R1_Ridah;1282375; said:
How huge? can it outgrow a 600 gallon tank?[/quote
No, it won't. A true Stigata is not very common in Crenicichla. Most of them advertised for sale aren't true strigatas, but usually a Venezuela or the like. Is that yours in the photo and how large is it.
Generally most will advise not to add different species of pikes into the same tank unless grown from a young age or if adding to a setup with a pike in it already, then add 3 or so. That way the established pike resident can't gear all his attention to one pike.
But considering the size of your tank I personally would try to add one. But there is no guarantee that it won't get attacked though. make sure it is a comparable size or larger.
I believe strigatas get around 18" or so. Cinctas and Vens can get to around 24. So even if it gets larger it wont exceed those.
My first look tells me a male since no red abdomen, females usually have the red abdomen and a white dorsal stripe. But yours has so much white in dorsal that hard to distinguish if it has one.
That is my understanding about the difficulty of identifying a true Strigata.
What do you think?
Two people who I believe are very knowledgeable in identifying Cichlids is Polomax and Peanut. Both identified this as a true Strigata. This one actually came from Polomax. It's now over a foot long and thick. He/she is very docile with the PBASS I have in the tank. Primarily keeps to itself. Just cruises around always looking for food.
I was thinking of adding a MARMORATA (sp) ? I'm knew to Pikes so this is all knew to me.
Thanks
