northern pike

[supersam]

I always thought it would be cool to get a northern pike or a muskie. does anyone know how fast they grow? I know you would need a huge tank if they ever got fully grown. I saw one at the lfs it must of been about 6-7 inch and it was stuck in a 20 gallon tank. I felt so bad for it.
I thought you could probably keep it for quite awhile in a 75 gallon tank. I hope
what do ya think

 

[Opcn]

They get to be about 40 inches long, they are very interesting fish but there just to big to keep in a tank, a large pond would be needed, fortunatly they dont need airation or very clean water So you wouldn't need a powerfull filter (Or a deep pond, if you weren't in such a cold area) , but they do grow lightning fast so they wouldnt last long inside, I hear that they can be stunted well at about 2 ft logn but I'd rather you not, Just get em into a pond thats atleast 5ft X10ft and deep enought that it doesn;t freeze

 

[ryan]

They have been known to get as large as 60", however, 40" is much more likely especailly in captivity. As said, you would need a very large tank of at least 300gallons. You'd have to use low lighting levels and plant the tank heavily so the fish can remain hidden as would do in the wild, being an ambush predator. As suggested a pond is probably best for these fish.

 

[bribones]

24" is about avarage for a 3 year old fish ,they can live up to 25 years and the average is about 45" ,wild caught records have one at 54" and weighing 46 pounds,id say a pond is a must and only if you can build a large one, jacks(young pike)will feed on anything big enough to look like a meal so other fish are out of the question,on a bright note there supposed to be a good table fish


long time no see ryan ??

 

[Opcn]

Sorry about the size thing, I was just going on the fact that I have never sen one that large, They are invasive in my part of the world (Lower 1/3rd of the state of Alaska). They will eat pretty much anything thats smaller than half there length, aznd not to thick, they are the kind of fish that will swim around with a tail hanging out of there mouth till everything is digested enought to swallow the rest. On the plus side of that equation they do make a great table fish, granted you'll toss in alot of fish meat and only get out 3 fluffy bone free fillets (Tail Just after the end of the dorsal fin, above the "Y" bones, and bellow the "Y" bones, the Meat withing the "Y" bones is forfit) But if you can figure out a cheap way to feed it your set.

Personally I think there are much cooler fish to keep in a pond, like striped bass, or artic greyling (beautiful Sailfin freshwater salmonoid)