Grass Pickerel?

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T

Thomas_Hung

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 28, 2004
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Moscow, Idaho
Thinkin about setting up a native tank and came across the grass pickerel...Whats the story with these guys? I saw them available here http://jonahsaquarium.com/fishlist.htm#north american

Has anybody kept these before, they look pretty sweet! I just want to know what I'd be getting into before I place an order :cheers:
 
They are a pretty small member of the pike family, only about 10" in size. They are a NA native so you would not need a heater and they prefer cooler water. You must feed them actual live fish....they will not eat any prepaired food.
 
Yea I have been reading about them..they are pretty sweet looking but they sound kinda wimpy for what I am looking for...
I'm thinking a bowfin is more along the lines of what I want... :headbang2
 
Well im planning for the future so it will be a new tank that will be suffiecient to house the fish permanently....
 
Bowfin get big and will bite the hand that feeds them.
 
guppy said:
Bowfin get big and will bite the hand that feeds them.
Click to expand...


Awesome, bring it on!
 
Make sure that it's legal to keep a bowfin in your state. Many western states ban the import and keeping of Amia calva unless you have a permit. Some of them ban Esox also so it would be good to know what is legal and what isn't.

Chip in SC
KSI Aquatics
 
Any ideas on what listings I would find local laws under, all I find are game fish rules? Esox are banned in Oregon but I think Bowfin are legal. I also think that Idaho was part of bowfins range, at least historicaly. I like them, sort of like a mix between a bichir and a snakehead. In Louisianna I was drift fishing during low water once and poked a wooden paddle into a hole in a clay bank.It must have disturbed a large bowfin in there because the bugger bit the paddle and took off. It left behind teeth stuck in the wood and several long splinters scratched from the wood. Grass pikerel are very cool little hunters and in a 55-75 gal tank should due fine, give it lots of weeds to hunt in and you can watch it sneak up on feeder fish, frogs, crawdads, etc.
 
My dad was a regional fish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for like 30 years, he just retired... I'll ask him... I'm sure that he would know the legality of these fish... All the damn cool fish are illegal here...stupid people releasing fish into the local habitats ruining it for the responsible people :swear: :swear: :swear:
 
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