Crenicichla sp atabapo red - will this work?

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illumnae

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Feb 13, 2011
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Singapore
I've recently acquired 3 4-6" Crenicichla sp atabapo red (they look like the ones in the pictures in this thread http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14813). I hopefully have 2 females and a male (2 of them show faint white submarginal bands in the dorsal fin).

I'm in the midst of setting up a 6' x 2.5' x 2.5' 270 gal tank for them with great filtration (a 4' sump) and am thinking of making this a Rio Atabapo biotope set up with the following other fish:

Pterophyllum altum x6-8
Uaru fernandezyepezi x5
Potamotrygon motoro x2

Do you think this setup will work out, or will the pikes be too aggressive for the tankmates, even in such a large tank?
 
My housing board just disapproved my application for the 270gal, so I may end up having to reduce it to a 6' x 2.5' x 2' 210 gal instead :( They're very draconian about large fish tanks in apartments here! After reading up abit, I may forego the altums as it seems the general consensus here is that the altums' trailing fins will be ripped by the pikes.

My Cr. sp atabapo red are spending lots of time in the PVC pipes I put in there for them, but I'm noticing 2 of them getting really chummy. One of the large ones (6") and the smallest one (4.5") are hanging about together alot, sometimes even sharing the same PVC pipe, while the other 6" one is usually alone. Sometimes 3 of them hide in a corner together, but overall I definitely see 2 of them together much more often. I'm hoping for a possible pair up, but the 2 hanging together seem to be the 2 I thought were females (due to the white submarginal band in the dorsal).

I'll try and post pictures soon, but the water is yellow with medication now due to quarantine treatment for potential HITH in the 4.5" one. I got the 4.5" one from a different LFS and it seems to be showing some signs of HITH (which I thought were just scars from dashing into wood at first glance in the LFS). To be safe, I'm medicating all 3 of them.
 
With this species, the females get a black blotch in the dorsal, as apposed to the white stripe that most Lugubris group pikes get. At least thats just my observations.

Definitely keep up with the water changes and meds. for the HITH. These guys get it BAD, and QUICK, so keeping ahead of it is best.

Aside from that, the stock list looks alright, although I would agree with getting rid of the angels. Hopefully the Uaru will be alright as well. I've kept Crenicichla with Uaru amp, but never ferdz, so I can't really tell you what will happen in that situation to be honest. Should be fine though!

Keep us updated! Sounds like it will be a stellar tank! Even if its a little smaller, its still a large tank by many standards! Props!

Btw. . . Welcome to MFK!!!! VIVA LA CRENICICHLA!
 
I'd nix the rays as well. I kept lenticulata in with motoro and for the most part they got along well but at least a couple times a month the pikes would nip the edge of the rays' disk leaving a gaping, bloody wound. It would always heal back up but it sure looked bad.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome and the good advice given :)

I just re-submitted an application for a 6' x 2'4" x 2'4" instead (240gal) so hopefully it's approved!

With the Uaru fernandezyepezi and Altums I was hoping to create a river specific Rio Atabapo/Orinocco style biotope tank. But I think with the advice here I'll trash the idea and work towards just a simple South American biotope instead without any localities :)

I've been reading this other thread about pikes with discus instead, and I'm thinking of replacing the Altums with some nice wild discus instead, as well as replacing the Uaru with some Heros sp. rotkeil which I happened to get offered a good deal for! The only problem is that the Heros sp. rotkeil are currently 2" juveniles, and are likely to end up as a snack for the 6" pikes! Will probably have to grow them out in a separate tank first.

On the bright side, having given my Crenicichla sp. atabapo red pure RO water, I haven't had any HITH develop in the 2 6" pikes. The pits in the 4.5" one are also not getting any worse so hopefully they'll heal up soon. Looks like I messed up on the ID though =( None of them have any black blotches in the dorsal that I can make out yet, so it's likely I got 3 males? Will they kill each other in the 240" if I put in lots of branchy wood as cover?
 
I think I'm going back down to the store today to go look for ones with black blotches in the dorsal :( My mind won't stop nagging me that I got 3 males sigh
 
I wouldn't stress too much about them being male or female just yet, mine didn't start getting the blotches in the dorsals till they were almost 8". ;) I thought I had a male and a female, but turns out it was really two females, since the smaller one put on more size and started getting the splotches in the dorsal.

In a 240gal they should be alright. Thats plenty of room to get away, and with lots of hiding places they should be able to get away from each other. Just keep an eye on it.
 
Thanks Peanut_Power :) What I do notice is 2 of them hanging around each other LOTS, to the extend that they share the same "cave", while the 3rd one is always alone. I can keep my fingers crossed for adolescent "dating" amongst pikes? lol :)
 
Ok so the medication period is over, and I'm glad to say that the pike with the HITH isn't getting worse, and the other 2 without it aren't showing signs of getting it.

Further good news is that my housing board has approved my 2nd application for a 6'x2'4"x2'4" tank and so I can confirm a 240gal tank with a 4ft sump. Depending on how things go, I may convert part of the sump into a refugium for extra nitrate removal to cut down on required water changes since the tank is so big and my RO storage barrel is only about 50 gallons.

I don't think I can get away with adding 1-2 more pikes in the 240 gal right? haha...getting greedy here :) Tankmates will be wild Heckel discus, wild rotkeil severums, and a pair of rays. When the festivums grow out I'll probably add a couple in as well to fill up the top layer of the water column. Not used to having a sparsely populated tank without bright dithers...but with the rays and the pikes, any dithers will end up expensive feeders!
 
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