New to pikes... ideas for a pike in my 210g SA community?

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ryansmith83

ryansmith83

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Sean mentioned pikes in the SA Media Lounge when I was showing off my tank, and now I'm intrigued. Pikes are one of the cichlids I've never considered or tried. I know very little about them.

My tank is a 210g and it's already pretty full. It's mostly a severum community. The inhabitants:

1 super red severum
1 gold severum
1 turquoise severum
1 "rotkeil" severum (this was a wildcaught fish from Rapps that he calls a Rio Tapajos, supposedly different than rotkeils)
1 Atabapo severum
6 notatus severums
1 chocolate cichlid (Hypselecara temporalis)
1 parrot cichlid (Hoplarchus psittacus)

Eventually I will be moving the female notatus to another tank, which will probably leave me with three or four less fish.

The tank is really simple... pool filter sand with branchy driftwood. The temp is in the 82F range. My pH is probably a bit high, 7.4 - 7.6, and I have no idea what the hardness is. Whatever it is, the notatus still spawn like crazy so I assume it makes the sevs happy. Here's a video:

[YT]<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AVY_xkjwJNU&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AVY_xkjwJNU&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>[/YT]

Sean suggested maybe a Saxatilis-type pike. I guess my questions are: What type of pike, if any, could I keep in this set up? I don't want something that may eat my severums. Obviously the black water varieties would probably be out because I do not have soft, acidic water. I'm looking for something fairly attractive that would stand out, but not grow too huge. Any ideas?
 
what do you have available to you now :D i loved my sveni, she got along well with my severums and psittacus, not so much with my datnoid. she did kill my female punctata within 4hours :( my bellycrawlers are starting to become more out going. my largest one is a nice yellow and always at the front of the tank.
 
I too have a sveni as well as the proteus in my avatar. both are female, and both do very well in my 150g with other cichlids, including severum. big appetites, although they were a bit difficult to wean off live foods in the begining. not very interested in harrassing the other tankmates. the proteus is one of the most intelligent fish i've ever owned. would highly recommend pikes to you. best of luck.
 
I'd definitely stick to Saxtailis group pikes with that tank, or at least until you have tried the waters with pikes. The big boys can be a little more pushy and 'challenging', and would probably make a few of those severums not too happy.

Here is actually a great pike for sale, they are gorgeous, and close to being full grown. Only problem is the price is per fish. If you were wanting to do a pair you would need to get at least three of them, but four or five would be better. Helps spread the aggression around, and allow them to pair up on their own.

Crenicichla sp. 'Red Guyana'

Or since you are so 'close' to John, snookn21, you could order some of his pikes from him. I would either wait till he gets in some type of Saxatilis pike, or get his juv. package of four Crenicichla johanna. They are small enough that they won't bother the severums, you'll get to see them grow, and should get right colorful! Plus they are cheap, easy, and come in a group. John is right fine guy to deal with too.

Crenicichla johanna
 
Peanut_Power;4359296; said:
I'd definitely stick to Saxtailis group pikes with that tank, or at least until you have tried the waters with pikes. The big boys can be a little more pushy and 'challenging', and would probably make a few of those severums not too happy.

Here is actually a great pike for sale, they are gorgeous, and close to being full grown. Only problem is the price is per fish. If you were wanting to do a pair you would need to get at least three of them, but four or five would be better. Helps spread the aggression around, and allow them to pair up on their own.

Crenicichla sp. 'Red Guyana'

Or since you are so 'close' to John, snookn21, you could order some of his pikes from him. I would either wait till he gets in some type of Saxatilis pike, or get his juv. package of four Crenicichla johanna. They are small enough that they won't bother the severums, you'll get to see them grow, and should get right colorful! Plus they are cheap, easy, and come in a group. John is right fine guy to deal with too.

Crenicichla johanna
Click to expand...

I saw the group of Red Guyana on Aquabid. Sean actually linked me to them in my other thread. What's the adult size of them? It looks like the johanna get quite large. According to one website I visited, it says 12 - 14"?
 
the red guyana should get about 8-10". i've never seen a full grown johanna but i've seen some large ones around 10-12"
 
I had good luck with saxatilis species in community tanks, along with xingus I had two xingu II females in a 180 gallon cichlid community not at the same time though two different occassions.
 
Apparently every pike that I find and love online is a Lugubris pike. My favorites based on looks alone seem to be lenticulata or the marmorata. Obviously that's not going to work in my current tank, so maybe I should just wait until I have a spare tank to buy some of those.

Thanks for all your suggestions. I'll keep them in mind in case I run across something I like on Aquabid. ;)
 
My severums are my babies. :D I probably wouldn't take kindly to anyone pushing them around. I actually have a spare 150g stand, I just need the glass. Maybe during tax time I can get another big tank and try some out...
 
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