But anyhow, PP thinks he writes novels, my question still stands, if I can find the ac...... what would be acceptable residents with it, I only want 1 or 2 other fish, preferably ones that inhabit different zones. No aros mentioned plz, I think they need much much larger tanks, even for the smaller species.
Don't do xingu I...they are a rather aggressive pike cichlid, especially once they become subadults...which was the part i wasn't to yet in my novel. There are several groups of pikes, Lugubris, Saxatilis, Reticulatus, Acutirostris, and the dwarfs. I'm sure there are more groups, but those are the main ones. Pikes of the Lugubris group go through one to two color changes as the mature. There is the juv. coloration, the subadult, and the adult. Crenicichla sp. 'xingu I' is a member of the Lugubris group of pikes. The juv. you get will look NOTHING like the adult. Males are olive drab to brown, females are reddish to pink with darker ends. Cool looking. Problem is they get more aggressive as they mature. As juv. they are pretty laid back, but as they near the next color change into subadult, they start gettin more aggressive. This is known as the 'teenage' stage. Generally don't grow out of this. Point in case, you can't judge a pike by its color or attitude as a juv....as they are gonna change. Crenicichla sp. 'xingu I' are great pikes, I had a pair for quite some time, but for what your wanting to do, i suggest against it.
With Crenicichla acutirostris there are tons of options of tank mates because they are a more laid back pike cichlid. What I was reallly gonna suggest though was either get Crenicichla percna or Crenicichla vittata. Both are relatively rare pikes and not many people have them. You were saying that you want a pike that not many people have. There ya go. Both are relatively laid back pikes as well, stay slender, and are unique. Both are awesome species of pikes as well. Rapps has some vittata right now that are PERFECTLY priced, they are small, so pickin tank mates would be easy. PLUS you could get other fish directly from Rapps to go in on the shipment WITH your pike that would make for a totally awesome set up...
. Heres a list of a tank that would look awesome and Rapps currently has all these fish...
1 Crenicichla vittata (personally i would get more of these, but since you only want one we'll keep it at that)
1 Caquetaia spectabile (4 to 4.5")
1 Hoplarchus psittacus ( the only other cichlid i love as much as pikes...
)
3 Satanoperca leucosticta (4 to 5")
They are all small, and will gradually grow up into really nice, show piece cichlids. They should all get along relatively well, especially in a tank of your size, their colors will compliment each other, as well as tank distrubution. As far as catfish go, there are several options open to you that way as well. Spotted Shovelnose get relatively large, but still relatively small. Lima shovelnose. Megalordoras sp. and your Loricardae. Go for the larger L #'s like the royals and so on. They are large and hard to swallow, even at small sizes.
. The Crenicichla AC........however you spell it, is one that I would relly like, but seem to be hard to find. I do like the Xingu 1, but feel it is too heavy for a little 120 gal. I like my fish to thrive, not just survive. When I get a place a little larger, will build a 1000 gal, and then do larger crenicichla sp. But anyhow, PP thinks he writes novels, my question still stands, if I can find the ac...... what would be acceptable residents with it, I only want 1 or 2 other fish, preferably ones that inhabit different zones. No aros mentioned plz, I think they need much much larger tanks, even for the smaller species.
