Pike Cichlid input needed.

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Madding

The Ninth Holostei
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May 11, 2009
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Despite spending a lot of my day reading up on pike cichlids I'm still having trouble distinguishing which species stay medium-sized (6"-9" max) and which get much larger (15"+).

I'm looking for one that won't get larger than 6-10" for a 150 gallon aggressive tank. Any input?
 
Sorry about the font color. Here it is in white:

Despite spending a lot of my day reading up on pike cichlids I'm still having trouble distinguishing which species stay medium-sized (6"-9" max) and which get much larger (15"+).

I'm looking for one that won't get larger than 6-10" for a 150 gallon aggressive tank. Any input?
 
Well, if you are wanting the pike to stay below 10" then you'll want to go with Saxatilis group pikes, since they as a whole generally stay smaller than the Lugubris group pikes. They will still get close to 12", but won't go over that like the Lugubris pikes will.

Pikes in this group would be species such as Crenicichla sveni, Crenicichla lucius, Cr. proteus, Cr. anthurus, Cr. alta and the list goes on. Most of the above listed pikes should be able to hold their own in most situations, although the proteus are a bit smaller than the others.

Hope that helps.
 
like peanut says... go with a saxatilis group pike.

i wouldnt go for the orange pike like professa said. they'll get around 14 inches.

i see your from ny. shark aquarium in northern nj has a good selection of saxatilis pikes if your at all close to there.
 
so when you say 150 gallon aggressive tank? what are you stocking it with just out of curiousity?
 
It's already got a 5-6" Silver Datnoid, a 5-6" Fat Sleeper Goby, 5" Needlenose "Gar", 2x 4" Delhezi Bichirs and a 5-6" common pleco. It has a couple of smaller fish but they are being rehoused as this tank gets established with bigger fish.

Do you see a Pike Cichlid being problematic with any of the above? The Fat Sleeper "Jade Goby" is by far the most aggressive fish in the tank.

And I'm in upstate New York, but I'll still look into that store for next time I'm down that way.
 
egh for the needlenose id be worried about but also just like any fish pike's vary in aggresion go with a sveni cuz ive had 2 and one was female other male. male would show his dominance and enforce it if needed. the female wouldnt back down but didnt pick fights ether
 
The Needlenose could be put in another tank if absolutely necessary, but the 150 is about 2.5' tall and the Needle rarely goes more than a few inches below the surface. So far none of the other fish have even noticed he's there, give or take a couple feeding times. If the Pike ventured up and got aggressive I could definitely work something out.

Thanks Lobsters, I'll look into sveni. I plan on placing an order soon through my LFS.
 
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