# Flounder Care Information



## Yankee boy

Well.....since there seems to be very little info about the so called FW flounder I am going to research the flounders lifestyle and eating habits along with its environment, in tern I hope to gain more info on how to raise a happy, healthy flounder,. Since I am an avid flounder fisherman I already know a bit a bout the flounder species. I live by estuaries, a sound, and the gulf (the first 2 are where flounder are usually found). I will be acquiring temperatures and salinity levels throughout the year in the sound and estuaries while fishing for flounder.

I plan on setting up a seperate 20g FW and acquiring a juvenile flounder and slowly aclimate it to brackish between salinity levels varying from 1.004 to 1.015 to replicate the changing salinity levels in the estuaries and sounds where the flounder inhabit..since I have never heard about people doing this and soley for a flounder ill give it a try. I already have a flounder in my 25g FW but I plan on puting him in the tank soon to start brackish asap.

Some many reasons why beginner flounder owners end up with a dead fish a couple days later is because the fish doesnt eat anything or cant due to the fact there are other fish in the tank which get the food before the slow predatory like flounder.

Some feeding habits I have observed so far are.....they mostly like to feed at night. If you have a community tank make sure your other fish are fed well before trying to feed the flounder! Keep in mind that flounder sneak up on their food (prey) then snatch it. Since most flounder acquired are juveniles (babies) they have very, very small mouths and need small foods, preferably small live foods or frozen, they will take flake but it will take time to get used to. Some foods you could feed your flounder include various worms species, small crustaceans, mollusks, and small fish as of now im feeding mine frozen shrimp not brine but the kind that are used in shrimp cocktails. 

When you feed your flounder make sure he isnt sticking on the glass ( which they like to do, like a pleco) because they cant reach their food. Make sure hes on the substrate which should be SAND!!! not gravel because it can cut his soft belly. Put the food about and inch away from him (you literally have to cater to these fish since the other fish are always noising around tryin to steal whatever food is around) when feeding larger portions use your finger to make a indent in the sand and put the food in there so the flounder can glide over it and eat it, If you dont he will have a hard time trying to swallow it because its on level with him, remember they hunt their food.

When you have placed the food near them sitback and watch closely most of the time theyll eye it. Then they will slowly hop towards the bait. Their gill movement changes from normal breathing to slow, still long breaths so they can look sneaky. The flounder will then move closer then capture his prey happily devouring it....their stomach is located behind their gill after they eat youll see a bulge there.

So far this is all the information I have acquired and I hope to learn more about this mysterious fascinating fish so I can help others who wish to keep a flounder as a long companion.

Are your eyes hurting now :-D


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## TheOldSalt

Great job!


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## Stix87

wow thats good and it sucks, i just bought a fresh water flounder at pecto today, its grey with blk spots and little bitty tail. Its about one inch long. The LFS said they eat algae and that they wont get much bigger...i actually have some shrimp i can give him but........i have gravel in my tank :-( il defrost some normal shrimp and dice it up to little peices since my flounder is soooooo small and ill scoot him off the gravel and lay it right near him.....


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## Yankee boy

Thats a good idea its what ive done, my flounder is getting pretty fat. Remeber to put the diced shrimp near him. About the gravel when I bought my flounder He was grey with the black spots because the tank he was in was a gravel one. Reason why gravel isnt good is because it stresses the flounder out to much because he cant blend in with it. They need a substrate to bury in to feel secure. My flounder is a nice dark color with lots of different shades of brown now after hes been in the tank. 

BTW the flounder u n me have get 6 inches long mine is 2 1/2 inches long now. Good luck and I hope things work out


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## Stix87

hrrm well my gavel is actually wht and blk he blends in perfectly with color, I have an empty 10g i was going to move my crabs but i might get sand substrate and put the flounder in there  Any brands of sand substrate to get or just any sand is fine?


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## batray girl

I can't find any sand substrate for freshwater anywhere. All I find is marine, crushed coral sand. My flounders died last year, but my 2 bichirs and peacock eel would certainly benefit from it. If you guys know of any place that sells it or if you would let me know where you got your's from, I would be much obliged.


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## Lexus

You can buy play sand from Walmart, Menards, Home Depot ect... same stuff but cheaper.


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## batray girl

It's safe to use that generic sand? Should I do anything to it before I put it in?


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## Lexus

It needs to be rinsed rinsed and rinsed some more.... Clean it til there is no more floating sand then it should be safe to put in.


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## Stix87

how would u rinse it? add it to a bucket and then spray it with a hosde, drain the water, spray with a hose drain the water, spray with a hose and drain the water, spray with a hose and drain the water, spray with the hose and drain the water, then repeat? How would u gravel vac since the sand would get sucked out  are flunders messy, would i need to gravel vac?


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## Yankee boy

Ding ding thats how u clean the sand. When u gravel vac sand u stick the syphon in the sand for half a second then pull it out quickly and it stirs the sand around inside it and then it falls back down. Flounders arent messy. Jus be careful when you move around stuff in your tank that you dont squish it.


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## Stix87

im having 2nd thoughts now, b/c my hermit crabs have been waiting for the 10g to be free so they could move in but then again i was thinking about doing sand subtrate for all my tanks, but thats to much work, i just cycled a 55g, dont wanna take the gravel/fish/decor out and start over :-(


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## Stix87

i moved my crabs to the 10g and the flouder is the 20g and its been 2 weeks and he;s still alive, i crop pieces of shrimp up and im assuming he eats them, never seen him tho. im doing somethign right since he's alive and he used to only stick to plants decor and walls but now i see him swimming all around. He looks really happy. He does this thing when i put my hand into the tank to vacuum or trim plants, he like to stick to my palm, 1st time he did it it scared me b/c he darted toward my hand but i let him now. when im done in the tank i slowly pull toward the surfce and he swimms away.


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## mlefev

batray girl said:


> It's safe to use that generic sand? Should I do anything to it before I put it in?


It is ok to use it. I am lucky enough to have a local shop that sells several colors and densities of colored sand. Usually, unless you're in a larger city, it's hard to find. I have a dense black sand on the bottom, and a powdery gold sand on the top. Frankly, however, any really will work. It just depends on how decorative you want the sand itself to be.


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## Fishfirst

Since they are brackish fish they would not mind marine sand as it raises the pH closer to marine conditions, which brackish is half of. I think they would actually benefit from an argonite sand, silica sand usually has some sharp edges.


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