How big of a tank for cichlids

[Passionate 4 pikes]

Ok this used to bother me SOOO much is my pike to big for its tank and is it to overstocked honest answers pleezz i have a 5" oscar three 3" (or less) acara's, the 5" pike and a 3" plec. Usually i have an atman and a aquatech 15 but now i just have a topfin 20 i am supposed to do 1 50% water changes a day but lately i have been very lazy (and busy) so i end up doing about one 90% waterchanges per week.
But the tank is only temporary so i am more worried about my 5" pike bieng to big for my 30" inch tank. i go by a rule that says a tank 4 (prefurably 6 or more ) times the length of the fish and over twice the length of the fish wide is ok but i am no expert! Thoughts?

 

[killerfish]

its a little over stocked how wide is it and how tall do you know how many gallons it is ?

the pike would like a bigger tank but its fine for know just keep doing water changes i would do a 50% water changes twice a week or around a 80% a week i don't like doing huge water changes personally

 

[voss345]

it will be over stocked if you have an oscar in it
what is the gallonage it could be a 29, 20 etc
deffinitely going to be overstocked, is the pike a belly crawler? it looks to be, you might be able to get away with him and an acara in the tank but not much else

 

[Passionate 4 pikes]

No the oscar will be moved to the pond. the pike is a regani. i think the tank is roughly 16+ gallons as it is only 10 inches high.

 

[Peanut_Power]

Yeah, its a little WAY too crowded in there man. Minimum tank size for any of the dwarfs should be at least 30gals...with a 30gal breeder being better. Pikes like to roam, get around, check things out. In a small foot print tank, they will be too confined, and it could start to stress them out.

Generally you want them (dwarfs) to be in something that is AT LEAST 24" L x 12" W x 12" T. Really even that is rather cramped, even for a single pike. Put multiple fish in there and it will definately be crammed.

Depth really isn't that much of an issue as compared to width. Width and length of the tank are CRUCIAL when it comes to Crenicichla. ALWAYS go with the biggest tank you can provide. Even if it seems like over kill, still do it. You'll be happier, the fish will be happier, its win win!

 

[killerfish]

wow thats over stocked all right get a bigger tank soon man

 

[Passionate 4 pikes]

Impossible to get a bigger tank but this is my plan, give away the pleco, move the aequidens and oscar to a pond, then i have my regani and a pimelodella gracilis in a thirty inch long tank i am sorry i cant please you all but i cant help it. my parents wont let me have another tank