarium some sole: Success with fresh and brackish water flatfish, Neale Monks

Hogchoker - Trinectes maculatus, Aquatic Community

(Image Source)

[astronomy-to-zoology]

Hogchoker (Trinectes maculatus)

Also known incorrectly as the freshwater flounder  the hogchoker is a small species of flatfish found in coastal estuaries, brackish waters and mudflats north of the Carolinas in North America. Like their flounder relatives they are often found camouflaged on the bottom where they feed on small insects and other small invertebrates. Due to their small size and unique looks they are fairly popular in the aquarium trade.

Phylogeny

Animalia-Chordata-Actinopterygii-Pleuronectiformes-Achiridae-Trinectes-maculatus

Image Source(s)

[yaybiotic]

Hogchoker Trinectes maculatus