Crencichla cf Lugubris-Tocantins

[koltsixx]

Yeah they look great...nice pictures. I have no idea on the sexes but, my two 'tapajos II" have NO white stripes in the dorsal so who knows. I asked Rapps the vent them male and female, which he agreed to do.

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Thanks man, much appreciated. I picked up Tapajos II from Jeff as well, awesome lookin' little guys and real outgoing. Mine already recognizes me and surfaces for his pellet stuffed shrimp. Yours looks to be the size I bought mine at 4-5 inches, which if I understood what I read regarding sexing and the stripe, the stripe wouldn't develop until they got larger, over 6 inches or so. So that maybe why your female doesn't have one, perhaps it's doesn't have one yet. Still at least you have peace of mind as I trust Jeff on sexing them but mine I'm not so sure of, I'm definitely going to have to vent them to get a better idea.

awesome. Looks like Snookn21? Great looking fish and best of luck.

I agree that white stripes denote F from what i've gathered and my own experience but I'm new to pikes myself picking up all 3 of the species I own over the last few months.

Thanks man, and yep I got them from John/Snookn21. That's what I've understood as well and what makes me so hesitant trusting the male, female designation they where sent to me as. Though I will admit there are definitive differences in color intensity and size and prominence of the white stripe between the 2. Now it's not that I don't have any faith in John but I trust Jeff more because Jeff has made breeding cichlids his thing and there's usually a difference between knowledge levels between a dedicated breeder and a business that depends more on imports then breeding their own.

I have to say to Johns credit though he stated between 7-9 inches and these guys are at least 9 inches and flawless as was his packaging and his shipping charges where amazingly low. Though they are a lot more skittish then my Tapajos II who ate the same day and these guys who hide with little provocation and have yet to eat. As loathe some as I find feeding live, I may do exactly that in the A.M. with these guys because I'll be in the hospital for a week and want them to have at least one definitive meal since being in my tank before I go under the knife.

Again, thanks everyone for the info and replies.

 

[freebyrd]

John has really great fish. I would trust john in venting them. Hes been in the business for a good long while and has seen more rare pikes in the past two years than anyone I know of. Snookn21 is great vendor in my experiences be confident!

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[mrrobxc]

John has really great fish. I would trust john in venting them. Hes been in the business for a good long while and has seen more rare pikes in the past two years than anyone I know of. Snookn21 is great vendor in my experiences be confident!

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I agree. I've done several orders through John and he does a great job. I just picked up two Tapajos II and he sexed them just perfect.

 

[koltsixx]

John has really great fish. I would trust john in venting them. Hes been in the business for a good long while and has seen more rare pikes in the past two years than anyone I know of. Snookn21 is great vendor in my experiences be confident!

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I agree. I've done several orders through John and he does a great job. I just picked up two Tapajos II and he sexed them just perfect.

Thanks guys for the votes of confidence. This is the first time I've ordered from John, don't know why it took me so long. I still remember when he was selling all those unique florida gars as a vendor on here. Guess I'll have to start throwing him a lot more business, since he's getting such great recommendations. Especially since I can feel pike fever starting to course through my veins. I already have visions of dedicated set ups for Tapajos II, Tocantins and Zebrina.

Gotta ask some more questions if you don't mind. Do you guys have any Tocantins? Have you noticed a shyer personality in them in comparison to other Lugubris or is it because they're large and wild caught? My Tapajos II I assume is wild caught but they're so much more gutsy and took to frozen right away. And what happened to this section? It used to be up there with Pbass? And I can see why pikes are pretty sweet. We've gotta do something about it get this section back in the limelight.

 

[mrrobxc]

Thanks guys for the votes of confidence. This is the first time I've ordered from John, don't know why it took me so long. I still remember when he was selling all those unique florida gars as a vendor on here. Guess I'll have to start throwing him a lot more business, since he's getting such great recommendations. Especially since I can feel pike fever starting to course through my veins. I already have visions of dedicated set ups for Tapajos II, Tocantins and Zebrina.

Gotta ask some more questions if you don't mind. Do you guys have any Tocantins? Have you noticed a shyer personality in them in comparison to other Lugubris or is it because they're large and wild caught? My Tapajos II I assume is wild caught but they're so much more gutsy and took to frozen right away. And what happened to this section? It used to be up there with Pbass? And I can see why pikes are pretty sweet. We've gotta do something about it get this section back in the limelight.

I haven't had the Tocantins. I thought about ordering them from John as well but opted for a pair of the Tapajos II which i agree are bold. I have lents, Tapajos II, and a group of baby Cinctas. None of them are shy.

I'd give them some time. My lents were somewhat shy the first few days and they are bold now. Pikes seem so much more inquisitive and intelligent than the Heroine cichlids I'm used to.

I too agree that there needs to be more activity here but there are a few dedicated guys here who are a wealth of info. Good luck and welcome to pike fever!

 

[mrrobxc]

One more thing, all my fish from John took to pellets quickly. The Tapajos II took them within a week and the lents almost immediately. I kept them initially with aggressive feeders who "modeled" the way for them.

The ones from Wetspot, on the other hand, are still on Freeze Dried and Frozen and I'm having trouble weaning them onto pellets or flakes.

