# Finally the wolf appears



## Drift_King (Jan 18, 2005)

hey guys just wanted to share my excitement at finally finding some baby wolf chiclids after searching for the past 3months, at present time there to small for the shop to sell but in about a month ill be getting 2.........(dont worry i have done my reaserch about the :king: of all chiclids)

just wanted to know has anyone else owned and/or had experience with them....any insite from others will be greatlly apreciated.


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## Lisachromis (Jan 19, 2005)

What size tank are you putting them into?


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## Drift_King (Jan 18, 2005)

The first tank they will be in is a 4ft not quite sure of the other dimensions but its quite wide and deep....
does anyone know if you can tell if thier male or female at a younf age.....


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## Larry-T (Jan 18, 2005)

One shop I deal with has about a dozen or so nearly 2" long that they're sellling.


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## Drift_King (Jan 18, 2005)

Really wer bouts is dat....Sydney.
how much...


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Four foot, :roll: , and you say youv'e done your research. :lol: 
Hi ya Drift_King, Iv'e always wanted a wolf cichlid, I've also got a 4 foot tank but it's 120g.
I was thinking of getting a wolf but they're so expensive, I wanted just one in my tank on his own because I know how big they can get, but still I think 4's pushing the limit.
I've got a few various cichlids and things floating around in there now, but if you really like the look of wolves but haven't got the space like me, why don't you go and get yourself a jaguar. I mean they look nearly the same but a smidge smaller, why not one of those?
(Just a suggestion)


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## Drift_King (Jan 18, 2005)

the four foot is onli a temp while there babys, wen i buy them theyll only be about an inch long....
from there ill move them into a six....but about the jaguar i want 1 of those to (in a seperate tank to the wolves).


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## FISHFACE (Mar 2, 2005)

The Jag looks nothing like the wolf as they get larger. You have to have owned both to really see the difference.
Sounds to me like you've done your homework.
I kept a female wolf, RD(labiatus) and a leporinus in a 65 gallon almost a year. They coexisted fine during that period. The RD grew faster and wanted to mate with her. She wasn't having it. :wink: 
Usually the size will be the indicator very young. Then the color in the gill plates is your next indicator.
The female I mentioned above I thought was a male in the beginning, because she out grew the other two so quickly. That's how she ended up with the Male labiatus(RD).
In my experience males are hard to come by.
Good Luck and keep us posted!


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## acenupe (Feb 22, 2005)

Congrats on doing the homework. This is just a bit of a tease so don't get upset. Wolf cichlids are from Central America not South America.


:lol: :lol: 

I couldn't help it. Good luck with it. Great pickup.


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## Lisachromis (Jan 19, 2005)

CichlidMan, Drift_King is from Australia and they tend to have mostly standard sized tanks there. That's why he refers to his tank as a 4 foot tank. Unless it's a custom tank, his tank should be 48 x 18 x 18 which is a 67USG (or approx 54 Imp gallons) tank. Just explaining the manner in which he's referring to his tank size.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

never the less, four foot is still to small for a wolf cichlid no matter where you live.


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## Lisachromis (Jan 19, 2005)

It is if they are adult size. Growing them up can take place in a 4 foot tank.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Yes, but if you are going to keep them for their lifetime then you may as well put them in the tank which is suitable for housing them in when they reach adult size.


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## Jason_S (Feb 18, 2005)

Cichlid Man @ Sat Apr 30 said:


> Yes, but if you are going to keep them for their lifetime then you may as well put them in the tank which is suitable for housing them in when they reach adult size.



it is much more stressful to put a juvenile fish into a very large tank by itself than it is to move a growing fish into larger quarters. for instance, a couple months ago I bought a few very small N. grammodes. I put them in a 75 gallon all by themselves because the plan was to keep a pair in there. well, there were only 4 grammodes at no more than an inch long by themselves in the tank and they hid 24/7 and would barely come out to eat. 1 died and I firmly believe it died largely in part to being stressed from being in a tank that was too large and too empty. shortly after the 1 died, I put in some juvenile firemouths and some rosy barbs as dithers and the remaining 3 grammodes came out of hiding and were very active. they started eating like pigs and proudly swam all over the tank instead of spending all their time hiding as they had previously done.

