Wolf Fish - Question!

[zoso3]

Hi All

I'm new to the forum and I was hoping that someone might know something about Wolf Fish or Hoplias Malabaricus.

My avatar is him, my baby, Wolfie. That picture was taken in 2001. I've had him for about 10-11 years and he has grown an estimated 12".

The problem is that he is normally a bottom dweller but for the past 10-12 mths he's been hanging out on the top with the top fin portion of his body out of the water.

He also has developed a crook. So he is not straight he's crooked from the back of his top fin down the back of him. (He got stuck on the filter). The bruise healed quickly. Then all of a sudden he started to get crooked.

I don't know if he's being stunted or maybe he broke his back from being stuck. The crookedness does seem to be getting worse.

He eats fine but I'm confused as to why he's always on the top.

I was thinking that either he's dying or maybe being crooked he can't stay on the bottom.

Anyone familiar with a Wolf Fish and have any ideas?

Thanks
Holly

 

[lucky62]

10 or 11 years , That's great , a long life so far , I have no idea how long your fish should live .

He may just be showing signs of old age though .

 

[zoso3]

Yeah he's my baby. I have no idea either and since they are hard to keep in captivity I can never find info as to the expected living years. I can only ever find the scientific info on them, which is great but doesn't answer a lot of questions.

He just doesn't seem to be able to keep to the bottom, he tries to swim down then floats right back up to the top. It's almost like he has an air pocket that impedes him from staying on the bottom.

I feel so bad for him and don't know what to do. I hope that it is just old age and not a broken back or something, lol I just hope he's not in pain.

 

[zoso3]

He'll dive down then float backwards up, his tail pulls him back up to the surface.

Broken back?

 

[lucky62]

Sorry I couldn't help more , CFC , the moderator for this forum is very knowledgeable , you may have to wait until tomorrow for an answer though.

 

[zoso3]

ok thanks for your help!

 

[Fishy411]

Do wolf fish get swim Bladder disease? That Might be it.

 

[zoso3]

eh? ...whats swim bladder disease?

 

[zoso3]

Here are some pictures taken today of my poor crooked fish. You can see the way he sits at the top of the tank and a view from the top of the tank and how his tail looks like its flapped over.

http/spaces.msn.com/members/hollysphotos...1&_c=photoalbum

 

[Vip]

poor thing, it does look like its broken its back.

 

[Fishy411]

Not swim Bladder. I think it has a certain disease that i cannot remember the name of. I will try to get back to you but i dont think there are any cures apart from Clean Water and Frequent Water Changes.

 

[CFC]

The bent spine and hanging at the surface is classic behaviour of a elderly fish, i'm afraid that at ten years old your fish has probably just reached the end of its lifetime. Ten years is a good age for a Characin, you have done well to keep it so long, if it is still eating then i would let it just carry on till it dies but if it stops eating and shows signs of pain or distress the best thing you can do is euthanise it to end the suffering

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Yeah he's my baby. I have no idea either and since they are hard to keep in captivity I can never find info as to the expected living years. I can only ever find the scientific info on them, which is great but doesn't answer a lot of questions.

He just doesn't seem to be able to keep to the bottom, he tries to swim down then floats right back up to the top. It's almost like he has an air pocket that impedes him from staying on the bottom.

I feel so bad for him and don't know what to do. I hope that it is just old age and not a broken back or something, lol I just hope he's not in pain.

Oh yes, 10 is a ripe ol' age for a wolf fish. Very sorry about this, we can still hope that he'll pull thru. I do have to make one correction, these fish are very hardy, and aren't particularly difficult to keep, just to avoid any future confusion. Anyway, you have done very well to get him to this age, and even now he is a very colorful and beautiful fish.
Dan

 

[zoso3]

Thank you to everyone for your advice and kind words!

Hopefully he will continue to live out the rest of his days eating and not in pain!

I'll keep you posted as to what happens!

Thanks again - big hugs!