Grass Pickerel in tropical temps?

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Kelly_Aquatics said:
ok so ive been looking for a while for things I can put with my two delhezi Bichirs in a 75g what about a Grass pickerel? I have heard they can live in tropical temps but would it work with the two dels and in like 76-78 degrees?

Thanks!!
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temp wize yes. How big are the del? Im sure it would work if you got an adult grass pickerel, they max out at 12 inches.
 
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You may want to consider the location variant.
If they come from above the Mason Dixon line, temps in the 50'F range are appropriate with winter cool downs into the 30sF , and summer warm ups into the low 70s appropriate.
If they are a Florida variant, they would have evolved to live in more stable and higher temps, those that may work in your tank.
I would consider a 75 gal tank as only a grow out tank. At max size between 10 and 12", a tank in the 6 ft range would be more apropos.
 
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duanes said:
You may want to consider the location variant.
If they come from above the Mason Dixon line, temps in the 50'F range are appropriate with winter cool downs into the 30sF , and summer warm ups into the low 70s appropriate.
If they are a Florida variant, they would have evolved to live in more stable and higher temps, those that may work in your tank.
I would consider a 75 gal tank as only a grow out tank. At max size between 10 and 12", a tank in the 6 ft range would be more apropos.
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I agree! Maybe redfin would be more appropriate?
 
honestly, I haven't heard great things from people who keep esox. Apparently they just sit there most of the time, and will never take dry food.
 
They are ambush predators, so they can't be expected to be swimming around like zebra danios all the time. They will indeed be quiet, but the speed of a strike when food presents itself is startling. If you are into predator fish, these guys fit the bill in spades.

I kept them for several years back in Ontario, where I was able to collect them from local waters that were often in the high 70's F during the height of summer. They did well in my room-temperature tanks. I spent a couple years trying to breed them, but the only interactions I ever saw ended with the tail end of one fish hanging out of the mouth of the other...sometimes with both fish dead!

In hindsight, I wonder if they were like the Gymnogeophagus cichlids and other aquarium fish from southern South America, which apparently don't breed well or live long if kept warm all year long? My fish came from a climate that saw them living under ice for several months each year, so room temps year-round were not a very natural situation for them.

Another thing to bear in mind is that bichirs are slower, more bottom-oriented feeders. Pike are get-your-fingers-out-of-the-way maniacs. Getting any food to your bichirs would be challenging with this mix of species in the same tank. Feeding will not be a simple case of shake a can over the tank and sit back and relax; it will be much closer to a tactical military operation.
 
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KATALEKEEPER said:
honestly, I haven't heard great things from people who keep esox. Apparently they just sit there most of the time, and will never take dry food.
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I catch Redfin's in the summer ion water at human body temps regularly. A cool down helps with breeding but as long as the sizes of the fish are similar it shouldn't be a problem...
 
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