I've also heard lectures at fish club meetings from guys who have been keeping and breeding cichlids for decades that have adamently said that it is important not to put juvenile fish in too big of a tank too soon.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Jason_S @ Sun May 01 said:


> Cichlid Man @ Sat Apr 30 said:
> 
> 
> > Yes, but if you are going to keep them for their lifetime then you may as well put them in the tank which is suitable for housing them in when they reach adult size.
> ...


Well if the bigger the tank the more stressful it is for juvenille cichlids, then how do you think cichlids cope in the wild. :lol: :lol: :lol: Thats the funniest story I ever heard.RLMAO!


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## Lisachromis (Jan 19, 2005)

Actually, it's easier for young fish to be in a smaller tank. If you place a few small fish in a large tank, it can be hard for them to find their food. When you concentrate the babies together, they have easier access to their food, and as such do better.


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## Jason_S (Feb 18, 2005)

ditto what Lisa said...also, in the wild when cichlids are born they are cared for and kept in a big school together by the parents. They are protected until they are ready and capable of fending for themselves. They are not plucked from the care of their parents and dropped into a huge, unfamiliar body of water alone or with only a few siblings. If you put 1 or only a couple of baby dovii into a several hundred gallon tank, they don't know if there are predators around that may eat them so they will remain in hiding. This causes stress because they're in a constant state of panic and fear...not knowing if any little bump or movement in the water may be a big predator lurking about to make a tasty snack out of them.  

Also in the wild, cichlids aren't the only thing in the water...close to every cichlid you'll also find some small schooling fish, catfish etc. Small schooling fish are a very easy way to make juvenile cichlids feel safe in a new environment. Having small fish swimming out and about in openwater lets the baby cichlids know there aren't any predators around, cause if there were these openwater swimmers would know and would be hiding. 



> Thats the funniest story I ever heard.RLMAO!


I can't say I understand why. :shock:


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Number one there ain't no predators in a fish tank, number two most of my cichlids have been bred in large fish tanks, and number three their growth rate is dramatically improved when I raise most of my cichlids a larger tank aposed to a smaller one, and number four, in terms of small cichlids finding it difficult to find food in a large tank, thats why I feed floating foods.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

The point is being missed here  The reason Jason's fish started comming out was the dither fish. That's a common cichlid keeping tactic. Platys swimming around make cichlids feel comfortable. Doesn't matter how big the tank is. Try a couple of dozen platys in a 100 with 3-4 young cichlids. The cichlids will be right there with the platys at feeding time.


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## Jason_S (Feb 18, 2005)

Cichlid Man @ Tue May 03 said:


> Number one there ain't no predators in a fish tank, number two most of my cichlids have been bred in large fish tanks, and number three their growth rate is dramatically improved when I raise most of my cichlids a larger tank aposed to a smaller one, and number four, in terms of small cichlids finding it difficult to find food in a large tank, thats why I feed floating foods.


#1. sure there are no predators in a fish tank, but baby cichlids don't know that. all they know is there is a big open space with nothing else swimming around which indicates to them that there is danger around...otherwise there would be small schooling-type fish swimming about it open water

#2. of course, the bigger the tank, the easier it is to breed them

#3. you can easily experience the same growth rate by responsibly moving the fish up to larger tanks as it grows. what I've been talking about though is juvenile cichlids...2" or less. to reduce stress, such small cichlids should not be kept alone in very large tanks

#4. a 2" fish will have much more trouble finding floating foods in a 200 gallon tank than it would in say a 55 gallon



anyway, the point is the original poster obviously *has* done his research because he said this 4' tank was the Wolf's *first* tank...indicating that it won't be the Wolf's last tank. That tells me this guy has every intention of upgrading as is needed for his fish which is great. Good luck with your new dovii.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Well done for proving your point, but I personally try to keep the cichlids environement as natural as possible, that also includes keeping dithers with them. Anyway, Drift King's wolf cichlid isn't new anymore, this topic is really old. :lol:


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## NooB1 (Feb 11, 2010)

Great info to be had here.


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