Wolf fish Hoplias malabaricus size?? urgent

[kane1]

Hi all

No-one replied to my other thread asking if a UK 450 liter tank would be ok for two 13" wolf's ( malabaricus), the foot print is 5ft long, 18" wide at the ends and 24" wide in the middle, the tank is a bow front, it is 24" high. also need to now how big they will probably get?

The info is required urgently as i am planning on getting the fish this weekend.

Regrads

Kane1

 

[Oddball]

Welcome to MFK!!!

I'd say you're good to go. H. malabaricus can reach 20" but, is usually smaller. Keep over-sized filtration running since they're messy eaters. Frequent water changes are also a must since they don't tolerate nitrates well. Watch where your hands are during maintenance.

Oh, and POST PICS!!

 

[kane1]

Thank you so much oddball, your words of wisdom are much appreciated so its ahead i go then this weekend,

I am running an 1200 lph external filter, 1200 power head and another 700, is this enough? I have been thinking of getting rid of the Juwel filter and adding an externa. The 700 Powerhead is running the juwel filteration, be honest with you all i think the Juwel filtartion is rubbish as is the Lid.

Oh hands i think i will invest in a strong net and as soon as i get the wolves i wil post pics.

Thanks again

Regards

Kane1

 

[stotty]

I can tell you as oddball stated watch your fingers my one nailed the bloke who bought it of me he ended up in casualty with the most gnarled knuckle I have ever seen. One night he then decided to eat his tank mate I had two together and the big one decided to eat the smaller one. Out off all the fish I have owned this happens to be one of the most aggressive / lazy fish I have ever owned they spend a lot of the day doing nothing but put a hand in there and he will suddenly become very active. I also found my one to be nocturnal doing most of its damage at night. The only way I could keep it with tank mates was to feed it every day this is not cost effective and also not to good for the fish.

Hi from the uk

 

[Oddball]

I have quite a few nasty biters and impliment the use of extention grabbers, extended handled tools, and industrial "No-Cut" gloves (made of steel-ring mesh and kevlar).

Yourfiltration sounds OK as is. Just ensure those water changes are done with regularity. A nitrate spike as low as 10ppm can 'OFF' these fish easily. It's also best to have an already cycled tank for their introduction. Alot of new buyers lose wolffish to a cycle spike.

 

[kane1]

hey there uk massive tahnks for posting and again to you oddball

these fish sound more awsome want them even more and want them now just keep thinking of the prospect of having these fish in my tank cool! hey i hear these fish come up and whack the lid and try to get to get out damn your not even safe in the room out of the tank stotty do you have any pics of the injury the the blokes hand?

My tank is cycled i have a gold rhomb in there at the moment, its a beautiful fish and aggresive but only 8" just does not do the tank justice, will be a shame to lose it i used have another tank but had to get rid of it to make space in the diner

stotty wot were feeding ur fish and how was it? oh the ones im going to get are both about the same size?

kane1

 

[KRSwop1]

My only concern is that you are only putting two in the tank. Usually people go with either 1 or 3 or more of one species to break up aggression. You should be particularly cautious with wolves, since they can inflict a lot of damage. I'd put 3 in there if I were you. If one becomes the aggressor and bullies the other, it's curtains for the weaker of the two.

 

[rumblesushi]

I cycled my tank with a wolf, also moved it around a bit, and I found it to be an incredibly hardy fish. Didn't react at all to ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes.

 

[CAPOREGIME]

i think with the hop mali species of wolf, you will eventually have only one wolf. im pretty sure they wont tolerate eachother, esp at 13 inches or more.

 

[stotty]

hey there uk massive tahnks for posting and again to you oddball

these fish sound more awsome want them even more and want them now just keep thinking of the prospect of having these fish in my tank cool! hey i hear these fish come up and whack the lid and try to get to get out damn your not even safe in the room out of the tank stotty do you have any pics of the injury the the blokes hand?

My tank is cycled i have a gold rhomb in there at the moment, its a beautiful fish and aggresive but only 8" just does not do the tank justice, will be a shame to lose it i used have another tank but had to get rid of it to make space in the diner

stotty wot were feeding ur fish and how was it? oh the ones im going to get are both about the same size?

kane1

No I only saw the huge bandage on his hand. You tell these people to be careful but they just don’t listen like the bloke that had my red snakehead after it had wiped out £300 of fish he said perhaps I was right and it had an attitude problem.

My one was eating Mussels and white bait with the odd feeder (and tank mate) I put an Oscar in with it just for a night it was huge compared to the wolf all was fine even to the point of going to bed at 12.00 turned lights off next morning Oscar sitting in the corner lumps out off him looking extremely perplexed at what had just happened to him. 1 more night and I recon he would not have made it.

The wolf was a great fish but in the end it spent a lot of its time inactive.