# Pike Cichlid and my oscars??



## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

Will a pike cichlid be a good tankmate for my oscars? Trying to figure out which tank it will best work. Its about 5-6 inches


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

What kind of pike cichlid? There's almost 150 species...


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

oh boy  Well i picked it up, so far one oscar is takin action w it. Swimming up to it and opening his mouth, not biting, so i dunno what its doin :-?


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

How big is your tank? You might be in need of a divider...

Is the pike cichlid being harmed?


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

No doesn't seem so, its hangin w the oscars, following them around. There in a 55g  , i know.. too small but its will have to do until i can upgrade. Its a Lucius pike to answer your previous question..


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

How many oscars do you have???

Lucius pike cichlids get about 7-9 inches, shouldn't really cause a problem. Hopefully.

Next time research before buying.

Oh, and get a bigger tank. Soon.


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

2 Oscars, well to make a long story short, i took my to 9 inch Pacu's to the LPS bc i they were too big, knockin over everything, and running wide open into the side of the tank, got there and he showed me this new fish and i researched it a lil to see how big it might get and figured it wouldn't be a problem


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

You already have two oscars in a 55 gallon. Two oscars need twice that much space. More fish is just what you *don't* want until you can upgrade.

Please upgrade soon. A 125 gallon tank would make a perfect home for those fish.

Good luck,
Art


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## Al'Thor (Mar 11, 2006)

I agree 100% with artemis1. How big are your Oscars?


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

Oscars are appx 5inches


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

mrbiged said:


> Oscars are appx 5inches


Hurry up with that big tank... before the year is over they'll be 10'' or more...


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

I hope not, there growin slow for some reason, one is a fat hog, and the other one is slim,(just got over being sick)


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

Perhaps water quality...

If they don't grow around 1'' a month, somethings wrong...


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## Nick89 (May 26, 2008)

Not nessiarcily. Just because 1 oscar grows slower than another doesn't mean anything. Each oscar is different, each fish is different for that matter. Just be sure to have clean water, which means good filtration, and weekly water changes around 35%.. But since you have 2 oscars and a pike, i would say 45-50% weekly to keep those nitrates down. Also might want to think about getting Chemi-pure. Stabilizes tanks, and can reduce nitrates down by quite a bit. Makes water very very clear. And be sure to offer a variety of foods, especially a High quality staple pellet like Hikari, along with some frozen foods, freeze dried, and crickets.


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

Thanks for in the info Nick :thumb:


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## Nick89 (May 26, 2008)

No problem man. 8)


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## joeyballz (Jul 1, 2008)

Nick89 said:


> Not nessiarcily. Just because 1 oscar grows slower than another doesn't mean anything.


But if they are both growing slow...
How long have you had them? How big were they when you got them? I don't think once a week water changes will do it on a tank that size and stock for very long, maybe every 4 days. How often and how much water do you change now? What filters? Got a test kit?


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

well... Ok i change the water once a wk 50%, i have (2) 60g filters running(so thats covered for sure) and the oscars have both grown a couple inches since i got them in april. But one got beat up pretty badly when i put my FH in there so he got skinny and the other got fat. One is still fat and the other one is gettin back to shape, i sneak him a night crawler when the other one isn't looking :wink: :wink:


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## Nick89 (May 26, 2008)

Is the other Oscar getting any food with the other fish? If hes passive, and the others are very dominant at feeding then he might not be getting enough food.


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## mrbiged (Jun 3, 2008)

No the oscars eat first in the tank then the lil JD, and then the pike a the parrot


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

artemis1 said:


> How many oscars do you have???
> 
> Lucius pike cichlids get about 7-9 inches, shouldn't really cause a problem. Hopefully.
> 
> ...


 :-? I know there are dwarf pike cichlids but I'm not sure if 'Lucius' is among them. Info leads me to the Northern or Esox lucius (true pike). A whole nother 'ballgame'!! I could be wrong but double check to be sure. If I'm wrong, I appologize for the unecessary worry but if I'm right you better re-think your stocking plan. "T" http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/fish/esox.html


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)

Ha! I didn't know the northern pike was esox lucius. That's funny.

Lucius pike and lucius pike cichlids are two different things I suppose. Here's the lucius pike I think mrbiged is referring to.
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... p?id=26687

Here's the lucius "true" pike
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... php?id=258


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## moneygetter1 (Jan 8, 2006)

:wink: Good! False alarm! Thanx _*artemis1*_!! It scared the heck outta
me when I saw it so I thought I'd post. I don't mind being wrong in this case at all. Sorry for hittin the panic button. "T"


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## BlackShark11k (Feb 16, 2007)




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