Pecking order??.....

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
D

Dovii dude

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 11, 2006
3,260
1
0
60
Massachusetts
www.tanbusters.com
As stated in another thread i purchased 2-1 inch Orange Pikes yesterday,i have them in a 20 gal long for now(i will upgrade as needed)My question is 1 of the Pikes has become the Dominant 1 and the other just stays in 1 corner of the tank(but he is eating!!)Will the Dominant 1 accept the weaker 1 or is this fish doomed??Thanks,any of you guys own larger Orange Pikes??If so could you show a pic??Oh also how is the growth rate of these guys??Slow or quick??Once again Thanks!!!:drool:
 
I have not seen quick growth on any pikes - but they don't take forever though.
For now, this sounds okay, but give the submissive one many places to hide and hang out so that he continues to eat and grow. Adding some tankmates would help split up the focused aggression.
 
Well i went out and got some "dither" fish and as soon as i put them in the tank they were attacked by the pikes,the aggression as since calmed down now.I put in 2 Black skirt tetras,1 reg tetra and a blue gouramia,they took a hell of a beating,these Pikes are super aggressive!!
 

Generally if you are gonna try and keep pikes together you get a larger group of them if possible and allow them to pick their own mates. Then you just remove the unpaired pikes from the equation. In your situation I think your gonna have a good bit of a problem. In a tank of that size, without very many other pikes to help break up the aggression, that subdominant pike is just gonna be constantly beat on, possibly eventually starving to death. You could try moving them to a tank of at least 40gals, adding a few more pikes would be ideal though. About accepting the 'weaker' pike, probably not. If they are having problems already at such a small size, chances are they aren't gonna get along later.

Just look up Crenicichla sp. 'xingu I' on google and look at the images....tons of great ones out there! ;)

If fed the right foods and faithfully, with plenty of waterchanges, Crenicichla can have some of the fastest growth rates of the SA/CA cichlids. Its incredible how fast they can put on weight and size. You will definately be thrilled by it. They also go through a serious of 'color changes' before they reach their adult coloration. ;) Tis a blast watching them gradually transform into regal beasts!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom