Drab sole
Achirus achirus
About
The drab sole earns its name. It is a small brown flatfish, green in the fins, with black spots scattered over body and fins alike, and it lies flat on the bottom of shallow, brackish water where a river meets the sea. Like most flatfish, an adult carries both eyes on the same side of its head. It reaches 37 cm, though about 30 cm is normal, and up to 1 kg.
- Length
- 30 cm · max 37 cm
- Weight
- max 1 kg
- Depth
- up to 20 m
- Temperature
- 25–28 °C
Behaviour
Its main trick is to disappear. The sole works itself down into sandy or muddy bottom until it is fully covered, leaving only the eyes above the surface to watch for prey and for anything hunting it. It is a meat eater and nothing else, taking small fish and the crustaceans that live in the sediment. It also travels. The drab sole is amphidromous, which means it moves between salt and fresh water during its life, in the way some salmon do, and it pushes a long way up coastal streams and rivers. Breeding is thought to happen between July and September.
Did you know?
It is kept in home aquariums, and the way it is sold causes problems. Shops often list it as a freshwater fish, but it needs some salt in the water to stay in good health.
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