Pike Cichilids

[frazoo]

i saw this beautiful pike cichilid (i think) at my lfs but restrained from buying it right away.
it was red and i think it had some black spots
it was about 5 inches
do pike cichilids swalow fish whole like panfish do or do they bite on their prey with their teeth like pike do?(or do they eat fish to start with)
would it fit in my 30 gal long?
could it live with my golden wonder killi?

thanks

 

[CFC]

Pike Cichlids are piscavors, that is they eat fish. They swallow their prey whole and can manage fish up to half their own size with ease, they are also very aggressive and will attack and kill any fish that enter their territory or have a similar body shape. Most pike Cichlids with the exception of a few dwarf species will grow to between 8 and 16 inches long and some get a whole lot bigger. They are generally not suitable for communities apart from those which contain much larger fish, it would most likely not be safe to mix a pike Cichlid with your golden wonder killie.

 

[frazoo]

would it be safe to put it in with a redbreasted sunfish(about 3 1\2")and a creekchub (7in)?

 

[juanveldez]

I wouldn't mix a tropical pike with native fish. there is just so much that could go wrong. from the sounds of what you discribed from the pike it sounds like it belongs to the lugubris group of pikes and those while they are brightly colored as juvies are going to eventually reach sizes of 12+ inches and are out the possible caring range for all but the most dedicated to cichlids. I myself have one and as he gets bigger so will the tank that he lives in. currently he is about 6.5 inches and will in a couple of years be 14+ inches.

these fish aren't to be taken lightly they DON'T like other fish once they get to be about 6-8 inches thats when they really really hate other fish mine attacks his own reflection and won't back down from a fight. ( though that is true of most pikes and is usually their undoing)