Introducing Zebrina Pike To Community

[Arrow1oo]

So I have a 300 gallon (8’ long) that’s currently stocked with:

- 6 5” Severums gold/red spotted
- 7 Geophagus Sveni 5”
- 5 Electric blue Acara 4-5”
- 2 Chocolate cichlids 3”

I also have a 3” Zebrina pike that’s been quarantined for a month. He’s eating vibra bites and sometimes krill flake but beyond that he’s understandably slightly averse to pellets.

I’m wondering if it’s appropriate to add him to my display now. I know the other cichlids are a bit bigger but from what I see they shouldn’t be able to eat or bully him too much, despite him being smaller.

I’m wondering if the extra fish and activity will help bring him out more and introduce some competition so he’s more accepting of other types of food.

It’s also worth nothing that my chocolates are pretty picky as well and really only prefer frozen worms and krill. Any idea what to do about them?

 

[tinylostwine]

Odd on the chocolates - i have wild caught chocolate and they will eat pretty much any dry food in put in with gusto though they do prefer at least one helping of flakes. I started them at around 2/3 inch and now they are like monsters from the deep but very gentle - they never bite my fingers by mistake nor do they seem to bother the serpae tetra.

As to your question the only potential issue i see are the eba being aggressive for the sake of being aggressive.

Of course when that pike is an adult it will probably eat the eba and do serious damage to pretty much everyone else. Definitely a highly predatory fish when fully grown. Not one to be kept with passive fishes like you have.

To be honest i'd return it to the store and not put it in the aquarium. It isn't your question but whatever. Pretty fish if you don't mind the carnage.
Since i have it on disk here is one picture of the proud parents:


Anyway i also think you are getting a bit over stocked those geo will want very clean water and get quite large and bulky.

 

[Arrow1oo]

Odd on the chocolates - i have wild caught chocolate and they will eat pretty much any dry food in put in with gusto though they do prefer at least one helping of flakes. I started them at around 2/3 inch and now they are like monsters from the deep but very gentle - they never bite my fingers by mistake nor do they seem to bother the serpae tetra.

I’m definitely planning on removing some fish, especially as they grow larger.

I was actually told on a few forums that a zebrina wouldn’t be bad (potentially even too shy, was suggested I get an atabapo as it would be better suited).

If the pike sincerely won’t work I’ll definitely rehome it.

 

[Cyberfish]

I’m definitely planning on removing some fish, especially as they grow larger.

I was actually told on a few forums that a zebrina wouldn’t be bad (potentially even too shy, was suggested I get an atabapo as it would be better suited).

If the pike sincerely won’t work I’ll definitely rehome it.

It all depends on the pike's personality. Some are chill, and some are 1-foot devils. It will be a little bit overstocked once they grow a little bigger, so you'll probably have to take something out.

 

[Arrow1oo]

It all depends on the pike's personality. Some are chill, and some are 1-foot devils. It will be a little bit overstocked once they grow a little bigger, so you'll probably have to take something out.

Gotcha.

My intended final stocking would be:

- 4 severums
- 1 chocolate cichlid
- 4 Electric blue acaras (one male)
- 5 geophagus sveni
- 1 zebrina
- 2 oscars

If the pike gets in the way of this otherwise fair stocking, I can rehome it

 

[TClare]

I think the pike will be fine, at least for a while and maybe always. I believe they are not really aggressive and probably it would only be a danger to smaller fish than those you have. And I agree that being with other fish will encourage it to try other foods, this certainly happened with my wild caught dwarf pikes.

While it is small it is possible that the acaras could be aggressive towards it so make sure there are plenty of places the pike can hide.

I do think though that when all those fish are full grown your tank will be rather crowded…

 

[Cyberfish]

I agree with TClare. The pikes are likely not going to be too bad some are just worst than others. However, your final stocking is still to overcrowded. Since you don't yet have the oscars, I would reccomend removing them from the stocking and you should be good.

