Crenicichla regani and Mcmasteri together

[Tenochteco]

I there! I was just wondering if it advisable to keep a trio of mcmasteri and a trio c.regani? My tank is the standard 110cm long.

I've read several things on the Internet but they are a bit inconclusive!

Any advice / recommendations or sharing your experiences would be very much appreciated!

Video of my tank attached!

 

[anewbie]

Well - ignoring that the pike seems to prefer warmer water than is natural ofr the mcmasteri i think it comes down to area - in an aquarium such as a 29 which is approx 2 1/2 sqft forget it. In an aquarium that is say 10 feet long and 4 feet wide it might work - of course it would be in-effective use of space.

In terms of natural conditions i suspect hte two species never interact. My view would be it is not a good idea and asking for trouble - well not so much trouble but early death of the macs.

 

[Tenochteco]

Yes, thank you for your reply! I already read that many times.

 

[Mazan]

Also the cardinals would soon disappear....

Various dwarf pikes do occur together with Apistogrammas, I am not sure about those two particular species, but Wallaciia regani has quite a large distribution, unlike some other dwarf pikes. I have the orinoco dwarf pikes, which do supposedly need rather warm water. I have found them not to be at all aggressive to other cichlids, but for most of their lives I have had them in a much larger tank. When I first got them I had 2 in a 120 cm long tank along with some Apistogrammas and cardinal tetras, but they were very tiny and skinny at that stage, too small to go in the big tank. At some point I went away for 3 weeks and came back to find the pikes significantly grown and only 3 cardinal tetras left. There were not actually any issues with the Apistogrammas, but by then I moved the pikes to the big tank with larger cichlids (200 x 65 x 65 cm). in the smaller tank there was no breeding activity of either species. W. regani are apparently easier to breed and if breeding of either species occurred in your size tank I think there would be serious trouble. Also in such a small area I think the pikes would probably fight among themselves. A compatible pair on their own, or with suitable dither fish too big to be eaten would be OK.