{"product_id":"sole-fish-2inch-4inch","title":"Sole fish 2inch - 4inch","description":"\u003c!-- ============================================================\n     BEST4PETS.IN — PRODUCT DESCRIPTION BLOCK (DARK THEME)\n     Freshwater Sole (Euryglossa panoides)\n     Paste into Shopify \u003e Product \u003e Description \u003e \"\u003c\u003e\" (Show HTML)\n     VERIFY BEFORE PUBLISHING: adult size, genus, salinity — see notes\n     ============================================================ --\u003e\n\n\u003cdiv style=\"font-family:-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,'Segoe UI',Roboto,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#EAF0F5;line-height:1.65;font-size:16px;max-width:760px;\"\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- HOOK --\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"font-size:18px;line-height:1.6;margin:0 0 18px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    \u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eA flatfish. In a freshwater tank.\u003c\/strong\u003e It begins life as an ordinary upright larva with an eye on each side of the head, then one eye migrates across the skull, the body flattens onto its side, and the fish spends the rest of its life lying down. Almost every flatfish on earth is marine. A handful of soles made it into Southeast Asian rivers, and this is one you can actually keep.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 22px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    Mottled brown and grey, disc-shaped, fringed all round with a continuous fin that ripples when it moves. It settles onto sand and flicks grains over its back until only the eyes are showing. Then, at night, it glides across the substrate with a motion nothing else in the tank has — less swimming than flowing. It is an extraordinary animal to watch, and it is also one of the more demanding fish in this catalogue.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- HARD WARNING CALLOUT --\u003e\n  \u003cdiv style=\"border-left:4px solid #F2A03D;background:rgba(242,160,61,0.13);padding:14px 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border-radius:0 6px 6px 0;\"\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-size:15px;color:#F7E4CB;\"\u003e\n      \u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFC978;\"\u003eThe failure mode is starvation, and it is almost universal.\u003c\/strong\u003e\n    \u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:15px;color:#F7E4CB;\"\u003e\n      This is a slow, nocturnal, sight-and-touch hunter that takes small live and frozen invertebrates off the substrate. It will not eat flake or pellets, it will not compete with a community tank at feeding time, and it gives no visible sign of decline until it is very thin. Most specimens sold in the trade die within a few months for this reason alone. Buy it only if you are prepared to target-feed frozen and live foods after lights-out, most days, indefinitely.\n    \u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003c\/div\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- LOOKALIKE PANEL --\u003e\n  \u003cdiv style=\"border:1px solid rgba(95,212,196,0.35);background:rgba(95,212,196,0.08);border-radius:8px;padding:16px 18px;margin:0 0 30px;\"\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#5FD4C4;\"\u003e\"Freshwater flounder\" covers several different fish\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:15px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n      The name is applied loosely in the trade to Asian soles like this one and to South American \u003cem\u003eAchirus\u003c\/em\u003e, which genuinely need brackish water and do poorly without it. They look broadly similar and are frequently mislabelled. Care advice written for one will not reliably work for the other, so check the scientific name rather than the shop label.\n    \u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003c\/div\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- QUICK FACTS --\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eCare Snapshot\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\n  \u003ctable style=\"width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;margin:0 0 30px;font-size:15px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    \u003ctbody\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);width:42%;color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eScientific name\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eEuryglossa panoides\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eAlso known as\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eFreshwater Sole, Freshwater Flounder; also placed in \u003cem\u003eBrachirus\u003c\/em\u003e\n\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eFamily\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eSoleidae — true soles\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eOrigin\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eWild-collected — Southeast Asia\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eHabitat\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eSoft-bottomed lowland rivers and estuarine reaches\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eMinimum tank\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e100 litres, 90 cm × 45 cm footprint — floor area, not height\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eTemperature\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e24–28 °C\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003epH\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e7.0–8.