# Anyone know where I can buy this fish



## mattfromcraig (Jan 26, 2010)

I would like to buy a wolf fish and was wondering where I could buy one.


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

I'm wondering where you would keep him?


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

Ya realize they grow to almost a meter long ? 28 inches in an aquarium. For that reason you will have a hard time finding them. Best bet is online trading sites. Most people who acquire them realize they need to get rid of them soon enough.

Also its a solo fish, can't put it with anything due to its large size and extremely aggressive behavior.


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## Adrian101 (Jan 24, 2011)

Never mind the length, a wolf fish can weigh up to 40kg. Around 88 pounds. That's gonna need to be bullet proof glass as these guys will ram it. Unless you have a pond i say leave it to aquariums.


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

The common Wolf Fish, _Hoplias malabaricus_, maxes out at 18-20 inches. It is very widespread, having the largest range of any Trahira. The giant Wolf Fish is _H. macrophthalmus_, which is found in the Guianas and, to my knowledge, has never been imported for the aquarium hobby. This is the monster fish that people like to pursue on fishing shows. There is also a relatively small species found on the Pacific slope that maxes out under a foot, but also has not been imported that I know of. There are two species in other genera that are also possible to keep in aquaria. I've seen _Erythrinus erythrinus_, sometimes called the Rainbow Wolf, as it is somewhat colorful. Also maxes out under a foot.

They are around, but they are boring as heck. Mostly they sit and wait for prey. Ambush attacks are fast and efficient. They are known to jump, just ask former ACA Chairman Phil Benes about it sometime. A brick on the cover may stop an Oscar, but it doesn't stop these guys. They have a very hard head, but they will not break the thick glass of any aquarium that is large enough to hold them.

As for obtaining one, you will have to check with some of the specialty importers, standard commercial sources almost never carry them anymore.


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## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

Thats one UGLY fish!


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## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

Sub-Mariner said:


> Thats one UGLY fish!


+1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

Saw one for sale around xmas time, think it was in a 55g in an LFS had to be over a foot long, big black thing, and the price... $400


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## JSI (Feb 27, 2007)

LOL I think someone saw the River Monsters episode recently.


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## skurj (Oct 30, 2011)

JSI said:


> LOL I think someone saw the River Monsters episode recently.


Well... during the superbowl there was a River monsters marathon on discovery channel! I went with the fish instead of the football..


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## Nodalizer (Nov 7, 2011)

> The common Wolf Fish, Hoplias malabaricus, maxes out at 18-20 inches.


Thats in the wild. They get much bigger in an aquarium.


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Nodalizer said:


> > The common Wolf Fish, Hoplias malabaricus, maxes out at 18-20 inches.
> 
> 
> Thats in the wild. They get much bigger in an aquarium.


please use yourcommon sense

if they max out at 20 inches in the wild where the have ALL THE ROOM THEY WANT, how would they get even bigger in a cramp space of a tank? :roll:


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## brinkles (Jan 30, 2011)

Wild fish don't get a steady supply of goldfish thrown in front of their noses.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

brinkles said:


> Wild fish don't get a steady supply of goldfish thrown in front of their noses.


I agree with Brinkles 
It's very common for captive reared animals outgrowing their wild relatives if well fed and stress free


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## jd lover (Mar 11, 2011)

Number6 said:


> brinkles said:
> 
> 
> > Wild fish don't get a steady supply of goldfish thrown in front of their noses.
> ...


thats assuming if you can meet their needs. tell me who can supply cleaner water than mother nature i have yet herd of a wild caught fish getting bigger than one left in the wild. infact i believe most of the max size are of those in the wild and not of tank raised


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

It is not at all uncommon these days for fish to exceed their limits from the wild. They get much better diets, and they actually get cleaner water in aquaria than they get in the wild. They often live longer due to less danger and more balanced diets. _Tilapia snyderae _rarely gets 2.5 inches in the wild, but regularly exceeds 4 inches in aquaria. However, the Wolf Fish is not one of these fish, as feeder fish are good for making them fat, not long. They need a much more balanced diet, and there are few who keep them who would even know this.

Did a little further research, there are currently 8-9 valid species of _Hoplias _(most used to be considered synonyms), three of which can exceed two feet in length - _malabaricus _is not among them, though it is the 4th largest at 55cm. Two, both from the Guyana Shield, reach 1 meter in length, but the greatest recorded weight is 40 kg for _Hoplias aimara_.

I have seen a lot of _H. malabaricus _in the last 40 years, none reached 20 inches in the aquarium. Show me a two foot _H. malabaricus _with a tape measure on it, then I might believe you. Or, I might point out that the fish isn't _H. malabaricus_, but another species.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

Number6 said:


> It's very common for captive reared animals outgrowing their wild relatives if well fed and stress free


If your comparing to a common, 'typical', or average size of fish in the wild .......then the statement is very true of some species, if not many or most. But if your comparing to maximum sizes in the wild......very unlikely for the majority of fishes! It really depends on what your comparing it to, as a 'typical' size can be tiny compared to a maximum size.

