My new Red Wolf Fish won't eat

[tg1489]

So I recently got a pretty large rwf and put him in my 55 gallon tank with a male black convict, piranha, and Chinese algae eater.

Its a very very dimly lit tank with an all black background and plenty of hiding spots(none plants like their natural habitat) but plenty of caves and driftwood.

All he does is hide all day behind driftwood. I tried throwing pellets by him and nothing. I had a live earthworm that I dangled right in front of his face literally slapping him with it and he just stays there motionless. I drop it in front of him and he just looked at it and swam away.

I've had him for 4 days now and I think only once he bit the worm but I don't think he ate it all. It was hard to see since he was behinded heavily placed driftwood.

Is there anything I can do to help him eat normally? I can't relocate any fish right now.

 

[kno4te]

I will say that u need to separate ur fish.

Your wolf will not get along a with a cichlid or a piranha. It's likely stressed from the othe fish and also has some new tank syndrome.

If your not able to house the fish then get a divider until ur able to.

The tank has mixed fish that shouldn't be housed together. The potential for fish loss is high be carful and get info on fish before putting them together.

 

[reddead38]

Maybe try some feeders or cut tilapia.. all of my wolves stopped eating worms once they got bigger than 6" also pellets usually didn't go over so well

 

[tg1489]

Maybe try some feeders or cut tilapia.. all of my wolves stopped eating worms once they got bigger than 6" also pellets usually didn't go over so well

I tried pellets because their was videos online of wolf fish eating them but I will try the tilapia and see.

 

[tg1489]

I will say that u need to separate ur fish.

Your wolf will not get along a with a cichlid or a piranha. It's likely stressed from the othe fish and also has some new tank syndrome.

If your not able to house the fish then get a divider until ur able to.

The tank has mixed fish that shouldn't be housed together. The potential for fish loss is high be carful and get info on fish before putting them together.

The piranha is a grow out but believe it or not there hasn't been any chaos like you would think. All fish were pretty mellow before I put my wolf fish in and all were eating/getting along normally. Even my piranha would come to the front of the glass whenever he sees me which I read they usually hide from their owners.

I figured since I had plenty of hiding places I could make it work for some time but I'll try the divider and see where to go from there.

 

[Red Aimara]

Segregating the piranha away will be the best you can do at the moment. I am one of those who will try to mix different species of fishes together to see if it works but a big no when it comes to piranhas.

They will literally take chunks out of different parts of others - death or permanent damage is very very high unlike other fish fights.

 

[kno4te]

Your red wolf isn't like other wolves. They can be intimidated by other aggressive fish. That includes convicts and piranha. Red wolves are snacks for these larger fish. Needs to be separated.

If you put ur wolf in a tank (properly cycled) by itself.....I'm sure it'll eat.

 

[Madou]

What you describe is the attitude of my Aurantis whenever I did something wrong.
Fishes with attitude are awesome, easier to treat, but yeah, they can get annoying xD

If my Aurantis lay still even though I drop food on their head, I know I either:
1. Spooked them, and they're ready to dart away
2. Forgot to do something (change water, clean filter, whatever)
3. They just want to be left alone

Either way, I know wolves can have attitude too, probably not this extreme, but I expect it to be the tank mates disturbing their idea of a "safe home".

 

[reddead38]

I ac

What you describe is the attitude of my Aurantis whenever I did something wrong.
Fishes with attitude are awesome, easier to treat, but yeah, they can get annoying xD

If my Aurantis lay still even though I drop food on their head, I know I either:
1. Spooked them, and they're ready to dart away
2. Forgot to do something (change water, clean filter, whatever)
3. They just want to be left alone

Either way, I know wolves can have attitude too, probably not this extreme, but I expect it to be the tank mates disturbing their idea of a "safe home".

I actually Believe this to be exceptionally true for large wolves. If you annoy or upset them it could be a week or two until they get hungry enough to stop ignoring you and eat.

 

[Madou]

I ac

I actually Believe this to be exceptionally true for large wolves. If you annoy or upset them it could be a week or two until they get hungry enough to stop ignoring you and eat.

All the more reason for me to get my hand on one... I love fishes with attitude