Striped Pike Characin Compatibility

[SpecialKay]

Does anyone have experience with keeping B. Lateristriga? I want to keep some, and need to know if my setup is compatible before re-scaping the tank.

Tank
IM SR2 80 AIO

Stock
6x P. Senegal (3 are long fin)
1x M. Bocourti
1x N. Brevidorsalis
5x M. Vanheurni

I know a 90g is usually recommended, but the SR2 has more footprint for less height. I'm also not sure if they would mess with my bichirs or rainbows.

 

[Ansorgii]

While you technically can, I would not recommend (them in general).Boulengerella are very finicky to deal with, and at least for me very frustrating.

To put it blunt, the are stupid, stupidly fast and have zero confidence. They don't belong in a (typical) tank at all.

Your Stock should be fine in terms of they propably wont hurt them and vice versa, but I can see the bichirs spooking them at night and possibly day which will make them go ballistic every time. They won't learn the concept of glas, and keep swimming against it until they can't anymore.

These fish are built to be very fast, and while young ones are a lot more docile, they grow out of it.

The longest I kept one was a cuvieri till it was about 40cm, and I never saw his body with all his scales due to him constantly roleplaying a missile on the loose. The only positive I can recite is that he kept tanking all this damage, which is why I said you technically can.

I heard that Hujeta are a lot better, I made good experiences with Hepsetus Odoe if you want sth. pike shaped, tho your tank is to small for that.

Maybe I just had really bad luck so far, but if I am not the exception please stay away from them, for both you and the fish.

 

[SpecialKay]

While you technically can, I would not recommend (them in general).Boulengerella are very finicky to deal with, and at least for me very frustrating.

To put it blunt, the are stupid, stupidly fast and have zero confidence. They don't belong in a (typical) tank at all.

Your Stock should be fine in terms of they propably wont hurt them and vice versa, but I can see the bichirs spooking them at night and possibly day which will make them go ballistic every time. They won't learn the concept of glas, and keep swimming against it until they can't anymore.

These fish are built to be very fast, and while young ones are a lot more docile, they grow out of it.

The longest I kept one was a cuvieri till it was about 40cm, and I never saw his body with all his scales due to him constantly roleplaying a missile on the loose. The only positive I can recite is that he kept tanking all this damage, which is why I said you technically can.

I heard that Hujeta are a lot better, I made good experiences with Hepsetus Odoe if you want sth. pike shaped, tho your tank is to small for that.

Maybe I just had really bad luck so far, but if I am not the exception please stay away from them, for both you and the fish.

Hey, thanks for the input!

May I ask what your setup for them was like? I am aware they're extremely skittish, so I planned to rescape my aquarium with that in mind.

I was going to completely pad the sides and back of my tank with 4 layers of dense plants to prevent them crashing into glass. I also planned to put in floating plants with extensive roots to break line of sight to dissuade sudden bursts of speed.


However, if that is still not enough I won't get them. The B. Lateristriga was the closest fish I could find that looked like a gar. Hujetas are nice, but they don't quite have same look.

 

[Ansorgii]

It was heavily planted 2m tank, with 2 large crinum and a bunch of seagrass like plants.

They liked to stay in the crinum, but once they went ballistic, they just rocketet through the tank uncontrolled. Hitting the glass, scraping driftwood and even going through hills of sand.

I don't think plants can prevent any of that.

Gars don't do that. They are a lot calmer, but aholes sometimes.

Most fish with a body like that are either really fast and/or grow quite large. Xenentodon Cancilla stays smaller, but idk much about their personality.

If you want to keep gar get a suitable tank and tankmates, but in your current setup it just won't work (the rainbowfish wont have a great time).

 

[SpecialKay]

Oh wow that sounds insane lol. I definitely won't get them in that case.

I would love a gar, but I can't fit the appropriate tank in my home gym. It's why I was looking into Pike characins. Of all the fish I found, they look the most similar to true gars.

I have looked into x. Cancilla, but they don't quite have that chunky look to them that adult gars have. Also I hear they may need salt depending on where they're caught from.

 

[Ansorgii]

What about Belonesox or Luciocephalus ? While they also look more like a barracuda they are way calmer and moderat in size.

 

[SpecialKay]

Those do look pretty cool. I don't think the Luciocephalus would fit, since their required ph is way out of bounds for the others in the tank.

The belonesox do fit, assuming I can get all females. The males supposedly max out at 10cm, which my bichirs would see as food.