It's a blob!

It's a blob!




No, wait! It's just my new Hogchoker! He/she is only about a quarter in size, I almost missed seeing it in the bag when it came today.


And it's translucent enough that with a regular source of light behind it you can see it's spine and organs. I probably find this more fascinating than anyone else does, heh.

Anyway, I'm really excited to finally have one. Though, it's a little strange having such a tiny thing in a large tank. Does anyone know how quickly (or not quickly) these guys grow?

Yep, Trinectes maculatus. Hogchokers, what's commonly sold as "freshwater flounder".

Nope, this is my first one. And I have it in a thirty six gallon tank, with light brackish water to match what the previous owner had. I'll start adjusting/raising the salinity levels as it grows, since most seem to concur that it will need near marine conditions as an adult (although, someone on here or MFK has several adults of this species in freshwater without issue).

As for tankmates, it doesn't have any. Not yet at least, some people on MFK suggested halfbeaks and sailfins. But that's not anything I'm going to look into until it's larger and not snack sized.

Pufferpunk said:

I wonder how it got that funny name? Doesn't look like it could choke a hog at all!

Click to expand...

They actually did though. The name comes from "back in the day" when hog farmers used to use this fish to feed their hogs. The hogs would often choke on the spines, bony scales and bones of this fish. But I guess that's what you get for feeding any whole fish to a hog, their bones and scales are bound to get stuck in the throat sooner or later, yikes! X_x