I currently have a 135 that needs stocking.. o love pike and was wondering would a 135 hold 2 fire pike chiclid or is that too small for them?
Or woukd any other pike be better?
Or woukd any other pike be better?
Fire pike chiclid question
- Thread starter monsterK
- Start date
These are red pike or atabapo 1 I assume? The fire pike name throws me off. Haven’t heard that name yet.
A pair of saxatalis would be fine in the 135.
A pair of saxatalis would be fine in the 135.
It would be better to get 4 small ones and let them pair off naturally.
It depends on size of the aquarium and specie of tankmates.
Ok then you would suggest then getting rid of the other 2 that don't pair?
Well they would be on a 135 gallon so I wasn't sure what kind of chiclids can go with the pikes. Seeing if anyone had suggestions
Lugubris atabapo species easily get to around 16", so a bit large for a 135,
although just the two could be doable if you maintain a large every other water changes,
with water with parameters that are on the acidic side 3 to 6 pH, and very soft, and you are willing to add tannins
Rio AtabapoTannin Aquaticshttps://tanninaquatics.com › collections › rio-atabapo
although just the two could be doable if you maintain a large every other water changes,
with water with parameters that are on the acidic side 3 to 6 pH, and very soft, and you are willing to add tannins
Rio AtabapoTannin Aquaticshttps://tanninaquatics.com › collections › rio-atabapo
Those tannis on that site, are they just like driftwood pieces that add too the water? Just wanna make sure I do everything correctly if I decide to go this route
Driftwood can be a source, leaf litter,on the substrate , and some aquarists use tea bags in HOB filters (like Rooibos).
or put bags of pure sphagnam peat moss in bags in filters or sumps.
If your tap water is too alkaline though, it may resist these type changes.
I did an experiment a while back using leaf litter, and gave up because my water was so alkaline, pH would not budge
Experiment w Almond Leaves
Just a while back, at the start of the rainy season my tank did become even more inundated with tannins, tannins that dripped off the surrounding vegetation.
Even though I could barely see to the back of the tank, the tank was so inundated, because of my tap waters suffering capacity (alkalinity)
The pH only dropped from 8.2, to 8.
or put bags of pure sphagnam peat moss in bags in filters or sumps.
If your tap water is too alkaline though, it may resist these type changes.
I did an experiment a while back using leaf litter, and gave up because my water was so alkaline, pH would not budge
Experiment w Almond Leaves
Just a while back, at the start of the rainy season my tank did become even more inundated with tannins, tannins that dripped off the surrounding vegetation.
Even though I could barely see to the back of the tank, the tank was so inundated, because of my tap waters suffering capacity (alkalinity)
The pH only dropped from 8.2, to 8.
That looks crazy cool though! Ok so they need those tannis in the water. Is there anyway to measure that? Or with tannis its kinda by looks? Yeah my well water sits around PH 7.0-7.5 naturally
Although the difference between a pH of 7.0 and 7.5 doesn't sound like much, each 10th on the pH represents 10 times.
So a pH of 7.5 is 50 times more basic than the neutral pH of 7.
A river like Rio Atabapo with a pH of 6, is 100 times more acidic that water at pH 7.
Because the Rio Atabapo pikes in the hobby, are not far removed from the wild, they may not have the ability to handle higher pH values, without falling ill to diseases like HITH.
As mentioned above, you may be better off getting something smaller from the genus Crenicichla saxitillis group that may be more tolerant of higher pH situations, and be a better fit in a 135 gal tank.
I was able to keep some wild caught Crenicichla saxatillus species from Uruguay in my pH 7.8 , harder water, a number of years back, in tanks of only 150 gallons.
.
So a pH of 7.5 is 50 times more basic than the neutral pH of 7.
A river like Rio Atabapo with a pH of 6, is 100 times more acidic that water at pH 7.
Because the Rio Atabapo pikes in the hobby, are not far removed from the wild, they may not have the ability to handle higher pH values, without falling ill to diseases like HITH.
As mentioned above, you may be better off getting something smaller from the genus Crenicichla saxitillis group that may be more tolerant of higher pH situations, and be a better fit in a 135 gal tank.
I was able to keep some wild caught Crenicichla saxatillus species from Uruguay in my pH 7.8 , harder water, a number of years back, in tanks of only 150 gallons.
.
