Why Aren't They More Common?

[NVCichlids]

Why aren't the dwarf pike cichlids more common? I kept two pairs of regani's about 2 years ago and lost both pairs to velvet. I am now looking for more dwarves, and they are hard to find. I really would like Crenicichla compressiceps, but I have only seen one in person, and them never for sale.

Why aren't these more common and does anyone have a lead on where I can find some of the following?

ANY PIKE UNDER 6" as adults along with:
Crenicichla menezesi - just tooo purdy to not try~!

Thanks in advance guys,

nate

[Matt Quinn]

I don't believe that any of the dwarf pikes are being farmed commercially (or would lend themselves to that)... so most fish are wild... and relatively pricey...and don't display well in LFS conditions... which is a shame.

A really cool dwarf is Crenicichla minuano...which I brought back from Uruguay. It's an insectivore that's really not too aggressive. I sold all that I brought back kind of regret not keeping a pair...

Matt

[NVCichlids]

I got my two pairs shipped to me for $65 last year (total) I was soo stoked to get them then... BOOM... dead I even had eggs, but everything was gone..

those look quite interesting! I love the larger pikes, but my wife does not like bigger fish

[Dean Hougen]

I think many people want to keep small cichlids in small tanks and that doesn't work well with many of the dwarf pikes. I've kept both Crenicichla compressiceps and Crenicichla regani. I kept Cr. compressiceps in a 125 gallon (6' long) aquarium with much large cichlids and they weren't too bad with one another but I know several aquarists who tried them in smaller tanks and had things go bad with them. The Cr. regani I kept in a smaller tank (70 gallons/4' long) and that seemed sufficient for them.



Dean

[Petroby]

G'day All, you blokes are so lucky over there being able to go down and catch wild fish and bring them home, we can'teven keep pikes here in Aus, they won't let them into the country along with most other cichlids. In fact the way our Federal Government is going, all cichlid imports will be only a memory due to their stance regarding iridovirus :(

[Mikeinco]

G'day All, you blokes are so lucky over there being able to go down and catch wild fish and bring them home, we can'teven keep pikes here in Aus, they won't let them into the country along with most other cichlids. In fact the way our Federal Government is going, all cichlid imports will be only a memory due to their stance regarding iridovirus :(

Peter so sorry to hear that. I would have to move lol.

[jgentry]

Why aren't the dwarf pike cichlids more common? I kept two pairs of regani's about 2 years ago and lost both pairs to velvet. I am now looking for more dwarves, and they are hard to find. I really would like Crenicichla compressiceps, but I have only seen one in person, and them never for sale.

Why aren't these more common and does anyone have a lead on where I can find some of the following?

ANY PIKE UNDER 6" as adults along with:
Crenicichla menezesi - just tooo purdy to not try~!

Thanks in advance guys,

nate

Unfortunately all pikes other then Vens, bellycrawlers, johanna, and Xingu I are fairly rare. They tend to show up seasonally. Check aquabid, SNOOKN21 has some dwarfs right now for a good price.

Dean is correct that they still tend to need a decent sized tank to do well. Generally a 4ft tank will work for most of them.

[Dean Hougen]

Peter, we are lucky indeed!


Dean

[Fevz]

I have to agree with Peter. The only wild and interesting fish in my country would be the esox lucius. The rest of them are just dull colored or boring looking fish.

But i'm glad that we don't have government restrictions regarding importing wild animals

[ryansmith]

I got some C. regani a week or two ago from John (snookn21) and even though they're small, they are full of personality and spunk. I got two females and a male, and they've all decided that they hate each other! The females fight one another and the male fights both of the females. They've all picked out their own little cave in the tank and they pop out for food, but otherwise they're hiding or chasing each other. I hope the male comes around and picks a mate.

I have been looking for C. compressiceps since I saw one in a picture of Uaru years ago. (Interestingly enough, I found that article when seeking my first Uaru, and I'm pretty sure it was written by Dean Hougen. Maybe he still has the picture.) I have never seen a live C. compressiceps and I've never seen them on any fish lists. :(

[Dean Hougen]

I recall the article but I don't recall which photos were published with it. This was one of the C. compressiceps that was in with the Uaru.

http://www.cs.ou.edu/~hougen/fishpics/Pike4.jpg

Here are four of the Uaru (plus some Geos) with a pike peaking in at the lower left.

http://www.cs.ou.edu/~hougen/fishpics/Uaru_cover2.jpg

The pikes would snatch the Uaru eggs and fry until the Uaru learned to chase them off. Then the pikes learned to hide behind the Geos to get close, then spring out from cover and nab eggs and fry. I didn't mind because the Uaru produced hundreds of fry. The Uaru minded, though.


Dean

[ryansmith]

Dean, I found the picture on Google Images:

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j49/ryansmith83/fb4af9dc.jpg

[Dean Hougen]

Thanks! I remember that picture now. I'm sure I have the original slide around here somewhere. Some day I'll buy or borrow a real slide scanner and get better scans of some of my old slides. (These were done with an adapter on a flatbed scanner, not a true slide scanner.)


Dean

[chc]

Cool shots. I love tanks with fish of different sizes and shapes. Nice mix of fish!

[Dean Hougen]

Thanks! It was a great tank and I miss the Uaru and comps.


Dean