Are pickerel nippy?

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lpenn31

Gambusia
MFK Member
Feb 20, 2010
147
1
16
New Jersey
Im thinking of holding a pickerel for my friend in my 125 with a RTC and a Gar. (they are small now, and i know i will have to get a bigger tank so dont post stuff like that :) ) But are pickerel nippy or do they just eat and leave things alone
 
Pickerel are not nippy; if a fish is too big for them to swallow they ignore it. They are however not good at competing for food with more aggressive fish. I suggest you give the pickerel his own tank from the start for best results.
 
For pike yeah you'd need a bigger tank but pickerel only get like 16'' max and they usually stay small. When i had mine he wasn't nippy at all, although he would only eat live feeders so be ready in case.
 
I've heard of them being stressed by fish they cant eat and attacking them but it's not comfirmed
 
If its smaller than them, its food. If its bigger, they'll leave it alone.
 
I've seen pickerel grab fish that were too big to eat but if they are well fed that shouldn't happen. My main concern is the RTC, he will do his best to swallow a fish like a pickerel (and maybe a gar too) because their cross section is so small and they fit so easily into the RTC's mouth, an adult pickerel would be food for an adult RTC for sure.
 
hey i won't put it in with a gar or a red tail cat they are not as mean and may get eaten trust me i know had some muskie fall prey to a few gar
 
i use to have red fin pick from a local stream and they use to nip at any quick movement . it didnt mater the size as long as if it was the same size or smaller.. and the biggest it ever got was about 7 ,8 inchs ..the also arnt a aggressive fish they are more of a ambush predatory fish .
 
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