Water changes with killer fish?

[rumblesushi]

I've just got back into fish age 23, having been a huge predatory fish fan when I was a kid.

I used to own pirhanas, a big red snakehead, electric catfish, a gar, african lungfish etc.

Now when I was young (9-13) and did tank maintenance and water changes, I didn't have to worry about the pirhanas and catfish etc. They were pussies, I used to touch them and they did nothing. Same with the gar.

The lungfish I was weary of, and I would go nowhere near the snakehead. That was plain mean. Would attack anything you put in the tank, including fish the same size.

Now I'm just setting up a tank after all these years, and I've decided the fish for me is a wolf fish

I hear it's the one fish that's more aggressive than a snakehead

I know they are very fast, powerful, and can jump.

So when doing water changes - how would I prevent getting chomped by a fish like this or it jumping out of the tank?

Do you guys quarantine your killer fish when doing maintenance or just be incredibly careful?

Cheers,
JR

 

[nick]

no need to do so

most are extremely shy and motionless


stick with snakehead or a large arrowana

 

[rumblesushi]

wolf fish shy? Seriously?

I knew it was a non-active lurker, but I heard they were so aggressive they would bite you or a net or anything you put in there.

Actually I was considering an arowana or a snakehead. But I've already owned a snakehead, and I've had my heart set on a wolf since I was kid, so I think that's what I'm going for

 

[iheartfishies]

No way.
They jump like crazy when you take them out of the tank, when they're scared!
Durring water changes he didn't do a damn thing but sit there...motionless.
That's what he did most the time actually.
Pretty borring.

 

[rumblesushi]

really heart? You owned a wolf fish?

It never tried to attack you?

 

[piranha45]

There's this thing, ever-so-prevalent in the fish hobby, called HYPE. And whoever told you the wolf fish stories was absolutely loaded with it. If you buy a wolf fish with your current mindset, you're going to disappoint yourself terribly.

If you want a mean hand-biting fish, look into cichlids like red devils/trimacs/midas.

 

[rumblesushi]

thanks for the info, and no I don't actually want a fish that's going to bite my hand, I just want a wolf fish

I'm not much of a fan of cichlids, I don't find bashing heads against tanks particularly charming.

From what people told me the impression I got was no way stick your hand in the tank

I guess the reason I believed that is because with my snakehead, you really had to be very careful about putting your hand in when he got big. If I even attempted to put my hand in he'd rush straight to the top and go for me. And yes he was well fed

 

[piranha45]

you had a snakehead with a pretty unique personality; most people have no problems doing water changes with theirs.

most wolf fish species behave like dead logs too much to induce me to try keeping them. There's a couple smaller 8-12" species that are fairly active though, if you can get ahold of them.

 

[rumblesushi]

Yes I heard that the red wolf fish is fairly active, as is the rainbow wolf fish. But apparently they are not as aggressive as the malabaricus, so it's the malabaricus for me

I also prefer the look of the mal.

 

[shookONES]

I've been bitten by a wolffish while cleaning the inside glass. HYPE? These guys are flat out monsters during feeding time. Granted, they spend most of their time motionless on the tank bottom, but they are very agile and ferocious eaters.