The size of a fish caught in the wild is really dependant on where, when and how it is obtained. If a fish is a 'sport' fish or commercial food fish a much larger maximum size will be known for the species, in comparison to a small fish that is collected solely for the ornamental fish hobby.

Of course there is nothing average about the largest specimens caught on rod and reel or commercial nets. Take for example, the jaguar cichlid (Parachromis managuense)......unlike most cichlids, it is at least somewhat sought after as a 'sport fish'. World record is 28", 15 lbs. Very unlikely anyone will ever grow one that large in captivity......though most large adult jags in captivity are probably much larger then your 'typical' average specimen in the wild, what ever that might be.


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

*Chromedome52*
I could believe you on the wolf fish... Many a predatory fish lives a shorted life in captivity due to poor care. I have never even seen a 20" H. malabaricus.

Of course, that also might simply be a self fulfilling prophecy. There are many aquarists capable of providing for the needs of dwarf tilapia so they outgrow their wild counterparts... There are likely zero who provide the equivalent home for a wolf fish. 8)


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

Number6 said:


> There are many aquarists capable of providing for the needs of dwarf tilapia so they outgrow their wild counterparts... There are likely zero who provide the equivalent home for a wolf fish. 8)


Or because the fishes are being compared to two entirely different things. Dwarf tilapia ......compared to very small numbers caught with little hand nets close to shore. Wolf fish.......compared to a few very exceptional specimens, obtained from amongst very large numbers caught on hook and line and large nets.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

Chromedome52 said:


> Tilapia snyderae


Tilapia snyderae is an endangered species.....I supose there wouldn't be too many large ones left, eh? :lol: 
I know just about any small fish can be used as a food fish in many parts of the third world. A subsistence fisherman catches a big one.......who would ever know except themselves and other locales? But a 'sport' fisherman catches a trophy or a large commercial outfit get's one excetionally large one amongst thousands of much smaller ones, and it is well documented!

Huge fish have been caught by Dene, Cree and Metis fisherman all over northern Saskatchewan since the days of the fur trade, and before. Never been documented. Even today, there are no records kept. None! But when a sport fisherman catches a 42 lb. northern pike on rod reel and a larger commercial outfit catches a 102 lb. lake trout with a trawling net, it is documented, becomes the provicial record, and is well known.

Common knwowledge around here, to anyone that goes fishing with rod and reel, that a 'typical' size for northern pike is around 2 lbs. and around 5 lbs. for lake trout.......a far cry from the monsters that are the known provincial record!

When comparing suposed max. sizes of a fish in the wild, you have to consider the when, why, how, and even the by who, the fish is being obtained. MAJOR difference between the known max. size of a 'sport' fish or large scale commercial food fish.....and the suposed max. size of fish that is really only known to us as a small ornamental fish in the aquarium hobby!


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## limpert (Aug 28, 2007)

http://www.aquascapeonline.com/


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## chadott (Mar 4, 2012)

Is it possible you are talking about the Wolf Cichlid? P. dovii?

I've seen them from time to time offered in lfs when they get too big for people.

Good luck!


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

jd lover said:


> please use yourcommon sense
> 
> if they max out at 20 inches in the wild where the have ALL THE ROOM THEY WANT, how would they get even bigger in a cramp space of a tank? :roll:


I decided to respond to this post, because it implies that the growth of a fish is limited by the space it has available, as in the old myth: 'a fish will grow to the size of the tank'. That is simply wrong, and needs to be refuted where ever it appears. It has already led countless people to make bad stocking choices. A fish kept in too small of a tank will simply die due to stress.

Fish slow down considerable in growth when they reach adulthood, and at that stage they have reached their supposed 'maximum size' that is documented in many books and web sites, including the Profiles Section here on CF. The size would better be called 'adult size', but I don't think anybody uses that term. When it is reached, and what it is, depends largely on the species. Please also note that many fish reach maturity, and can breed, well below that size.

However, unlike mammals, fish never entirely stop growing as long as they live. The size of an adult fish depends largely on its age. If you can keep a fish alive in captivity for longer than it would live in the wild, the captive fish will be bigger. Maybe nobody takes the trouble to do this for large game fish, but for many fish common to the aquarium hobby, this is really not difficult to do. When a fish is old and slows down, in nature it will quickly become the meal of a predator. If kept by itself in a spacious tank with excellent water quality and fed only the choicest foods, that fish could live for many more years and continue to grow.

I have heard that this subject comes up frequently during judging sessions of large fish shows, such as the ACA Convention or the OCA Extravaganza. Two basic criteria for judging are that a bigger fish is judged higher than a smaller one, and that the wild type is the standard against which to judge. When these criteria clash, because no fish of the size of the show specimen has been observed in nature, judges opinions differ on which criterion to give preference.


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