 

[Arrow1oo]

I agree with TClare. The pikes are likely not going to be too bad some are just worst than others. However, your final stocking is still to overcrowded. Since you don't yet have the oscars, I would reccomend removing them from the stocking and you should be good.

I see. Definitely wanted Oscar’s, if I were to shift things to try to make them work, what would you suggest?

Is there a stocking where I can manage to keep both Oscar’s and the pike? Sorry to push for it but the family definitely wants em.

All in all I would say the Oscar’s are priority

 

[Cyberfish]

I see. Definitely wanted Oscar’s, if I were to shift things to try to make them work, what would you suggest?

Is there a stocking where I can manage to keep both Oscar’s and the pike? Sorry to push for it but the family definitely wants em.

They'll work but it's just the stocking that is a little heavy. I'd suggest removing some the geos as they're most likely to be bullied and want the best water conditions.

 

[tinylostwine]

I would also worry about the dynamics with adult oscars. They have a reputation to being not nearly as gentle as the chocolates.

 

[TClare]

That’s definitely an issue with this sort of setup, while juvenile oscars and severums may all get on fine, this could well change as they mature. I suppose one approach would be to obtain juvenile specimens initially and rehome individuals as and when necessary. This might need to happen more quickly than you think.. as for space, bear in mind that Oscars, severums, chocolate cichlids and the Geophagus will all be big fish as adults. And regarding water quality all of these South American cichlids are susceptible to HITH and sensitive to high nitrates as well as water that is too hard.

I would say you can have the pike and at least one oscar, but maybe not as many as the other species.

 

[Arrow1oo]

They'll work but it's just the stocking that is a little heavy. I'd suggest removing some the geos as they're most likely to be bullied and want the best water conditions.

Got it. Appreciate your help by the way, my first foray into bigger cichlids.

Ideally, I’m looking at a final stocking of:

- 2 Oscar’s
- 4 severums
- 4 Electric blue acara (1m3f)
- 5 geophagus (1m4f)
- 1 Zebrina pike

I also would like to keep a chocolate cichlid but I’m definitely flexible and willing to rehome that since I want the other fish a bit more.

I have a pretty heavy filtration system setup with a 75 gallon tank as a sump and a planted refugium section with pothos plants to keep nitrates at a minimum.

 

[Cyberfish]

Got it. Appreciate your help by the way, my first foray into bigger cichlids.

Ideally, I’m looking at a final stocking of:

- 2 Oscar’s
- 4 severums
- 4 Electric blue acara (1m3f)
- 5 geophagus (1m4f)
- 1 Zebrina pike

I also would like to keep a chocolate cichlid but I’m definitely flexible and willing to rehome that since I want the other fish a bit more.

I have a pretty heavy filtration system setup with a 75 gallon tank as a sump and a planted refugium section with pothos plants to keep nitrates at a minimum.

I would keep 3 geos max and 2 severums max. Otherwise you're fine. Chocolates are going to be obliterated. If you remove the oscars you could keep the 5 geos and 4 severums you can keep like 2 chocolates. You can't keep chocos and oscars.

 

[Arrow1oo]

That’s definitely an issue with this sort of setup, while juvenile oscars and severums may all get on fine, this could well change as they mature. I suppose one approach would be to obtain juvenile specimens initially and rehome individuals as and when necessary. This might need to happen more quickly than you think.. as for space, bear in mind that Oscars, severums, chocolate cichlids and the Geophagus will all be big fish as adults. And regarding water quality all of these South American cichlids are susceptible to HITH and sensitive to high nitrates as well as water that is too hard.

I would say you can have the pike and at least one oscar, but maybe not as many as the other species.

Got it, appreciate the advice. I’ll definitely have to monitor things and rehome fish as needed. I put in another comment that ideal stocking would be:

- 2 Oscar’s
- 4 severums
- 4 Electric blue acara (1m3f)
- 5 geophagus (1m4f)
- 1 Zebrina pike

This accounts for removing some extra fish and trying to keep male to female ratios intact. I do understand Oscar’s can be hit or miss as individuals for sure so I’ll keep that in mind.

