E. americanus americanus/E. americanus vermiculatus ?'s

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
A

AttackFish

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 10, 2007
3,899
4
0
Torrance
I'm starting to get really intersted in Native fish... with E. americanus americanus (Red Fin pike) being my favorite, and americanus vermiculatus being my second favorite.

So I'm just wondering the general questions, feeding, tank size, etc. Also, if you own this species, can you post pics of your setup?

I'm leaning more towards the Red fin as they are just awesome looking. From what I hear they get 16'' correct? Would a 125g be a good enough tank size for a Red Fin pike?

Thanks.
 
I'll be short here....Both redfin and grass pickerel are basically the same fish. Some populations of redfins are spectacular while others look almost the same as grass. Neither will get 16" (more like 10-12"). In some cases if you give them enough space you can get a larger than 12" grass pickerel (like a 125 gallon).

125 would be great but a little bigger than the minimum. I like bigger since you'll have good healthy fish.

They like live but most convert to frozen and many guys I know train to dry feeds. I'll let them fill you in but I can say they are an awesome fish quite suitable for home aquariums.
 
I've only seen drawings/paintings of them, as I couldnt find any real life pics, and in the drawings, the Red Fin just looked better to me. I want to set-up a 125 with pieces of driftwood, a few big river rocks, and plants like elodea, duckweed, native aquatic plants really. I think it would look rad.

Until I can get a Northern Pike, or a Muskelunge, a Red Fin will have to do. :ROFL:
 
redfin-pickerel.jpg


There is mine when it was smaller. Teleost pretty much said it all. I don't have a pic of the setup as it isn't very elaborate. I'm actually about to switch things around so I'll take pics after that.

Depending on the size of the pickerel(s), start off in a smaller tank to try to train them to take non-live food. Once you get them on non-live, they will be easier to feed in a 125.
 
Nice lookin' redfin! What about starting it off in a 75g, would that even be suitable for life, 4'x18''x24''? (LxWxH) Would I be able to put more then one in a 125 gallon? I just want to know as much as possible on this fish.
 
You can start off smaller if available. And yes, a 75g is perfect for life. You can keep a couple in a 75g and a few in a 125g. I have no idea how they interact but I've seen people keep a pair so you should have no problems.

Pickerel don't move... not that much anyway and don't require the amount of tank space a lot of other fish do. But don't cram them.

Tie a string to pieces of shrimp or use a thin wire. Once you get them to eat raw shrimp, you are set.
 
Coool. I think I'll get a pair. Are sunfish ok tankmates for them? I saw a thread about a grass pickeral in a 200 and people were saying that sunnies might stress it out/kill it...

I'm pretty stoked that they can go in a 75g, perfect size for up in my room, gonna be a pretty cool display tank. Native plants, big pieces of driftwood, large river rocks, some nice looking sand for substrate, and two(maybe a trio?) awesome Pikes.

I just wish I had the room for a Northern pike, that'd be awesome! :nilly:

Also, I'm not sure if I really have room for a 125 at this moment, unless it go's upstairs, wich would be hard to get around the corners with it being a 6' tank and all.
In February I'll have more room for tanks in a new house.


Really stoked they can go in a 75g, I wanna see these guys take down some darters.
 
I'd much rather you feed them discus than darters. Where are you getting darters in WA state?
 
I have two grass pickerel in one 20 gal tank right now they get along fine.
The tank is like two 10 gal side by side, so it has some serface space. I am going to move them to a bigger tank when I get a chance to set it up.

Redfin Pickerel get bigger in the wild then Grass Pickerel.
The All Tackel World Record Redfin Pickerel is 2 lbs, 10 oz.
The All Tackel World Record Grass Pickerel is 1 lb.
According to the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.
The Redfin would defenitly be over 16", and I caught well over a dozen Grass Pickerel between 13" & 15.5" in my lifetime.
I'm not sure about sizes in captivity though.

Mike
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom