Red-Fin/Grass Pickerel

[ViperCLKGTR]

Is it possible to keep Red-Fin Pickerel and Grass Pickerel together? I've seen people keep pairs of Grass Pickerel together but never a pair containing both. From what I gather they are the same just different coloration and other minor differences.

Also what is the growth rate on these bad boys? Is it slow or is it like my old Gar that would grow 1-2" a month? From first hand what are they topping out in captivity? I know wild 16" is the absolute max, with 12-14 being average I've heard 8-11 normal for captive growth with 12" being the record for home grown.

One final question any luck on getting them on pellet foods? I heard they will only take live but then again that's the only thing Gar and LMB would take be we all know that's not true.

 

[kzimmerman]

I have no idea on the growth rates. All of the specimens that I kept were already fully grown, never been able to obtain a juvie. You would be fine with a tank containing both, as long as it was large enough and contained enough plants to give each a lie. Pike in general are sight feeders, they may not recognize pellet food. You can try training them of of live, but I have some doubt it would work. You could train them to eat stuff impaled on a skewer though, like shrimp and squid. Good luck

 

[shadowavenger77]

i'd like to know to.

 

[ViperCLKGTR]

You could train them to eat stuff impaled on a skewer though, like shrimp and squid. Good luck

My plan exactly, have you had sucess with it? I want to target feed them with shrimp.

As for tank size and set-up, I'm set.

 

[TStephens]

I have a grass that eats any kind of sinking pellet, i originally starved him for around 3 weeks, then i used a suction bulb that i would stick a pellet in and i would wave the end of the bulb in front of him till it got his attention and then shot the pellet out in front of him and he would attack it. Now he takes any sinking pellet that falls in front of him.

 

[Gearhead]

Its pretty easy to train them on to pellets when they're young. Mine eats pellets and anything else that hits the water. Get some rosy reds. Hold a minnow over the tank untill the pickerel sees it. Once you have his attention, drop it in. He will start hitting it the moment it touches the water(or if your to close to the water he'll jump for it). Then drop in a cricket, he will hit it but he might spit it out. Then drop in a minnow. Do this for every feeding until he starts eating the crickets. Once he eats the crickets, drop in a pellet then a cricket. Eventualy he will eat the pellets. The reason I used crickets was because they floated like a pellet when he missed, then he would grab it off the surface. I would almost garuntee this method to work on just about any juvinile fish.

 

[MultispeciesTamer]

Its pretty easy to train them on to pellets when they're young. Mine eats pellets and anything else that hits the water. Get some rosy reds. Hold a minnow over the tank untill the pickerel sees it. Once you have his attention, drop it in. He will start hitting it the moment it touches the water(or if your to close to the water he'll jump for it). Then drop in a cricket, he will hit it but he might spit it out. Then drop in a minnow. Do this for every feeding until he starts eating the crickets. Once he eats the crickets, drop in a pellet then a cricket. Eventualy he will eat the pellets. The reason I used crickets was because they floated like a pellet when he missed, then he would grab it off the surface. I would almost garuntee this method to work on just about any juvinile fish.

This is a vary good way but its not 100% my pickerel never did eat the crickets nor the pellets. But my bass and other fish have. Pickerel grow fast in the first few months then slow way down. I am talking 3-6 inchs in a vary short time then they start to fill out and slow down.

 

[Chad55]

Back when I had my grass he hit like 9" in the first year and didn't see much growth from him after that. He was in a 55 by himself and I got him to take prepared foor by dangling a piece of shrimp tied by dental floss in front of him. Eventually he took that then pellets.

 

[Gearhead]

This is a vary good way but its not 100% my pickerel never did eat the crickets nor the pellets. But my bass and other fish have. Pickerel grow fast in the first few months then slow way down. I am talking 3-6 inchs in a vary short time then they start to fill out and slow down.

You could substitute shrimp or anything else on hand instead of crickets.