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The Family Erythrinidae - Aquarium Savages!

For those among the experienced aquarists (and I emphasise experienced here) that like big, brutal fish species, the Family Erythrinidae offers some oddballs that will amply fulfil any amount of bloodlust on the part of the aquarist. The common names given to members of this Family should be sufficient indication of their natures - Wolf Fishes, Tiger Fishes, Pirate Fishes and Destroyers!

The Family Erythrinidae is related to the Characins, but not identical - in much the same way that Betta imbellis is related to Betta splendens but is NOT the same species - two male imbellis will live peacefully together, whereas with splendens, two males will fight to the death! Once upon a time, the Erythrinidae was included in the Characidae, until a revision placed the assorted species in their own Family, within the Order Characiformes.

Erythrinids are generally large, some VERY large, and ALL are vicious predators. They simply can NOT be kept with other fishes in the aquarium, as they will attack and devour on sight almost anything that moves. WIth large specimens, this includes your hand! Exercise GREAT CARE when maintaining an aquarium containing these fishes, as several are not only large enough (and vicious enough) to amputate a hand, even the smaller ones (generally known as Trahiras, though this name also applies to some big ones) will not hesitate to bite if they feel threatened.

It has to be said, however, that many members of this Family don't disguise their mean intentions. Not only do several of them have truly evil grimacing faces, but also large and visible teeth, which in some cases are enlarged to almost sabre-tooth proportions. Make no mistake, these are the tools of butchery, and these fish are butchers par excellence!

Best known of these, from the days of the venerable Innes Book, is Hoplias malabaricus, which will easily exceed 12 inches if given the space. Innes himself commented, when describing this fish, that a good name for it would be "Surplus Destroyer", as it would be ideal as a 'culling fish' for large-scale breeders of show Guppies and the like. Runts and others destined for culling could be dropped in with Hoplias malabaricus, which would dispose of them with undisguised relish. However, to give an indication of the power that this fish possesses as a predator, an adult would be capable of wiping out fully-grown Convict Cichlids, and they are pretty robust fishes by any standards. Make no mistake, this is not known as the Wolf Fish for nothing ...

If, however, Hoplias malabaricus isn't macho enough for you, its near relative, Hoplias lacertae, should fit the bill. This species reaches 30 inches in length, and a picture of one appeared in the December 2003 edition of Practical Fishkeeping in its Interesting Imports section. Imagine a fish version of Tyrannosaurus rex and you get this species. It looks every bit as dangerous as it is, and then some. The mouth looks like a gin trap, not least because it is equipped with the kind of fangs that would make a Bengal Tiger feel inadequate. A large adult would easily be capable of amputating a hand, and would probably be capable of taking off your arm at the elbow if it felt like it. Rare, very difficult to obtain, and expensive (expect to pay 500 for a 16 inch specimen, because it has to be shipped in its own crate - anything else in the crate would end up as dinner), it has an appetite to match its sadistic-looking mouthparts, and on the basis of appearances, I reckon this is one fish that could pick fights with Spectacled Cayman and win ...

Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus is another oddball member of the family, which looks like an oversized annual Killifish such as Cynolebias. At 16 inches, it is one of the smaller members of the family, but again is vicious and predatory. Again, it doesn't hide its intentions, not with that snarling grimace on its face! Likely to remove fingers if the aquarist is careless, and will probably enjoy eating them after biting them off. Again, one for those who really know what they are doing, and who can give it the large quarters it needs, along with a regular supply of fairly large live fishes to keep its relentless appetite satisfied.

Then, for those who want something that looks truly scary, try the Genus Hyrdolycus. The Sabre Toothed Fishes. These again can reach 20 inches or so, depending upon species, and are again NOT to be messed with. Depending upon who you speak to, they are known as Sabretooths, Vampire Fishes, Pirate Fishes, you get the picture. The elongated fangs in the lower jaw may be more symbolic than utilitarian, but it has enough of the latter kind of teeth to secure a meal. These fishes eat Piranhas in the wild, which should give an indication of how vicious they are ...

Remember, these fishes evolved in one of the toughest and most competitive environments going, namely the Amazon River system. Here, they share their home with Piranhas, the Giant Otter (a fish eating mammal that looks like the cute European Otter, but grows to 8 feet long and is a superb underwater hunter), Spectacled Cayman (that reach 12 feet or more), and Anacondas (as a tangential diversion, Chester Zoo had an Anaconda in its reptile house when I was a teenager - it was 29 feet long ...), so it isn't surprising that these fishes have evolved to be brutal. They also share their home with the Arapaima (I'll let Shini post his photograph to show you how big they are - and they are left-overs from the Devonian Era), so they have to be big and brutal to rub shoulders with companions of this ilk. They also share their waters with those infamous Big Pims such as Red Tailed Catfishes and Tiger Shovelnoses (these reach nine feet), so if they're not going to end up as lunch themselves, they need to have something in hand to keep their own predators at bay. Remember the scene in the film Alien when one of the ship's crew says "It has a neat defence - you don't dare try to kill it"? Well, these fishes have taken that route. And, chances are that relatively few creatures would dare take on fishes armed (literally to the teeth) with limb-amputating fangs.

Oddball collectors looking for something of a challenge might like these. Well, not exactly like (as these fishes don't exactly cultivate friendships the way Corydoras might), but certainly harbour respect for. And if you decide to give one a home, you had better respect it too, unless you actually want to lose a hand ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Great article! I need some help though, i was thinking of the Erythrinus erythrinus but im only finding limited info. Fishbase reports they only grow to 20cm which seems pretty small in comparrison to the species you speak of here. Any info on this fish (red-wolffish) would be appreciated.

If you want info on Hoplias lacerdae, Lunker, ask Shini for the JPEG I sent to him. You'll find it makes interesting viewing ...

Oh, and this might prove helpful also Lunker ...

http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/trahira.html

[span class="edited"][Edited by Calilasseia 2004-07-07 08:33][/span]

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Im looking for info on Erythrinus erythrinus, not Hoplias lacerdae (although i just looked on google and it does seem very cool )I was thinking of Erythrinus erythrinus because it seems smaller than most wolfs and the coloration seems very nice too.

Check out that link Lunker, and scroll down ... it has Erythrinus erythrinus some way down the page ...

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

lol oops, somehow i missed that whole section when i looked it over

Cal some of your articles are truley beginning to amaze me. Those are some great fish. Eating a piranha?! Whoa, Looks like I have something new to say yep I've got the baddest fw fish on the planet. Keep these articles coming. They are very interesting to those of us who auctually read them.

RoboFish, wiat till you see the photo of Hoplias lacerdae I sent to Shini. This thing really does look like the T.rex of the fish world ... and a big one would probably take your arm off

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002