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eHardness\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eMedium to hard\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eSubstrate\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eFine soft sand only — non-negotiable\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eFlow\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eGentle to moderate\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eDiet\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eCarnivore — live and frozen invertebrates, fed at night\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eActivity\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eNocturnal; buried or motionless by day\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eTemperament\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;border-bottom:1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.14);color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003ePeaceful and passive; easily out-competed\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n      \u003ctr style=\"background:rgba(255,255,255,0.06);\"\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eCare level\u003c\/td\u003e\n        \u003ctd style=\"padding:9px 12px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eAdvanced — feeding is the whole challenge\u003c\/td\u003e\n      \u003c\/tr\u003e\n    \u003c\/tbody\u003e\n  \u003c\/table\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- SETUP --\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eBuilding The Right Tank\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cul style=\"margin:0 0 30px;padding-left:20px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eFine soft sand, 3–5 cm deep, and nothing else.\u003c\/strong\u003e This fish buries. Gravel of any grade makes that impossible and abrades the underside, which is where infections start. Play sand or fine river sand, rinsed thoroughly.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eFloor area is the real measurement.\u003c\/strong\u003e A flatfish uses the base of the tank and nothing above it. Two tanks of the same volume are not equivalent — pick the one with the larger footprint every time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eLeave the sand open.\u003c\/strong\u003e Plant around the edges or use epiphytes on wood. A carpeted base removes the habitat entirely.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eDim the lighting and give shade.\u003c\/strong\u003e Nocturnal and light-shy. Floating plants or a shaded end of the tank will bring it out earlier in the evening.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eGentle flow, strong filtration.\u003c\/strong\u003e It cannot hold station in strong current, but it is a messy carnivore fed on frozen food. Filter through a sponge-guarded intake so a resting fish is never drawn against it.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eKeep the sand clean.\u003c\/strong\u003e Uneaten frozen food buried in a sand bed fouls quickly. Siphon the surface at every water change.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- TANK MATES --\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eTank Mates\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:16px;margin:0 0 30px;\"\u003e\n    \u003cdiv style=\"flex:1 1 260px;border:1px solid rgba(95,212,196,0.35);background:rgba(95,212,196,0.08);border-radius:8px;padding:16px 18px;\"\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#5FD4C4;\"\u003eGood matches\u003c\/p\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:15px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eA species tank is the reliable answer. If you must combine, use quiet mid-water and surface fish that never touch the floor — rasboras, halfbeaks, hatchetfish, small peaceful barbs. Nothing that forages on sand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/div\u003e\n    \u003cdiv style=\"flex:1 1 260px;border:1px solid rgba(242,160,61,0.4);border-radius:8px;padding:16px 18px;background:rgba(242,160,61,0.1);\"\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#FFC978;\"\u003eKeep away from\u003c\/p\u003e\n      \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:15px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003eEvery bottom-feeder — Corydoras, loaches, plecos, shrimp. They are faster to food and will strip the substrate before this fish moves. Also avoid nippers, which will worry the fin fringe, and anything large or predatory. Small shrimp are prey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003c\/div\u003e\n  \u003c\/div\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 30px;font-size:15px;color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003eSeveral soles can be kept together in a tank with enough floor area. They ignore one another almost entirely.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- FEEDING --\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eFeeding — Read This Twice\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 12px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    Nearly every freshwater sole sold in the aquarium trade dies of starvation. Not disease, not water quality — starvation, over weeks or months, in a tank the owner believes is well fed. The fish is slow, nocturnal, and locates food by scent and touch on the substrate. Anything eaten in the water column, or eaten within seconds of hitting the sand, is food it never sees.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 12px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    \u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eTarget-feed after lights-out, using a pipette or feeding tube placed next to the fish.