WOLF FISH VERY STRESSED AFTER MOVING TANKS

[Evano1]

I received a Mala wolf fish 2 days ago and he was perfectly fine: eating like a champ, swimming comfortably, and breathing fine. This morning I discovered a crack in the front right side of the tank he was in. Long story short I transfer EVERYTHING including substrate, plants, and rocks and placed them exactly how they were in the previous tank and siphoned all of the water into the new 40g and did a 15% water change. The water parameters are 0ammonia, 0nitrite, 20nitrate. Only other tankmates are my marble goby and a redtail cuda both slight larger than the Mala. Both other fish are eating but the wolf is clearly more stressed and has already jumped out of the tank once. Luckily I heard it and ran in to put him back in the tank. And currently as I’m trying to sleep I can hear him smacking the lid of the tank. Also hasn’t touched or shown interested in food which seems out of the norm considering his appetite and aggression the past 2 days. Also breathing heavily, not TOO rapidly but more labored breaths than from what I’ve observed since I’ve had him. I dripped the other two, but the Mala was just floated since I didn’t have a third siphon. Could the Ph have been different in the bag vs tank? The Ph in the tank is 7.0 and he was in the bag for almost 2 hours. Or could he just be stressed from the move/ new environment? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I don’t want to wake up to a dead wolf fish.

 

[Joshuakahan]

I received a Mala wolf fish 2 days ago and he was perfectly fine: eating like a champ, swimming comfortably, and breathing fine. This morning I discovered a crack in the front right side of the tank he was in. Long story short I transfer EVERYTHING including substrate, plants, and rocks and placed them exactly how they were in the previous tank and siphoned all of the water into the new 40g and did a 15% water change. The water parameters are 0ammonia, 0nitrite, 20nitrate. Only other tankmates are my marble goby and a redtail cuda both slight larger than the Mala. Both other fish are eating but the wolf is clearly more stressed and has already jumped out of the tank once. Luckily I heard it and ran in to put him back in the tank. And currently as I’m trying to sleep I can hear him smacking the lid of the tank. Also hasn’t touched or shown interested in food which seems out of the norm considering his appetite and aggression the past 2 days. Also breathing heavily, not TOO rapidly but more labored breaths than from what I’ve observed since I’ve had him. I dripped the other two, but the Mala was just floated since I didn’t have a third siphon. Could the Ph have been different in the bag vs tank? The Ph in the tank is 7.0 and he was in the bag for almost 2 hours. Or could he just be stressed from the move/ new environment? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I don’t want to wake up to a dead wolf fish.

Is there any splashing from the filter or wave maker? I saw an experiment that showed that water splashing causes wolf fish to jump. I eliminated splashing in my wolf tank and he immediately stopped jumping. Smacking the lid and jumping out will definitely cause stress.

 

[surfermike915]

I received a Mala wolf fish 2 days ago and he was perfectly fine: eating like a champ, swimming comfortably, and breathing fine. This morning I discovered a crack in the front right side of the tank he was in. Long story short I transfer EVERYTHING including substrate, plants, and rocks and placed them exactly how they were in the previous tank and siphoned all of the water into the new 40g and did a 15% water change. The water parameters are 0ammonia, 0nitrite, 20nitrate. Only other tankmates are my marble goby and a redtail cuda both slight larger than the Mala. Both other fish are eating but the wolf is clearly more stressed and has already jumped out of the tank once. Luckily I heard it and ran in to put him back in the tank. And currently as I’m trying to sleep I can hear him smacking the lid of the tank. Also hasn’t touched or shown interested in food which seems out of the norm considering his appetite and aggression the past 2 days. Also breathing heavily, not TOO rapidly but more labored breaths than from what I’ve observed since I’ve had him. I dripped the other two, but the Mala was just floated since I didn’t have a third siphon. Could the Ph have been different in the bag vs tank? The Ph in the tank is 7.0 and he was in the bag for almost 2 hours. Or could he just be stressed from the move/ new environment? Any help would be greatly appreciated, I don’t want to wake up to a dead wolf fish.

Sorry to hear this,
but it seems to be all to familiar to what happened to my 13 inch Aimara when i moved him. he was okay but when i released him from his he went straight to the bottom. about 2 hours later, he was belly up. I never figured this out, but in my experience wolves are some of the toughest fish out there. Maybe both situations are just one in a millions, or there is a common denominator. let me know what happens.

 

[jjohnwm]

I recently lost my Red Wolf to jumping, out of a tank that was thoroughly covered but apparently not weighted sufficiently to hold the lid down against his impacts. Like J Joshuakahan described, my wolf went on an insane jumping spree when moved into a new larger tank that had a strong bubbling inflow of water. He bashed himself up pretty badly, from numerous hits against the lid, one right after another. I re-organized the plumbing to eliminate the turbulence, but it didn't eliminate the jumping entirely. When he made his final jump, he must have done it when I left the room momentarily, so I wasn't aware that he was drying and dying on the floor when I returned and spent several hours sitting a few feet away.

That wolf also sulked and went off feed for days at a time whenever anything changed; lighting, decor, even tankmates visible in adjacent tanks. Just a very sensitive, very high-strung fish that overreacted to just about everything. Being tough only goes so far...

What was that quote from John Wayne? "Life's tough...it's even tougher if you're stupid..."

 

[Evano1]

Sorry to hear this,
but it seems to be all to familiar to what happened to my 13 inch Aimara when i moved him. he was okay but when i released him from his he went straight to the bottom. about 2 hours later, he was belly up. I never figured this out, but in my experience wolves are some of the toughest fish out there. Maybe both situations are just one in a millions, or there is a common denominator. let me know what happens.

Thank you for your input. And I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your wolf. My Mala went straight to the bottom but I woke up 2 mornings later and all the feeders were gone and the barracuda and Marble Goby were both well fed the night before so I doubt it was them eating the minnows. And sure enough the Mala is eating back to his normal standard and active again.

 

[tlindsey]

Thank you for your input. And I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your wolf. My Mala went straight to the bottom but I woke up 2 mornings later and all the feeders were gone and the barracuda and Marble Goby were both well fed the night before so I doubt it was them eating the minnows. And sure enough the Mala is eating back to his normal standard and active again.

Great update

 

[surfermike915]

Thank you for your input. And I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your wolf. My Mala went straight to the bottom but I woke up 2 mornings later and all the feeders were gone and the barracuda and Marble Goby were both well fed the night before so I doubt it was them eating the minnows. And sure enough the Mala is eating back to his normal standard and active again.

This is awesome and great news! Thanks man for ur condolences. Those are some of my favorite fish.

 

[HarleyK]

Wolves are known to be sensitive to moving. One of mine once refused food for 6(!!!) months. Sunken belly and everything. I kept offering food from time to time, and suddenly he started eating again.
They’re little snowflakes at times…