Pike Questions...

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topoftheline77

Candiru
MFK Member
Apr 17, 2006
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Germantown, Wisconsin, USA
Okay I have a few questions about pikes and tank sizes... here we go!

1.) What is the smallest tank I can keep a Crenicichla acutirostris, strigata, sveni, OR (not and) vittata?
2.) Which one would you recomend?
3.) Any special information that goes with the one you recomend (i.e. temperment, full adult size, diet, how to sex, ect)


Thanks
Mike
 
Since I have a sveni I am going to suggest sveni. They only get about 10" full grown so They can go in a 55 gallon. They are big eaters and are very thick pikes. They are not going to look like a johanna or something they are about twice as thick. Which means they are going to eat and produce the same amount of waste as anyother 14" pike that is thin. I hope you get your pike and have fun. And peanut power should be here in no time to give better info. Good luck and I'm sure you will love whatever you get.

Chad
 
I also have a SVENI, and also a JOHANA, but i do prefer the thickness of the sveni as far as looks go, they get big, DO NOT bother trying to "mix" them in the same tank, unless you dont mind if one dies. I had my sveni for about 3 months in a 29Gal, then got a johana and it wasnt gonna work out, Now the Johana is in the new 55Gal sandy bottom, fish tank in living room, his tankmate is a locally caught 9" Largemouth Bass, They seem to not really like each other but deffinetly get along when compared to the two pike I had together. Well good luck, I will post some pics of the bass and pike if anybody wants to see them,,,lata all..

P.S.: peanut or anybody, my "johana" that I purchsed, he has the normal "brownish color with the red fins" but sometimes goes light on top, dark stripe in middle" light on bottom, and sometimes goes "completely black ( when hiding from bass i think), but some pics i see of johanas online show thier bodys being more "redish" will mine eventually do that??
 
P.S.: peanut or anybody, my "johana" that I purchsed, he has the normal "brownish color with the red fins" but sometimes goes light on top, dark stripe in middle" light on bottom, and sometimes goes "completely black ( when hiding from bass i think), but some pics i see of johanas online show thier bodys being more "redish" will mine eventually do that
Click to expand...

Its normal for your pike to change colors dependin on its mood...happens all the time. You put in a fish it is aggressive towards and you will see even more mood swings..haha. About the red, it all depends on the variant of johanna you got. Some johanna get more reddish than other variants, while still others stay more tan/brownish, while still others get rainbow colored...very kewl. Don't sweat it though, its not gonna start the color change till about 8 to 10"...;)
 
topoftheline77 said:
Okay I have a few questions about pikes and tank sizes... here we go!

1.) What is the smallest tank I can keep a Crenicichla acutirostris, strigata, sveni, OR (not and) vittata?
2.) Which one would you recomend?
3.) Any special information that goes with the one you recomend (i.e. temperment, full adult size, diet, how to sex, ect)


Thanks
Mike
Click to expand...

Aighty Mikeo!! Lets get down with the sickness!

First question, tank size. 55gal would be the utmost MINIMUM tank for the sveni...thats the only one. It would be cramped in a tank that size, as they do push 10" and 55gal aren't really that wide. If you could have a custom 55gal made that was 18" wide, that would be kewl. Basically you want the tank to be at least twice as wide as the pike. They are beefy, and like their space to turn around. The other three would be bare minimum of a 75gal. I got away with 3 Crenicichla sp. 'cobra', 3 Crenicichla sp. 'xingu II' , and 1 Crenicichla lenticulata in a 125gal. There was aggression, and there were some times i bit my fingernails, but since there were so many pikes, the aggression was pretty spread out. I wouldn't recommend doing that though. I've kept pikes for a long time, and i was just experimenting, it had its ups and its downs. Keep in mind NONE of the pikes were adults...all were juv. with the largest ones being 8.5"...;)


Second question: Your best bet would be to Crenicichla acutirostris...;) or vittata. Rapps has both right now, great prices, and are more laid back then your other options. I would pick acutirostris personally....awesome pikes! :D

Third question: Crenicichla acutirostris comes from the acutirostris group i think. Don't know much about the group, they are more compressed, and have a longer snout. I think Crenicichla percana is in the same group as well. They will eat small fish if given the chance, although people have had success keeping them with eartheaters, and some smaller fish. Just gotta watch the pike and work around its temperment. each pike is unique, some fish will be laid back, others will be rogues....;). Full adult male will be 12"...rarely do they push 14"...although it has happened. Females will be in the 10" to 12" range. Diet would be just like any other pikes. I fed my pikes on frozen cocktail shrimp, mysis shrimp, live black worms, earthworms, pellets, algae wafers, silversides, and durin the summer i would fatten them up on crickets and other insects..haha. Basically give them a well rounded diet, don't be afraid to experiment. Pikes are pretty liberal on what they will try/eat...haha.
 
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