I feel like i read alot about how aggressive, nasty, and mean they are. all the ones ive had have only be aggresive and mean to different species pikes and defended themselves against other aggressive cichlids. i mean as long as it cant fit in its mouth i havent had any problems with my pikes being to mean. is this true for others or are others pikes mean SOB's?
Are pikes really that nasty and mean?
- Thread starter its_an_obsession
- Start date
It really just depends on the individual fish. I have an 11" cr. johanna that's a little puppy, but I also have a 6" cr. sp. Xingu I that's a homicidal maniac. The sex of the fish tends to play a part in it as well. Males tend to be a bit more aggressive. Also, if you end up with a breeding pair, you're likely to see increased aggression towards other tankmates.
My old ones hated each other and had to stay separated. They didn't mind other fish though just hated each other.
My new one is fine. He shares a tank with a few other Cichlids and doesn't bother anyone but it's still small, we'll see what happens when it grows up.
My new one is fine. He shares a tank with a few other Cichlids and doesn't bother anyone but it's still small, we'll see what happens when it grows up.
polish brought up a good point. crenicichla tend to have lower levels of con specific aggression (aggression towards non-pikes). Aggression can also increase as they hit sexual maturity.
thats what i tended to notice too. it seems like i always read about them being so aggressive and i feel like there not, except if there with another pike.
Personally, I don't think pikes are really that aggressive at all. When compared to the other SA/CA cichlids, they are all about the same.
It is all about how you keep them and what you keep them with. You keep them with aggressive cichlids, naturally they are going to be mor aggressive. One important thing though is growing the fish up together. I've done this repeated times and it really helps to make the community setting work.
Take into consideration tank size, stocking level, and species of pikes. Just like with other SA/CA cichlids, each species has its own aggression level. Plus individual pikes within that species can have different levels of aggression as well.
Really, I think people are biased against pikes, they hear a few bad reports about them, and no a lot of people believe that they are nasty, horrible fish. Which is completely wrong. It just irks me when people say that pikes are nasty and mean, cuz most of the time they have never really experienced keeping pikes.
How many people still keep black nastys? What about red terrors? Grammodes? i think its really hypocritical to call Crenicichla aggressive and killers when people are still keeping these kinds of fish.
It is all about how you keep them and what you keep them with. You keep them with aggressive cichlids, naturally they are going to be mor aggressive. One important thing though is growing the fish up together. I've done this repeated times and it really helps to make the community setting work.
Take into consideration tank size, stocking level, and species of pikes. Just like with other SA/CA cichlids, each species has its own aggression level. Plus individual pikes within that species can have different levels of aggression as well.
Really, I think people are biased against pikes, they hear a few bad reports about them, and no a lot of people believe that they are nasty, horrible fish. Which is completely wrong. It just irks me when people say that pikes are nasty and mean, cuz most of the time they have never really experienced keeping pikes.
How many people still keep black nastys? What about red terrors? Grammodes? i think its really hypocritical to call Crenicichla aggressive and killers when people are still keeping these kinds of fish.
i agree with that... my jag and mayan cichlids are mean SOB... the mayan tries to bite me when i put my hand in the tank and the jag attacks the magnet algae cleaner... how am i gonna put any other fish in with them?
I think it's also becuase they are south american. Except for umbies and festae, south americans tend to be passive especially when compared to central americans. Even convicts are terrors to the vast majority of non-pike south americans. Maybe only the brasilinesis complex comes close. Since all the other south americans are so mild, it makes the pikes seem worse than they really are by comparison.
MY crenicichla are killers and i love it!!! lol sike...they really only hate each other honestly... i put my RTM in the tank withthem and he beat the ++++ out of both of them...
see also it depends if u put the pike in the tank at first too... to set up his territory. see when i had my sveni(r.i.p.) he was the king of the tank at first i put him in there with a oscar. he beat the crap outta the oscar so much the oscar would just stay in the corners of the tank. and then i put 2 lil jags in the tank to spread the aggresion along with a jelly bumblebee cat and he left the cat along and still was king of the tank and would chase all the other fish around. then he chocked on 2 rosies, live by the sword u die by it, glutton. neways he died and now my bigger jag is the king but doesnt mess with the oscar only he killed a 3 firemouths and is about to kill his brother. they were fine before the sveni died now all he does it chase around his lil bro.