Davis, all pike cichlids are from south america, and all are piscivorous( eats fish) somes will eat meaty food like bloodworms, krill,and other shrimps, beefheart..but basically fish eaters...thats why you cannot keep it with mbunas( wich are vegetarians) ps..most pikes gets 12 in long! i strongly suggest you to get a another tank for that guy

thank you chuck, i read a article that said that you can train them to eat pellet food, I'm going to try that. I'm getting a 55 gallon tank soon, but that will most definitely not be south americans, I'll through him in there and see what happens.

good luk!

thanks...if there is anything else you guys can think of please let me know.

hey guys do this Pikes get BIG???

davis, about what??? pike care?

if this is what I think(crenicichla lepidota) it reaches about 13-14 in!!!!should not be trusted even with fish of its size!

Juan, i think chuck said they get to be about 12 in long.

Chuck, I meant in general...if there is anything you guys(as in everyone in the site) to please let me know so I can fix this problem with my pike, I cant afford live food on a daily basis(i'm only 14) so if there is a cheaper solution or what not.

even by``training`` him to pellets you will have to supplement with live food..at least once a week but i tell you, you will not be able to mix a lot of fish with him in 55 gal...i sujjest you to get rid of it or buy a bigger tank

well, ill see what happens...I know my way around aquariums

cool , keep us posted

I will, this is one of those fun long challenges that I love this hobby for.

Davis, try to use Tetra Jumbo Cichlids sticks, separate them in couple smaller pieces, since your fish still too little for this large food.
I had allot of success using this brand with most finicky eaters, who prefer live food, including pikes, snake head, pink chelsea, fresh water barracuda, etc.
krill is great too, but will cost you allot more.
Here the link for yo, to know what to get. I am glad, you only 14, but do care about fish as an adult...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+7927+4362&pcatid=4362

thank you very much Alex, that was just the answer I was looking for. I will definitely follow your advise and invest in some Tetra Jumbo Cichlids sticks and keep you posted on the fishes progress.

nice pike ,but i agree with chuck when he/she gets big say goodbye to some of your fish ,i've had pike and they are very under-rated ,and can be very aggressive , my pike would destroy anything it did'nt like ,and try and eat anthing that would fit into its mouth ,and it would eat catfish pellets , which i found strange.But good luck on trying to convert your pike into a clown loach ,they are natural predators , did you know that pike cichlids are the longest parenting fish in the world ,and protect there young until they are nearly adults. but like i said nice pike, you will enjoy watching it hunt your fish.

I actually noticed that my pikes were very tolerant to many large fish as long it doesn't fit in their mouth.
Another story when it comes to their own, never see anyone that intolerant.
I had large lepidota pair living with convicts, red devil, jd's, poleni and some other in my old 180 g tank. They weren’t a kings, even close, can't even find breeding place, since they can't protected.

Davis, all you need to worry now is how to make her eat

i hope it works for davis to alex ,im being a bit negative and compareing his pike to the one i had ,all fish are different and have seperate personalities.

i got you matty, fish are different, still I can see the pattern, in aggression level for different species. For example JD can’t be a Red Devil or Red Terror, etc
But you may have different type of pike (more agro then mine), different tankmates (less agro then mine), different surrounding, etc.

for instance my pike and knife fish where the only fish in my tank that would not bat an eye lid at my gar when all other fish would swim opposit direction.

I still have to get those tetra stick's...shes getting skinnier everyday:(

get him some feeders!!!!

then ill give into the fight, i would really like to be able just feed him frozen food. Feeders are too expensive when you are 14 with little income.

to train him is to go gradually, you will not be able to feed him dead(or inerte) food items right away...i would try some fish strips or pieces, chiken hearts cut in pieces would do too( cheap at the grocery store)

earthworms would fat it up also !!

chicken hearts...how about fried chicken, lol

ill also have trouble feeding only him the worms or chicken, any suggestions?

man , i saw about 30 chicken hearts for 1,50$ yesterday...pretty, cheap, cheaper that those tetra sticks!!!

dont you have a friend that has a batch of baby convicts to get rid of???

any suggestions on how to isolate the food to only him? I know the more aggressive bigger fish will eat it all

nope, no friends in this business

yes, and meaty food can kill your mbunas...get him another tank...otherwise you will loose that fish( or mbunas tring to put meat in your tank)

one thing is sure, get it out of your mbuna tank...food and water parameters are very different fo both

BUT I PAID A LOT FOR HIM, well see how he does, lets just see.

I got him eating some frozen shrimp, I mix that with vegetables so my mbuna's don't get over fed meat. I also have lettuce in the tank for them.

davis, do your homeworks BEFORE buying fish buddy...cichlids.com is a good site for advices from experienced fishkeepers

If your Mbunas are already eating high protein food (even if it's not alot) you are still putting them at massive risk. Would you see a rabbit eat chicken, I don't think so. These fish have dietary requirements for a reason and i think you should put more attention to finding your pike a new home.

Dee, I agree 100% Malawi bloat can't be much fun, and almost uncurable.

all right, all right

I know what I'm gonna do. Turn my 2 gal into a South American, and when he outgrows it ill sell him.

how much did u get it for davis?

Davis, 2g sounds way too little. A tank divider might work until you can get another setup. Both my pikes eat earthworms (free from my yard) and they have quickly learned to eat frozen and pellet crushed. Good luck!

yeah 2g is kinda small even for some guppies ahaha

lol, i mean 29 gallon