Pike Killifish

[Derpeder]

I'm looking to get information on keeping a few pike killifish. I heard they are pretty aggressive and will eat other little fishes. That is what I want.

Anyone out there have any good information on them? or know where I could look (i.e. a website or book)?

Thanks

 

[Fruitbat]

Derpeder....

Do a Google search on Belonesox belizanus and you should find abundant information and pictures.

-Joe

 

[BigC]

http/members.lycos.co.uk/aquaworld/Liveb...x_belizanus.htm

 

[nmonks]

BigC,

Intersting article, but that fish at the top looks a lot like a characin to me. It has an adipose fin, for a start. Maybe it's a Ctenolucius or something. But in my opinion not Belonesox, anyway.

Cheers,

Neale

http/members.lycos.co.uk/aquaworld/Liveb...x_belizanus.htm

 

[CFC]

The first two pictures are certainly of Ctenolucius hujeta

 

[nmonks]

Out of curiosity, why do you want to keep a fish that eats other fish?

Anyway, pike livebearers, if that's what we're talking about, are not aggressive, just predatory. It's very important to understand the difference. There are lots of predatory fish that are actually shy and do badly if kept with truly aggressive fish. For example: gar pike, Colombian shark catfish, and leopard climbing perch.

Aggressive fish are usually territorial and/or fish that extend care to their eggs and fry. Many cichlids fall into this category. They're not psychotic (well, maybe some are...) but simply doing their best to hold some resources and safety for breeding time. The fact is we often keep fish in far too small an aquarium, so any other fish in the tank with the cichlids get beaten up because they cannot swim away. In the wild, cichlids may fight if something comes into their territory, to be sure, but they don't go off looking for fights.

You can wean pike livebearers onto dead food. Do a search on Google for "Belonesox" and "frozen" for example, and you'll get articles like this one. It is difficult, and not always possible with wild-caught fish, but it is cheaper and healthier than using live fish so worth a try. Cheap feeder fish, particularly guppies and goldfish, can be riddled with parasites. This isn't a question of "they eat live fish in the wild". In their natural habitat, they eat a variety of prey with low or zero parasite loads. Moreover, many of the pike livebearers will themselves be infected with low parasite loads. In the wild the fish are in optimal conditions and the parasites rarely cause problems, and if they do, the fish live relatively short lives and are quite likely to be eaten by a predatory anyway. In captivity, we maintain fish in suboptimal conditions, and parasite loads can increase substantially, and move from one fish to another much more easily.

Cheers,

Neale

I'm looking to get information on keeping a few pike killifish. I heard they are pretty aggressive and will eat other little fishes. That is what I want.

 

[Derpeder]

I want fish that eat other fish because I like to see them hunt and attack them. I think it is interesting. I know not to always feed them live fish because its not healthy for them but occasionally I think it is neet to see that. Right now I have a cichlid tank and they eat seaweed, so its not quite as fun to watch.

I am going to get some brackish pufferfish cause they are very interesting to watch eat. They will split up and attack from different sides and force the fish out if the feeder fish is hiding. Pretty neat stuff.

Thats why