\u003c\/strong\u003e Frozen bloodworm, blackworm, mysis, brine shrimp and chopped prawn are all taken. Live blackworm and grindal worm are the most reliable starters for a newly imported specimen, because movement triggers the feeding response.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 12px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    Feed most days. Watch the fish actually eat — this is the only way to know. A sole that is thinning shows it as a sunken, concave outline behind the head when viewed from above.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 30px;font-size:15px;color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003e\n    Some long-settled specimens eventually accept a sinking carnivore pellet from the \u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eAQA\u003c\/strong\u003e range. Treat that as a convenience once established, never as the plan for a new fish.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- SEXING \u0026 BREEDING --\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eSexing \u0026amp; Breeding\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 12px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    There is no reliable way to sex this species visually in the aquarium, and no external differences are documented for the hobby.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 30px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    \u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eCaptive breeding has not been achieved in home aquaria.\u003c\/strong\u003e Soles in this group are understood to spawn in open water and produce planktonic larvae which undergo the eye-migration metamorphosis before settling — a cycle that cannot be reproduced in a tank. Every specimen in the trade is wild-caught.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- CONSERVATION --\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eA Note On Wild-Collected Stock\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 30px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    Every one of these fish came out of a wild river and none can be replaced by captive breeding. Freshwater soles are poorly studied, the taxonomy of the group is unsettled, and the soft-bottomed lowland and estuarine habitats they depend on are among the most heavily modified freshwater systems in Southeast Asia. Combined with the very high mortality this species suffers in the trade, that makes it a fish to buy deliberately or not at all. We would rather sell five to people who will keep them properly than fifty to people who will not.\n  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- INDIA NOTES --\u003e\n  \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eKeeping It In Indian Conditions\u003c\/h3\u003e\n  \u003cul style=\"margin:0 0 30px;padding-left:20px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eTemperature and water chemistry are the easy part.\u003c\/strong\u003e Room temperature across most of India sits inside the range for most of the year, and hard, alkaline municipal water suits this species. No heater in most months, no RO, no buffering.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong style=\"color:#FFFFFF;\"\u003eYour food supply is the constraint.\u003c\/strong\u003e Sort it out before the fish arrives. Frozen bloodworm and mysis are available in most Indian cities; live blackworm and grindal cultures are not, and are worth starting a few weeks ahead. A newly imported sole waiting on your logistics is a sole losing condition.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003eAbove 30 °C in peak summer, add surface agitation. Appetite drops in heat, which compounds the feeding problem — watch condition closely through April and May.\u003c\/li\u003e\n    \u003cli style=\"margin-bottom:9px;\"\u003eFine river sand is cheap and widely available across India. Rinse it until the water runs clear, and avoid the sharp crushed gravel sold as aquarium substrate in most local shops.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003c\/ul\u003e\n\n  \u003c!-- WHAT YOU GET --\u003e\n  \u003cdiv style=\"border-top:2px solid #5FD4C4;padding-top:18px;\"\u003e\n    \u003ch3 style=\"font-size:13px;letter-spacing:.12em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#5FD4C4;margin:0 0 12px;font-weight:700;\"\u003eWhat You Receive\u003c\/h3\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin:0 0 10px;font-size:15px;color:#EAF0F5;\"\u003e\n      Wild-collected specimens, quarantined at our Bengaluru facility and feeding on frozen foods before dispatch. Size and markings vary between individuals and sex cannot be determined. Packed with oxygen and insulation for pan-India delivery.\n    \u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003cp style=\"margin:0;font-size:15px;color:#A9BCCB;\"\u003e\n      Covered by the Best4Pets live arrival guarantee. Please film an unboxing video before opening the bag — it is required for any DOA claim. We recommend confirming your sand substrate is in place and your frozen or live food supply is sorted before ordering.\n    \u003c\/p\u003e\n  \u003c\/div\u003e\n\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Best4Pets","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44828537978969,"sku":null,"price":650.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0075\/9814\/5587\/files\/euryglossa-panoides.jpg?v=1788498531","url":"https:\/\/www.best4pets.in\/products\/sole-fish-2inch-4inch","provider":"Best4Pets","version":"1.0","type":"link"}