i kept a 20" pike for 1 month in a 180 gallon. he died very quickly water quality has to be perfect, and to be frank, the tank was just way to small. when spooked the fish is fast. very fast. and hits the glass and deco very quickly. also in a 180 a 20" fish has great difficulty turning around. for a 20" fish an ideal tank would be 72x72, height not really important. but a cube tank is much more forgiving to the fish then a rectangle. circular tank would be perfect
Longest kept Northern pike
- Thread starter arowanaryan
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Low 60s or cooler is a must, high filtration, high aeration etc. As an ambush predator, pike prefer cover and dim lighting. Bright lights will spook the pike and will cause it to become less active/not feed readily. Pike are far from strict piscivores. They will readily eat anything in the water. Studies show that waterfowl is frequently preyed upon, as well as rodents, frogs etc. They are cannabalistic and will consume anything up to 2/3 its own body length. the young typically stay in thicker, shallower cover. Adults tend to be loners cruising deeper water and lurking near weedy drop offs
Esox are a very misunderstood group. Most people dont truly know about their behavior. Sorry but IME and from the research ive seen, pike and other esox are far from the voracious predators that snakeheads are. They are top of the food chain quick predators, but most are not that aggressive.
If you have access to Journals, PM me and ill send you an anotated bibliography of hundreds of great articles of research on Esox.
Esox are a very misunderstood group. Most people dont truly know about their behavior. Sorry but IME and from the research ive seen, pike and other esox are far from the voracious predators that snakeheads are. They are top of the food chain quick predators, but most are not that aggressive.
If you have access to Journals, PM me and ill send you an anotated bibliography of hundreds of great articles of research on Esox.
this is the truest statement i have read in the whole thread!
i have a lake i fish that averages 75f(not surface temp) it is only 14' deep and i get 10-15lbs pike regularly. it is a very small lake. people that only read about them need to stop forming opinions on them because they don't know how these fish behave. i personally know of a few large pike that never leave a section of shoreline. if the food is there they dont leave. they travel so far in search of food. sunfish and perch don't offer sacrifices to them so they have to cover water looking for them, just like any fisherman have to to find fish. a 40" pike needs 4' diameter to make a complete circle. the only reason i don't have any yet is they will eat everything they think they can or die trying.
