What's that, lurking in the background?

[Gruff Master]

Well, it's starting.

I did a large (75%) water change last night and now the pikes are attacking everything. They dug out a spot in the sand underneath the ugly fake plastic log I put in the tank and have taken up residence there, but they don't just chase fish away... they go after fish all over the tank.

I moved the severums that I wanted to keep to another tank (minus the Atabapo, which seem to be holding their own) and now it's just the pikes, the Atabapo, and the psittacus. They're even stressing him out now.

The question is -- should I try to find some bigger, rougher fish to hang out with the pikes in the 210g, or should I move the pikes to their own smaller tank, maybe a 125?

Does this behavior mean that you actually have a male and female instead of two males?
Or is it just two males claiming their shared territory? It's too bad that they can't live peacefully with your other Cichlids. But it would be awesome if your suspected males turned out to be a breeding pair!

 

[smarchant22]

i like them, they look great, keep it up!

 

[jgentry]

Well, I guess I'm open to suggestions on the tank size. It can be bigger or smaller than a 125, I just wasn't sure what would be best for two pikes this size. I don't really want to give them the 210g for themselves... It just seems like a lot of wasted space for 2 fish.

I've kept them with that sev pair and psittacus in a 220g so it can work. I would just arrange the tank so that the pikes have a territory at one end. Then you just need something to break the line of site to the rest of the tank. They would defend there space for me but never caused any issues. Those atabapo sevs are one mean pair so they should have no issues holding there own.

I would not keep them in there own tank. They tend to not swim a lot or be as active without other fish to make them comfortable. If you can't make it work I would go for tougher tankmates for them instead of just giving them a tank.

 

[Peanut_Power]

These fish are wimps! Just kidding, just kidding.

But in all seriousness, even my big male super red severum has been pushing them around today with his mouth open and they back down to him. I'm assuming this is because they're new to the tank? The only fish they push back at is my psittacus, and even then, they still tend to back away from him while their gills are flared.

I was really surprised to see the super red have a go considering he's my most mellow and easy-going fish.

You do remember posting this right?

Definitely break up the line of sight, as generally out of sight, out of mind. If they have decided they don't like a particular tankmate though, its best to just remove them completely, as the pikes will terrorize the snot outa them.

 

[ryansmith83]

At this point, I probably need to rescape the tank. It's basically just sand and branchy manzanita wood, with that tacky decoration I stuck in for the pikes to hide in. I'll probably set it up to give them a nice hideaway at one end and then put a big trunky/branchy piece in the middle to break up the line of sight. I just have to find the right piece.

It's interesting that all the aggression only comes from one pike. They do act like a pair in every sense, except that they're both males. They share a hiding spot, the dominant one defends and protects the other... it's a relief that they like each other so well. I was always afraid I'd only be able to keep a lone pike in each tank.

Edit: I'm also wondering if all this started because I removed three fish. I ditched two of my big male severums and moved a third to a different tank. I know that when you remove cichlids, the pecking order has to be reestablished. Maybe the pikes saw that as their chance to get their foot in the door, so to speak.

 

[jgentry]

At this point, I probably need to rescape the tank. It's basically just sand and branchy manzanita wood, with that tacky decoration I stuck in for the pikes to hide in. I'll probably set it up to give them a nice hideaway at one end and then put a big trunky/branchy piece in the middle to break up the line of sight. I just have to find the right piece.

It's interesting that all the aggression only comes from one pike. They do act like a pair in every sense, except that they're both males. They share a hiding spot, the dominant one defends and protects the other... it's a relief that they like each other so well. I was always afraid I'd only be able to keep a lone pike in each tank.

Edit: I'm also wondering if all this started because I removed three fish. I ditched two of my big male severums and moved a third to a different tank. I know that when you remove cichlids, the pecking order has to be reestablished. Maybe the pikes saw that as their chance to get their foot in the door, so to speak.

It could very well be because you removed some fish. I think a rescape will do the trick though. Those 2 pikes have always been together like that. I"m not sure if that is common for 2 males or if at some point one is going to suprise you and start showing a white stripe in it's dorsal. Someone on here told me they had one that did not show it's dorsal coloration until it was over 12" but I can't remember who it was. They were a well known pike keeper though. They look like males but don't act like it.

 

[ryansmith83]

My Crenicichla experience isn't going so well. The dominant pike has now decided that he hates his brother after they've been together all this time. The submissive fish has been evicted from the cave and the other pike is constantly hunting him around the tank and lunging at him. The submissive fish doesn't even try to stand up to him; it just darts away. I'm afraid I'm going to have to separate them, which will probably mean finding a new home for one of them. I don't know that I want to keep a single fish by itself in a tank.

 

[Gruff Master]

Any updates about your Lents? Did you find a way to keep your stock in the same tank?

 

[ryansmith83]

Things have mellowed out a bit. I moved their hiding spot to the very end of the tank and stacked a ton of driftwood around and in front of it, so they have a very specific, sheltered place to defend. They do come out and chase other fish occasionally, and they're always at the front of the tank for feeding time, but things haven't been too bad.

The only fish in the tank right now are my pair of Atabapo severums, a third Atabapo severum, the psittacus, a saxatilis pike, and the lents. The psittacus has a go at the lents occasionally and I see them mouthing at each other, but that's about it.

Speaking of the Atabapo pair... they spawned again a few days ago, only a week or so after I removed their previous batch of fry. The female is already holding wrigglers again. They've basically taken my 210g hostage. All the other fish are piled at the opposite end of the tank. I may have to rethink housing for the pair.

 

[Gruff Master]

I'm glad to hear that things are going better, Ryan. It would be a shame to be forced to separate those two. Good luck with yet another batch of fry too.