 

[crenicichla444]

Thanks guys for the votes of confidence. This is the first time I've ordered from John, don't know why it took me so long. I still remember when he was selling all those unique florida gars as a vendor on here. Guess I'll have to start throwing him a lot more business, since he's getting such great recommendations. Especially since I can feel pike fever starting to course through my veins. I already have visions of dedicated set ups for Tapajos II, Tocantins and Zebrina.

Gotta ask some more questions if you don't mind. Do you guys have any Tocantins? Have you noticed a shyer personality in them in comparison to other Lugubris or is it because they're large and wild caught? My Tapajos II I assume is wild caught but they're so much more gutsy and took to frozen right away. And what happened to this section? It used to be up there with Pbass? And I can see why pikes are pretty sweet. We've gotta do something about it get this section back in the limelight.

Yeah we def need to get this section big again

 

[crenicichla444]

One more thing, all my fish from John took to pellets quickly. The Tapajos II took them within a week and the lents almost immediately. I kept them initially with aggressive feeders who "modeled" the way for them.

The ones from Wetspot, on the other hand, are still on Freeze Dried and Frozen and I'm having trouble weaning them onto pellets or flakes.

It wasnt hard at all for me. Just feed your guys good then put your lil guys in a ten gallon get 3 or more giant danios and a goldish/BN pleco to clean up bottom scraps and feed crumpled FD krill and flakes. Giant danios are very aggressive feeders.
Koltsixx I recently got a ATAbapo II fire pike that is very shy. I think it usually depends on their individual personalities and dithers not as much species, although I've noticed that most atabapo II are timid compared to other pikes.

 

[koltsixx]

Sorry for taking so long to reply everybody, I was in the hospital till very recently.

I haven't had the Tocantins. I thought about ordering them from John as well but opted for a pair of the Tapajos II which i agree are bold. I have lents, Tapajos II, and a group of baby Cinctas. None of them are shy.

I'd give them some time. My lents were somewhat shy the first few days and they are bold now. Pikes seem so much more inquisitive and intelligent than the Heroine cichlids I'm used to.

I too agree that there needs to be more activity here but there are a few dedicated guys here who are a wealth of info. Good luck and welcome to pike fever!

Awesome collection of pike you've got going on! As for my Tapajos I'm not so sure if my Tapajos is I or II anymore. I could've sworn Jeff has them labeled as II but now are listed as I. Don't know if I miss read or not. Which ever pike he is he's certainly bold and very responsive, love the little guy. The Tocantins are still very shy at my approach, don't know why. Maybe it's cause the Silver Aro they're with is such a spaz or that my Trachycorystes cats are so big and intimidating during feedings that it's making them nervous. I also have Geo Abalios and Severums as dithers but despite their boldness the Tocantins still hide often.

I had always wanted Lents but never scooped up any because of their reputation for aggression and I had been trying to move away from aggressive comm's. I definitely agree with the inquisitive nature as even the Tocantins are avid watchers of me when I'm at a distance. Love the intelligence behind those inquisitive eyes.

Even before becoming a pike fiend in training, I used to skulk around this section and was always impressed by the knowledge. It is too bad that their isn't more activity, pikes really are amazing.

One more thing, all my fish from John took to pellets quickly. The Tapajos II took them within a week and the lents almost immediately. I kept them initially with aggressive feeders who "modeled" the way for them.

The ones from Wetspot, on the other hand, are still on Freeze Dried and Frozen and I'm having trouble weaning them onto pellets or flakes.

My Tapajos was no problem but even now after returning home I still can't get the Tocantins on even frozen. I've tried shrimp and silver sides and despite all the aggressive feeding going on the Tocantins just watch. Only after quarantining some feeders and then releasing them did they eat for me, though I will say they where ravenous when they did eat.

Hopefully we'll both have better luck breaking our problem feeders soon.

Yeah we def need to get this section big again

Definitely, pikes are too smart and beautiful to not be getting the attention they deserve.

It wasnt hard at all for me. Just feed your guys good then put your lil guys in a ten gallon get 3 or more giant danios and a goldish/BN pleco to clean up bottom scraps and feed crumpled FD krill and flakes. Giant danios are very aggressive feeders.
Koltsixx I recently got a ATAbapo II fire pike that is very shy. I think it usually depends on their individual personalities and dithers not as much species, although I've noticed that most atabapo II are timid compared to other pikes.

I wonder only because the 2 Tocantins are shy but the Tapajos is so bold despite the Tocantins being 7-9 inches while the Tapajos is 4 inches. Makes me wonder if it has as much to do with the size they're caught at as well as the individual personality and tankmates. The Tocantins are in with a large Silver Aro(12-14inches), 2 Trachycorystes(12 inches), along with Sevs and Geo Abalios while the Tapajos is in a tank with a pair of Electric Blue Acara and 3 Tetragonpterus which are all extremely bold and frenzied eaters. I wonder if the tankmates are also making a difference for me in the feeding success.

Thanks guys for the responses it appreciated, I really love my new pick ups so it's nice to get some tips from those in the know.

 

[mrrobxc]

I spoke to Jeff today and he had tapajos 1. I asked since I was confused as well since he initially labeled them as tapajos 2.

So yours are tapajos 1. Young tapajos 1 are orange whereas young tapajos 2 are mottled hence the moniker of cobra pike. I just picked up 4 of them after confirming since a power outage killed 4 of my 8 cinctas.