Pickerel tank mate?

Unfortunately this is probably one of those "species only tank" fish.

A gar would eventually grow large enough to eat the pickerel.

Some sunnies might do OK with a pickerel, but I have heard of aggression and fin nipping of the sunnies on the pickerel (though I haven't experienced that myself).

I haven't tried it, but I was thinking of stonecats since they stay on the bottom and don't get too big they would eat the pickerel or stay so small they would be seen as food for the pickerel. They stay out of sight during the day unless its feeding time though.

Edit: I think a 180 would be way too much tank for that little pickerel. I kept a number of grass pickerel in a 125 once and it made for a pretty big but boring tank. I think a 180 native community tank would be cool, but if you're keeping just pickerel (species only as suggested above) that wouldn't be the best use of a big tank IMO.

Handsome looking pickerel BTW!!

Stonecat is a good choice for pickerel. Unfortunately, the pickerels didn't do well in community tank so they are better off as a species only tank.

Sunnies are one of the main food items for Pickerel - and before long, the pickerel will make short work of them.
You might try some other less-aggressive natives - such as cats.

my pickerel is in with two florida gars growing out for my 300 and a pumpkinseed sunfish. not one single problem. My pumpkinseed is an aggressive feeder but not a fin nipper or chaser.

Prawn theres no way a redfin would be able to eat a sunfish haha...far to small. Maybe YOY or fry...but my pumpkinseed I have in with him is easily double my pickerel's thickness. I wouldn't even think twice about the pickerel causing problems lol.

OP pickerel are awesome little fish . They don't do alot once they are done feeding but I still love esox species all the same. You would be fine getting 1 or 2 more redfins as long as the new ones aren't small enough to be eaten. a 10" redfin is a good size fish! Mines pushing about 7" right now.

I have been enjoying great cohabitation interaction between my smallest redfin pickerel (~6") and my Anguilla rostrata (~18").

They seem to work together herding minnows into the kill zone for one another.

It is neat seeing the eel submerge itself in the gravel except for its head and see the Pickerel spook the minnows over to the eel and get slammed.

The eel actually was one of 12 baits. It escaped early morning this summer before a fishing trip and wiggled under the tank. I didn't have time to mess with it. I broke out a flashlight the next day to discard the dried up eel, but it was actually still alive.

It has been thriving in zero salt with the Pickerel since!

Research has proved that sunfish is #1 favorite prey for these redfin and grass pickerels. 95% of pickerel diet is made up of sunfish while 5% made up of invertebrates/other fish species in several lakes. I've had larger sunfish out competed pickerels when it comes to feeding them and various sunfish species are highly aggressive than that passive pumpkinseed.

The trick to keeping sunfish with grass or redfin pickerel is to keep many fish together.One or two sunfish won't work well.You have to have several tank mates. They all don't have to be sunfish. They can be anything that won't fit in the pickerels mouth and vice versa. Also another important factor is you have to keep everything very well fed. And you have to feed enough to allow the pickerel to compete.
I have personally kept green sunfish,pumkinseeds,warmouth,rock bass,longear sunfish,redear sunfish,bullheads,crappie,carp,and large chubs with both redfin and grass pickerel several times. The only time I had any issues was with a large green sunfish that harassed the pickerel for about 3 days. At which point the pickerel must of had enough. When the green sunfish grab it's tail the pickerel turn and nailed it on the head(actually grab ahold of it). The green sunfish had a mouth size wound on it,but it never bothered the two pickerel again. And they were housed together for 3 years.

It's not impossible,but it requires the right conditions and a lot of food.Also make sure the sunfish are a least half the length of the pickerel and any chubs or suckers be about the same length or larger than the pickerel.

^ that doesn't sounds good or health for the pickerel to have too many competitors in same aquarium. Especially that you have to feed too many foods.