![]() While these slower-moving, curious fish are always an exciting sight for divers, it is important to respect the animal’s space.Ĭheck out below to see the amazing transition in colouring between juvenile and adult wolf eels in this Hakai Wild video. They are also often accidentally caught by fishers. Wolf eels are not at risk in British Columbia, but they still face threats like pollution, which can negatively affect the health of their environment (like kelp forests) and decrease prey populations. Other wolf eels and octopuses are often looking for crevices and holes to have their dens, so there can be fierce competition and battles for the best spots ( video). When wolf eels reach sexual maturity and find a mate, the two must find their perfect den to spend the rest of their life. Photo: Jackie HilderingĪn unusual behaviour of these ancient-looking fish is that they mate for life! Monogamy isn’t common practice in the ocean, with plenty of fish in the sea and all, but wolf eels make it work. Above is the upper jaw of a wolf eel with bony, tooth-like projections. This diverse diet helps sustain the wolf eel’s enormous (wolf-like) appetite. Wolf eels have teeth on the roof of their mouths to be able to crunch even the toughest of shells. This is true, but along with fish, wolf eels use their large teeth and massive jaws to prey on hard-shelled invertebrates like mussels, crabs and even spiny sea urchins. During most of the day, the wolffish waits patiently in cracks or caves to catch its prey by surprise when it. The Atlantic wolf fish lives between 1,000 and 2,000 feet deep in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The large teeth and jaws of the wolf eel may have you thinking they would be successful fish predators. The wolffish moves very slowly through the water by moving its whole body back and forth like an eel. A wolf eel swims into a hole in the rocks using its long body. The body shape and movement of a wolf eel is similar to another eel-like fish we discussed a few weeks ago, gunnels. ![]() ![]() This body shape lets them slide into dark crevices and move stealthily along the seafloor. Wolf eels still have pectoral fins like most fishes, but the rest of their elongate body looks very eel-like. And yes, I said fish! Even though their common name suggests that they are an eel, wolf eels ( Anarrhichthys ocellatus) are part of the wolffish family and not true eels. While their bulbous heads and large, toothy mouths can look frightening, these fish are generally slow-moving and sedentary. Well, maybe not to their prey, but with divers, they tend to shy away in their caves and peek out. Hidden in the darkness of the deep, wolf eels are not as dangerous as they look according to The Marine Detective. Sea Discovery: Wolf eels, the not so terrifying “wolf-ish” fish Meeting Minutes Minutes and other updates from the Board of Directors for members.They will not harm corals in a reef environment, but are more suitable to FOWLR systems due to the fact that half of the cleaning crew may be added to the dinner menu. Tank mates should be considered carefully and can generally be other large predatory species (i.e., Groupers, large Angels, Puffers, Boxfish, Scorpion fish, Lionfish, Butterflyfish, etc.). This species should not be kept with shrimp, small lobsters, crabs, or any fish that can fit in its large mouth as they will quickly become snacks (large hermit crabs and snails should be fine). In addition to quality biological and mechanical filtration, an efficient protein skimmer is also recommended as Wolf Eels can be quite gluttonous when feeding and will have a large biological load on the system. They are not generally known to be jumpers, but should be kept in an aquarium with a hood or tight-fitting lid to help prevent their escape. Wolf Eels require an aquarium of at least 90 gallons along with plenty of live rock for hiding and hunting (they love caves and crevices) they should also be provided with a fine, sandy substrate as they often rest on the bottom of the aquarium, laying in wait for prey to crawl or swim by.
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