Vieja cichlid and pike cichlid?
- Thread starter MrBichir
- Start date
But Generally speaking, size wise, you should be fine. But there are a lot of factors to consider. Will all these be bought as juveniles and raised from there? What kind of Pike cichlid? Do you have another tank incase one starts beating up on the other?
Your biggest hurdle will be compatability. Pike cichlids can be very territorial and stress out your other 2 fish. I would recommend a smaller pike cichlid like a Crenicichla Compressiceps, Johanna, or Strigata. Compressiceps is the smallest by far but these guys are incredibly fun to watch and they stick up for themselves.
if you have enough hiding spaces to separate them all, I think you'll be just fine.
Your biggest hurdle will be compatability. Pike cichlids can be very territorial and stress out your other 2 fish. I would recommend a smaller pike cichlid like a Crenicichla Compressiceps, Johanna, or Strigata. Compressiceps is the smallest by far but these guys are incredibly fun to watch and they stick up for themselves.
if you have enough hiding spaces to separate them all, I think you'll be just fine.
Crenicichla johanna and Crenicichla sp venezuela (strigatas haven't been exported since mid 2000s) are not smaller pikes like compressiceps. If anything they are part of the lugubris family and easily reach 12", even for females. They are far from being placid. Raising from these from juveniles guarantees nothing.
Most pikes are best left with soft water as opposed to the Central American cichlids like vieja types and convict types, which thrive in hard water. The lugubris family get HITH within the first 5 years if kept in hard water.
Most pikes are best left with soft water as opposed to the Central American cichlids like vieja types and convict types, which thrive in hard water. The lugubris family get HITH within the first 5 years if kept in hard water.
I agree
Water parameters would be my first bugaboo.
Since most pike cichlids imported these days are mainly from Amazonia ( soft water, low pH, low mineral content areas) and most Vieja (and other Central Americans, including Cons) come from hard water, high ph, high mineral content areas, one or the other may suffer depending on your tap water conditions, usually manifesting in HITH for S Americans in hard water.
I have been able to keep Uruguayan pikes in neutral water though, because they are adapted over millennia to much different conditions than their more northern soft water, low pH Amazonian cousins.
A Uruguayan C.saxitillus below
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I have an 11" male red atabapo and he was introduced into my tank which has a large 12" but stocky male vieja. The vieja went in to his shell once the pike was in and even though the pike seems much smaller and had been in there a year less than the Vieja it just dominated him.
You wouldnt see damage on the vieja or any fighting but they locked jaws a couple of times that I saw and then the Vieja just shied away
I moved the Vieja on in the end and the pike is still a knob
You wouldnt see damage on the vieja or any fighting but they locked jaws a couple of times that I saw and then the Vieja just shied away
I moved the Vieja on in the end and the pike is still a knob
My vieja did well with the big jaguar I have, florida gar, rays, clown loach Lima cat it was only the issue with the pike which was the pike being the problem rather than the Vieja but I wanted the pike more than the vieja so the vieja moved on