I also have pretty good filtration but time will tell as fish get bigger. I’ll keep an eye on nitrates and make sure the pothos does its job.

Appreciate everyone’s help and advice.

I would keep 3 geos max and 2 severums max. Otherwise you're fine. Chocolates are going to be obliterated. If you remove the oscars you could keep the 5 geos and 4 severums you can keep like 2 chocolates. You can't keep chocos and oscars.

I see, I’m surprised to hear that because I initially saw the cichlid bros channel express some long term success with an Oscar and chocolate cichlid in a 220 with what was basically a smaller version of my stocking (except for the pike).

But if that’s true I don’t mind excluding chocolates.

 

[Cyberfish]

I see, I’m surprised to hear that because I initially saw the cichlid bros channel express some long term success with an Oscar and chocolate cichlid in a 220 with what was basically a smaller version of my stocking (except for the pike).

But if that’s true I don’t mind excluding chocolates.

It may be possible, but it didn't work for me. Given your tank is about 120 gallons larger than mine, you'll probably have much more success.

Your ideal stocking would be:

- 2 Oscar’s
- 2 chocolate cichlids
- 2 severums
- 4 Electric blue acara (1m3f)
- 3 geophagus (1m2f)
- 1 Zebrina pike

 

[TClare]

I think the above stocking looks good but might have to be modified eventually, depending how the various cichlids get on with each other

 

[tinylostwine]

It may be possible, but it didn't work for me. Given your tank is about 120 gallons larger than mine, you'll probably have much more success.

Your ideal stocking would be:

- 2 Oscar’s
- 2 chocolate cichlids
- 2 severums
- 4 Electric blue acara (1m3f)
- 3 geophagus (1m2f)
- 1 Zebrina pike

A few issues - the geo sveni is pair forming not harem breeder so multiple females might cause friction - also the group is a bit small as they prefer larger groups - In truth i would just drop the geo because things can get really messy. But there are harem breeding geo like gold dust (g. sp alto) - and the females are a lot smaller so 1m 4f will work better. I haven't kept eba because i generally avoid man made species but they are pair forming and if they behave like similar fishes the females might fight quite a bit once a pair forms.

This is what gold dust look like: The males can get rather stunning but the females will always be a bit plain.

 

[Arrow1oo]

A few issues - the geo sveni is pair forming not harem breeder so multiple females might cause friction - also the group is a bit small as they prefer larger groups - In truth i would just drop the geo because things can get really messy. But there are harem breeding geo like gold dust (g. sp alto) - and the females are a lot smaller so 1m 4f will work better. I haven't kept eba because i generally avoid man made species but they are pair forming and if they behave like similar fishes the females might fight quite a bit once a pair forms.

This is what gold dust look like: The males can get rather stunning but the females will always be a bit plain.

View attachment 929902

Got it, thanks for the info. For my EBA I have one male who seems to breed with two separate females, after pairing with one. Not sure if that’s normal but I’ll do some research to ensure it won’t be too crazy of an issue with one male a 3 females.

 

[tinylostwine]

Got it, thanks for the info. For my EBA I have one male who seems to breed with two separate females, after pairing with one. Not sure if that’s normal but I’ll do some research to ensure it won’t be too crazy of an issue with one male a 3 females.

It is not uncommon for males to be willing to entertain other females. My chocolate does the same thing - the only problem you run into is with some species the females are intolerant to such behavior though as i noted i have historically avoided eba.

 

[Arrow1oo]

It is not uncommon for males to be willing to entertain other females. My chocolate does the same thing - the only problem you run into is with some species the females are intolerant to such behavior though as i noted i have historically avoided eba.

Got it. Thanks a bunch for the info, will definitely keep an eye out for that.