360Gallon Stock question Pike and _____

[meledward23]

I have a 360 Gallon with a 90 Gallon (actual water held) sump. The 360 is a 8'x3' footprint with a 2' height. A fair bit of room for some fish. It currently houses An assortment of Haps. which my wife and I have decided are getting the boot to a smaller tank elswhere as they currently dont justify staying in this awesome tank.

So the reason for the post. I really have taken an interest in Pikes. I really havent seen any examples of a pike setup at this scale.

I have done some reading on Pikes but really have gleaned little information from what I have read. Most of it is so vague, or general addressing everything from dwarfs to 18".

What could I keep with these? Can a single Jaguar coexist? Oscar? other ?

Also what would be an appropriate biotype/habit for these guys?

Thanks for your time,

 

[rasdbo]

Find what you like and put them in. some mixes work some don't, even some same sp don't work. the reason you don't see many if any 300+ creni tanks.

as usual, as long one can't eat the other they should co-exist. since your going bigger with Jags, oscars etc, you'd want the bigger pikes from the Lugubris group.

most habits are either rocks, trees or mixed with a sand bottom.

 

[Peanut_Power]

Look up some of my threads, I had a 300gal with pikes. Chiefmojo has a 900gal with several species of pikes, fishspeaker has more than enough large tanks with pikes as well. They are out there, but definately worth it!!! Consider yourself blessed to have such a large tank and being able to put what you want in it. Most of us Crenicichlaholics DREAM of having a tank of 300gal or larger. It opens new doors for you that just aren't possible in the smaller tanks!

First of all....HALLALUJAH for moving the Africans! Couldn't of made a wiser choice!! That tank is SCREAMING Crenicichla, very glad you heard its cries!!

What is your price range? There is a HUGE pluethora of pikes available out there, but some of the more attractive ones command a higher prices. Granted you can normally get some really beautiful pikes for reasonably cheap too. Its all about your taste and how much you are willing to spend. Given the list of fish that you are wanting to keep in that tank, you will definatley want to go with either the Lugubris or Lacustris group of pikes. The dwarfes definately won't cut it...although the Saxatilis should be alright, you would just have to watch the size differences to make sure noone eats anyone else.

On that note, pikes are torpedo shaped, which makes them prime candidates for getting eaten by the larger predatory fish until they reach their larger, mature sizes. So choose your tankmates wisely. The larger pims are generally out. Growing the larger predators up together helps as well, as they become accustomed to each other and generally get along better then.

Generally, there are Crenicichla for just about every setup. I've kept a good number of species of pikes, but there are still some out there that I haven't, which just makes this hobby all the more enjoyable. Point is, I've kept a lot of pikes, and I've kept most of those pikes with just about every fish imaginable. From Rays to Geos. to Parachromis to Spiny eels, I've done it. Some combinations work out better than others for sure. The main thing is just giving it a go. Pikes are unique in the fact that some will tolerate a certain fish, while others from the same species won't. Basically your pike will let you know if you can keep them with the other fish. LoL

So pikes to look into getting that would look awesome in that tank are:

Crenicichla acutirostris
Crenicichla cincta
Crenicichla johanna
Crenicichla sp. 'xingu I'
Crenicichla marmorata
Crenicichla lenticulata

Thats just to name a few. There are still sooo many pikes that I haven't listed its not even funny. Where to get those pikes is always a challenge. You have to keep your eyes open on the vendors, because a lot of the time there are a lot of other Crenicichlaholics trying to get some of the same pikes as you! LoL! We generally try to look out for each other though, so check in here regularly....

Some vendors to note are:

Ken Davis (Fish Farm USA)
Jeff Rapps (Tangled Up In Cichlids)
Rich (Infinate Aquatics)
George Fear (Shark Aquarium)
Aquabid.com

Those are some of the best vendors for pikes...

When you GET pikes though, you have to ask yourself a few questions. First, do you want a pair or just a single/group of pikes? How much are you willing to spend? Finally, what are your current tankmates?

Personally I think pikes look best as pairs. It can make them more aggressive, but its totally worth it. Especially in a tank of that size. Its possible you may be able to get away with more than one pair, but Crenicichla aggression is a perculiar thing, so you would definately be testing the boundries.

If you are wanting to get a pair of pikes, your best option will be to get a group of them and grow them up together. This will allow them to bicker, become dominant, and choose their own mates. Groups also helps spread out the aggression amongst each other. Ideally a group of six or more is preferred, but most of us don't have that kind of money, so getting at least three is more traditional. Once they have grown up and hopefully paired up, just remove the extra pike....

I'm getting writers cramp...haha....so I think I'll leave it right there for now. Perhaps some of the other Crenicichlaholics will come in and leave their input! Hope it helped out some! Cheers!

 

[Hawkfish3.0]

Holy long post Jer!!

Anyway, my thoughts are the same as rasdbo's. Mixing with SA/CA's should work fine, just take into account all the inhabitants adult sizes. I even have a couple motoros in with some of my pikes. Giving the fish an appropriate amount of space will go a long way in their ability to coexist.

 

[meledward23]

Wow thanks for the great response. Yes, that gives me a lot to think about and contemplate.

I bought this tank to house large Malawi Hap's but overall I am not happy with the single body shape (more or less) that they present. With Pike's body shape, add in an Oscar pair, and some other compatible fish I will have three large sized fish with differing body shapes.

Yes a tank that size is a blessing. My wife and I love to spend time on fish together. I place the tank and then built a fish room around it. However, then I got trnasfered, so I tore it down. As I got everything finalized for the move things changed. So now I am redoing my work, but making a free standing tank. I have plumbed a half inch water line directly to the sump and a 1" pipe that is pumped out of the house to the garden for water changes.

One day when I get back to the house I will post pictures as I get back to work on it. I currently work out of town till I finish getting everything squared away.

Again thanks for all that info, I will have to take time to read it again and contemplate it after the work day comes to a close.