Went to local pet store the other day and picked up a Clown Pleco for my 55 cuz it was smallest and cheapest one (other cool species were like 25 and the common ones get humungo) and I saw a wolf fish. I think these guys look wicked cool. I did a little reading and they say they grow up to 20". Has anyone kept these and how big of a tank would I need for a single specimen?
Wolf Fish
- Thread starter DaPony87
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Fruitbat
Aquarium Advice Addict
DaPony87...
I've kept the common wolf fish, Hoplias malabaricus, in the past. Take a close look at the mouth of one of those beasts and get a load of the teeth they're equipped with. Add that to the fact that they can get to almost 3 feet long and you've got quite a formidable package indeed!
I kept a pair of them in a 55 gallon tank by themselves. They're not particularly active fish and will generally lounge around on the bottom, keeping their eyes open for a snack. When I got them they were about 6 inches long. After about a year I gave them to the Dallas Aquarium. They were well over a foot at that time and showed no signs of slowing down. They are voracious eaters, much preferring live fish to anything else....those teeth aren't just for show!
I must admit that I was more wary of my wolf fish than I was of the red-bellied piranhas I was also keeping at the time. Because they are relatively inactive it is easy to be lulled into a sense of complacency about them. That disappears the first time you see how fast they are when the dinner bell rings!
A little story to let you know the potential of these monsters. When I finally decided to give mine away I triple-bagged them in heavy gauge plastic bags and then put that package into a paper bag (they don't like bright light overly much). When I got them to the Dallas Aquarium, the curator who was receiving them wanted to have a look so I pulled the plastic bag up out of the paper one. One of the wolf fish went ballistic and bit the bag. Its teeth went all the way through all three bags, barely missing the hand I was using to support them.
With all that having been said...considering their growth potential I wouldn't consider trying to keep one of these fish in anything less than a 55 gallon tank and you can expect to have to upgrade after a couple of years.
There are other types of wolf fish that stay a bit smaller but they're all similarly equipped in the dental department and certainly aren't community fish!
I've kept the common wolf fish, Hoplias malabaricus, in the past. Take a close look at the mouth of one of those beasts and get a load of the teeth they're equipped with. Add that to the fact that they can get to almost 3 feet long and you've got quite a formidable package indeed!
I kept a pair of them in a 55 gallon tank by themselves. They're not particularly active fish and will generally lounge around on the bottom, keeping their eyes open for a snack. When I got them they were about 6 inches long. After about a year I gave them to the Dallas Aquarium. They were well over a foot at that time and showed no signs of slowing down. They are voracious eaters, much preferring live fish to anything else....those teeth aren't just for show!
I must admit that I was more wary of my wolf fish than I was of the red-bellied piranhas I was also keeping at the time. Because they are relatively inactive it is easy to be lulled into a sense of complacency about them. That disappears the first time you see how fast they are when the dinner bell rings!
A little story to let you know the potential of these monsters. When I finally decided to give mine away I triple-bagged them in heavy gauge plastic bags and then put that package into a paper bag (they don't like bright light overly much). When I got them to the Dallas Aquarium, the curator who was receiving them wanted to have a look so I pulled the plastic bag up out of the paper one. One of the wolf fish went ballistic and bit the bag. Its teeth went all the way through all three bags, barely missing the hand I was using to support them.
With all that having been said...considering their growth potential I wouldn't consider trying to keep one of these fish in anything less than a 55 gallon tank and you can expect to have to upgrade after a couple of years.
There are other types of wolf fish that stay a bit smaller but they're all similarly equipped in the dental department and certainly aren't community fish!
Fruitbat
Aquarium Advice Addict
Yep....and they're fairly heavy-bodied too! I've seen pictures of 3 foot Hoplias malabaricus and it is truly an impressive sight to behold! And yes....they're really cool-looking fish.
Check this link from a flyfishing group. Scroll down to find a couple of pictures of Hoplias malabaricus and its bigger cousin, Hoplias macrophthalmus. Interesting how so many of the fish that people crave as pets are just as commonly considered as trophies or (more commonly) as food!
Link: http://www.amazonflyfishing.com/gamefish.html
Check this link from a flyfishing group. Scroll down to find a couple of pictures of Hoplias malabaricus and its bigger cousin, Hoplias macrophthalmus. Interesting how so many of the fish that people crave as pets are just as commonly considered as trophies or (more commonly) as food!
Link: http://www.amazonflyfishing.com/gamefish.html
cdawson
Aquarium Advice Freak
they're definately sedentary too, the one at the vancouver aquarium has been in the same spot for the last 2 years!
Hypostomus
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Mar 15, 2004
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- 494
You know, even though this is freshwater I immediately thought of the Atlantic wolffish. This handsome devil here:
It's a four foot long blenny, and the reason why you don't stick your arm into dark crevices along walls when you're scuba diving in Maine.
(Don't mind my tangent..)
It's a four foot long blenny, and the reason why you don't stick your arm into dark crevices along walls when you're scuba diving in Maine.
(Don't mind my tangent..)
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