Help me pick a good dwarf pike
- Thread starter Kanta
- Start date
Kanta;4817502; said:I've been looking into pikes for awhile and I love them. I looked into Crenicichla Compriceps, but was told they were aggressive but I love the way they look. Any one know of any dwarf pikes that you recommend? Thanks
How big of a tank do you have? You're going need, at minumum, a tank with a floor plan of 36" x 12" for any of the dwarfs. 48" x 18" would be even better.
My favorite are Cr. notophalmus and could be kept in a 36" x 12" but they are exceedingly rare in the hobby.
Cr. compressiceps are quite small and easy to keep but are, as mentioned, amongst the most aggressive dwarves and a pair would need the larger 48" x 18" tank to cohabitate.
Cr. regani are probably the most common and would do well in a 48" x 12" layout. These are amongst the largest of the dwarfs with a large male topping out at 5" - 6".
There are, at times, that you'll see Cr. sp. "Orinoco" and Cr. wallaci available but both are quite rare. Either of these would do well in a 36" x 12".
Right now dwarfs are very difficult to find. I just saw regani tonight priced at $49.99 ea.
Kanta;4817526; said:
I don't think you want a dwarf if you're planning on housing it with a festae. You'd be better off getting one of the mid sized pikes like Cr. sveni or Cr. proteus. These grow to a more moderate size of 8" - 10" and would be a bit more able to withstand the aggressive behaviour of other moderate to large sized cichlids.
If you were setting up the tank to be suited for dwarfs Mark hit it on the spot. Crenicichla notophalmus being my fav. as well, just simple awesome fish! The 'easiest' one you could find right now would be regani. Aside from that its hit and miss.
With your stock list though I'd definitely stay away from the dwarfs like Mark mentioned. I don't really have much to add cuz Mark pretty much covered it all. Just try to stay away from the Lugubris pikes like johanna, or sp. 'venezuela'. They will get quite large, and generally are going to be more aggressive.
Crenicichla sveni is such an under appreciated pike, they are simply stunning. Especially when they are kept as pairs. I don't think I've seen any one who actually has a pair in quite some time, which is baffling. The females are going to be the most colorful with red to pink in the belly and black blotch/spot in the dorsal. Both male and female are attractive. To boot they are fairly common and not too expensive.
With your stock list though I'd definitely stay away from the dwarfs like Mark mentioned. I don't really have much to add cuz Mark pretty much covered it all. Just try to stay away from the Lugubris pikes like johanna, or sp. 'venezuela'. They will get quite large, and generally are going to be more aggressive.
Crenicichla sveni is such an under appreciated pike, they are simply stunning. Especially when they are kept as pairs. I don't think I've seen any one who actually has a pair in quite some time, which is baffling. The females are going to be the most colorful with red to pink in the belly and black blotch/spot in the dorsal. Both male and female are attractive. To boot they are fairly common and not too expensive.
Crenicichla proteus is kinda hard to find right now actually. I'd suggest to keep looking on aquabid, sometimes they will pop up there. Cr. lucius and Cr. sveni are going to be the easiest of the Saxatilis group pikes for you to find. They can often be found in LFS without too much difficulty as well.
Actually on aquabid right now Snookn has some Saxatilis pikes that would smoking awesome.
Actually on aquabid right now Snookn has some Saxatilis pikes that would smoking awesome.