Wolf Feeding

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

HERE is a video of my Hoplias feeding when I first got him, a couple of months later, and now (9''). It's all the same size shrimp. At first, he had trouble getting half a shrimp in his mouth .... now he wants two. They grow up so fast

Also, I noticed that he became more and more active the more he settled in. Prejudices about wolves most often originate from two factors:

• They are kept inappropriately (tank too small, no hiding spots, bad company)
• They are nocturnal, so don't expect too much action during the day. However, mine now started to come out in the later afternoons as well (see video). But it took him a few months.

Please check out the pictures at the end. There's a dark mark that appeared on top of his head. Does anyone have an idea what that might be?

BTW: The sounds you hear at 50 sec and 1:20 min is him hitting the feeding tongs with gusto ... maybe the spot is a bruise? He also hits the lid quite often.

Thanks for watching,
HarleyK

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[Miguel]

Harley, the vid in unavailable...

As to the malabaricus being out in the open, mine has always done that...allmost as outgoing as the Hoplerythrinus...

 

[Miguel]

Now I've seen the vid. Lovely Hoplias and also quite outgoing. No idea what tha mark might be, though...how long as he got that and has it had any developments? Could it be a pattern of his, unnoticed untill now?

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Nice vid. but i have no idea what that mark could be....

 

[focker]

how come u dont have any tankmates for him? when i did have a wolf i had him in a 125 with a red devil and arrowana for about 6 mos then i got rid of it. but it worked out well the arrow stayed at the top and the rd midwater and wolf at the bottom and noone botherd the other. i cant believe urs comes out during the day to eat. mine would let the food sit until tank lights went off and it was dark in the room before he would eat. just a little to dull and boring for me. im kinda into pbass pikes dorados fish that swim and strike as soon as the food hits the water.

 

[nativelover]

how come u dont have any tankmates for him? when i did have a wolf i had him in a 125 with a red devil and arrowana for about 6 mos then i got rid of it. but it worked out well the arrow stayed at the top and the rd midwater and wolf at the bottom and noone botherd the other. i cant believe urs comes out during the day to eat. mine would let the food sit until tank lights went off and it was dark in the room before he would eat. just a little to dull and boring for me. im kinda into pbass pikes dorados fish that swim and strike as soon as the food hits the water.

as you can clearly see, its a single fish maning it gets alot of attention. with all that attention it prolly became almost like a pet dog or cat (like oscars do). and it looked pretty hungry. if he feeds it like twice a week then its waitng for a meal and abviously has no reason to be scared to come out.

nice wolf fish! i love these guys...i think ill be getting one soon!

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

Thanks for the comments. The dark mark was definitely not there when I got him last November. The first time I noticed it must have been in January, after he banged into the lid the first time so that water splashed out. Maybe that's when he got it. Maybe that was the first time I noticed it because I inspected him very carefully for damage. It has been there for a couple of months now. It doesn't change in appearance, and he eats well. So it does not seem to be harmful. It's just very weird.

how come u dont have any tankmates for him? [...] im kinda into pbass pikes dorados fish that swim and strike as soon as the food hits the water.

The wolf is my helper when I move in a couple of months. I will only have to move one fish ... He will clear out the community tank for me ...
Wolves are certainly more hesitant than some other predators during daylight, that is true. But mine has definitely changed his feeding habits throughout the past few months, and maybe he will be even more outgoing somewhere down the road. Who knows. But he will never become as outgoing as bass, that's for sure.

and it looked pretty hungry. if he feeds it like twice a week then its waitng for a meal and abviously has no reason to be scared to come out.

Indeed, he enjoys special treatment I spoil him. He actually gets fed almost every night. I should starve him for a week and then shoot a video. But he starts to swim up and down waiting to be fed when I walk past the tank, so I feel bad letting him down just for show

Wolves certainly develop their very own personality and are quite aware of their owner if given extra attention. Somewhere down the road, however, I will add some tank mates for him. He's in a 75 right now, and my 220 will probably look too empty for me with just one fish. But that won't be until the end of this year, and I hope he is self-confident enough by then to retain his outgoing attitude even with other fish around.

Man, that's deep fish-psychology right here
HarleyK

 

[dovii88]

tasty