New Fish--Luciocephalus pulcher (pics)

[Tucc185]

So after years of not seeing these guys in the hobby, my lfs finally got 2 of them in. Expecting to see 2" juvies in rough shape, like the ones that we used to get, I was pleasantly surprised to see a huge one (pushing 7") hanging out in one of the big tanks. One of them had sold already, but I got the last one. I must say these fish are awesome, it's eating minnows and guppies, but I had a few questions. First, this is properly identified, right? It was imported as pike-head crocodile fish and that usually means luciocephalus of some kind. Second, what are the chances of getting him off live? I don't remember if anyone had been particularly successful in that respect. Thanks, and enjoy the admittedly awful pics

 

[JD_MAN]

I would be interested in any info I could get on this specie as well.

 

[pupumole]

WOW they get to like 7"??? i saw em once at 3" at a lfs and thought thats how big they'll stay ... they were munching on feeders and they called em pike gar .... i shouldve brought at least 2 :| ... nice fish ^_^

 

[andregurov]

Good luck! They are extremely sensitive to improper water conditions and shipping stress. I've never been able to get any off of live foods for any amount of time. Some have picked at frozen bloodworms but didn't care for it very much. Many have succumbed to bacterial infections. They will do best and live longest in blackwater conditions (low pH specifically).

Yes, it looks like Luciocephalus pulcher. L. aura has serious spangling on the sides, but the two are often imported together in mixed batches.

 

[guppy]

Yes, that is the pulcher rather than the aura (which is sometimes sold as a peppermint pikehead. As stated the articles about caring for those recomend blackwater or at least soft and slightly acididic water that is very clean. I have found no articles about getting them off live food but they are happy to take small live eathworms, crickets, cockroaches, and ghost shrimp. They are not a long lived fish, about 5 years apparently but there is a record of them succesfully breeding in Denmark, I will try to find the article (unfortunatly it is in German).

 

[JD_MAN]

I am glad that we have people on here that know so much about them. I just saw one of these pop up in a lfs for $20 and thought about buying it...then getting an id. They were calling it a green alligator gar...I think. If they are hard to get off of live foods, I think that I will pass.

 

[ewurm]

I've never even seen that fish. Do they have any other common names?

 

[HerCrenVie]

So after years of not seeing these guys in the hobby, my lfs finally got 2 of them in. Expecting to see 2" juvies in rough shape, like the ones that we used to get, I was pleasantly surprised to see a huge one (pushing 7") hanging out in one of the big tanks. One of them had sold already, but I got the last one. I must say these fish are awesome, it's eating minnows and guppies, but I had a few questions. First, this is properly identified, right? It was imported as pike-head crocodile fish and that usually means luciocephalus of some kind. Second, what are the chances of getting him off live? I don't remember if anyone had been particularly successful in that respect. Thanks, and enjoy the admittedly awful pics

7"! Aren't they supposed to max out at 5"? That's a very cool fish though. I had three 3" ones a while back but they ate nothing and all died after a few days, despite the fact that they were kept in water with very low pH and hardness. Good luck with yours.

 

[guppy]

The L. aura is supposed to max out at around 5" but the pulcher has been recorded at up to 8"

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Bump for an awesome fish....

Anybody keeping these?