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Hogchoker

Started by Guest_pmk00001_* , Feb 18 2008 09:08 AM

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40 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_pmk00001_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 09:08 AM

Does anyone keep these? I get them occasionally when netting in tidal freshwater. Would they do OK in a freshwater tank with added salt?

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#2 Guest_sumthinsfishy_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 10:14 AM

A lot of times, they starve in captivity, because they need small live foods. I never got mine off of blackworms, and it eventually died.
They do fine in water with salt.

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#3 Guest_pmk00001_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 10:20 AM

Thanks man! Sounds like it might need some sort of live sand tank. I might have to give it a go this year.

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#4 Guest_mikez_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 10:21 AM

I've never kept one, always wanted to.
I've kept juvies of a couple of the flounders in saltwater tanks and really loved them. Very cool fish.
Gotta have sand bottom for them to bury in, makes 'em feel safe.
The flounder I've kept had very aggressive feeding responses. No trouble keeping them fat.

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#5 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 10:40 AM

I have some in my heavily planted 75g community tank. I never SEE them eat, but they seem to do well and have gone from tank to tank in the past 6-8 months and are growing well. I have one that's about 3 1/2 inches. That being said, in a large tank, I see one of them maybe once a week, and don't actually know how many are in the tank, but I started out with 5 or 6 and have at least 3 that have been healthy and happy. I believe they are eating either frozen brine, bloodworms, or flake food, as that is the general food for this tank.

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#6 Guest_keepnatives_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 11:48 AM

I'v had some small (1 inch and under) since Sept 07 was losing them while kept with some mummichugs, so late September I moved the last two to a 15 gallon with several small Bluespots. Total freshwater, mostly fed live blackworms with some freeze-dried foods occassionally. They seem to be growing and go after the blackworms. I make sure to put in a good amount of black worms so some get into the sand before the bluespots devour them all. I've been concerned with whether they can continue without some salt though.

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#7 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 12:28 PM

I had two and really really want to get a couple again. I had a 50/50 sand gravel tank with plants and they never got off the glass. I would even push them onto the sand and before I knew it they were back on the glass. Never saw them feed once and they slowly wasted away. I had no access to live foods at the time so that was likely why I was so unsuccessful. I hope to see some this year doing a little recon tidal fresh work.

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#8 Guest_netmaker_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 02:27 PM

Easier to keep than a Bay Wiff for sure.

You do need to feed 'em live food.

FYI

I heard of catfish farmer in the Delta raising Southern Flounder in his pond. He had minimal salt content......

nm

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#9 Guest_teleost_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 03:31 PM

I've had pretty good luck with hogchoker. I believe if you keep them in a species only tank along with sand, they will eat just about any neutrally buoyant frozen food offered (brine shrimp, bloodwoorms and the like). I'm able to keep them along with other species as long as I feed live blackworms.

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#10 Guest_hmt321_*

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Posted 18 February 2008 - 09:36 PM

I kept a pair for the better part of a year before i had a general crash of the entire tank, i never saw them eat but they never seemed to get thin, i assumed they were eating blood worms off the substrate

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#11 Guest_pmk00001_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 09:06 AM

Thanks everyone, I might have to try a small tank with a couple of hogchokers and a bunch of grass shrimp.

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#12 Guest_sumthinsfishy_*

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Posted 19 February 2008 - 08:13 PM

I figured out that if you put food in the tank right before the lights go out, then the other fish will get their food, and the hogchoker will get the remainder in the dark.
My problem was that I had a seven inch dragon goby in the tank, and he did too good of a job cleaning everything up.

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#13 Guest_Gambusia_*

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Posted 22 February 2008 - 01:41 PM

Are these the 'freshwater flounder' you frequently find at fish shops?

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#14 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 22 February 2008 - 01:43 PM

Are these the 'freshwater flounder' you frequently find at fish shops?

Yup, that's them.

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#15 Guest_Flounderfan992_*

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Posted 05 July 2008 - 07:06 PM

I have a juvenile one in freshwater, I hear that they require full marine conditions as adults so I am planning on adding more salt as he ages and eventually moving him to my 90 gallon marine tank. I only have a few small marines in there now, but I'd like to make sure that he'll do fine in SW as an adult, can anyone confirm this? Thanks in advance

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#16 Guest_Kanus_*

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Posted 06 July 2008 - 09:04 PM

I have a juvenile one in freshwater, I hear that they require full marine conditions as adults so I am planning on adding more salt as he ages and eventually moving him to my 90 gallon marine tank. I only have a few small marines in there now, but I'd like to make sure that he'll do fine in SW as an adult, can anyone confirm this? Thanks in advance

I can confirm that they do just fine in full salt water. I used to work for a pet store that would get this species occasionally when ordering saltwater flounders. We had a number of nice 6-7 inch hogchokers that seemed to do well.

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#17 Guest_mander_*

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Posted 03 August 2008 - 11:57 AM

I can confirm that they do just fine in full salt water. I used to work for a pet store that would get this species occasionally when ordering saltwater flounders. We had a number of nice 6-7 inch hogchokers that seemed to do well.

How will they do in brackish and/or if they are kept in freshwater?

Dang, they are so cute! I want one! Sigh. I'm not ready for a SW commitment.

And... by the way... forgive the stupid question, but just what is the difference between a freshwater tank with salt added, and a salt water tank?

Edited by mander, 03 August 2008 - 12:00 PM.

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#18 Michael Wolfe

Board of Directors

North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 03 August 2008 - 01:22 PM

And... by the way... forgive the stupid question, but just what is the difference between a freshwater tank with salt added, and a salt water tank?

Smart aleck answer would be... the amount of salt!

But actually that really is the answer... fresh - brackish - salt ... is really just a continuum... and even amoung salt water reef keepers some believe in keeping their salinity at different levels depending on the fish, and inverts they are keeping...

And hogchokers can be kept in brackish tanks for sure and would likely be able to be converted to nearly fresh water... I think a few others have done this before to keep hogchockers.

Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

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#19 Guest_drewish_*

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Posted 03 August 2008 - 05:41 PM

I keep my hogchoker in a tank with 2 tbsp per 5g. I'm not sure at what size I should be up'ng that, and should I be using marine salt instead of non-iodized salt. I could see how long this one lives in a less "brackish" tank.

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#20 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 03 August 2008 - 06:25 PM

I've never kept hogchokers, but I do have a couple of brackish tanks. I use marine salt because I think it's closer to what the fish actually live in. It will also harden the water, which the brackish fish like. Plain salt won't do that.