Dwarf Pike

[lucky_13]

So here are my latest purchase. I've been wanting a pair of dwarf pike for a while and my dealer finally got a couple pairs.

 

[a.d.wood]

Hi there,

What species of dwarf do you reckon they are???? as they don't match the dwarf varieties I'm familiar with.

Andrew

 

[lucky_13]

she's got the name written up on the tank. i'm going back in today and i'll write it down, i dont remember what it is. starts with a W.

 

[a.d.wood]

she's got the name written up on the tank. i'm going back in today and i'll write it down, i dont remember what it is. starts with a W.

Well that would make it Crenicichla wallacii, have to admit I wouldn't be to sure on this ID though. Haven't kept them myself but the size of the caudal spot is much bigger than those shown in the images I have access to and the fish looks a bit too 'heavily built' for the typical dwarf shape??

I wouldn't be fortunate enough that you and these fish are in the UK :wink:

Andrew

 

[Mike Wise]

I am not very experienced with dwarf pike species, but it certainly does not look like A. wallacii - or any A.-wallacii-group species (dwarf pike) that I have seen pictures of. I may be wriong, but I wouldn't be surprised if these "dwarfs" grow well over 8"/20cm.

 

[Arcadianred]

I'm bad enough identifying Apistos but this one looks like Lepidota to me (about 18cm full grown?).

Mark

 

[lucky_13]

yeah, wallacii is what they're labled as. they are already spawning age at about 4" she had another in a sepperate tank with a big belly full of eggs that was smaller than my female.

 

[freshwaterfishfan]

C. proteus?

Could they be Crenicichla proteus? The Giant Dwarf Pike as I like to call them.
Steve

 

[Apistomaster]

I could be wrong but I agree that they don't look like any Dwarf Pikes am familiar with but the small spawning size is puzzling. They may be a variety of C. wallacii but my experience has been that the C. wallacii being sold in the PNW all turned out to be C. regani.

They do resemble a Dwarf I haven't seen except in Aqualog SA Cichlids I, Crenicichlicla urosema.

 

[Azur]

Hard to tell without seeing the dorsal, but this strikes me as a pretty good match:
http://www.geocities.com/napavalley/5491/proteuspage.html

I wouldn't put too much weight on size at first spawn, many cichlids start spawning at a very young age, long before reaching adult size - Oreochromis mossambica, for instance, may start breeding at 2" but eventually grows over 10".

 

[dhm325]

They look like Crenicichla Proteus.

 

[Apistomaster]

Hard to tell without seeing the dorsal, but this strikes me as a pretty good match:
http://www.geocities.com/napavalley/5491/proteuspage.html

I wouldn't put too much weight on size at first spawn, many cichlids start spawning at a very young age, long before reaching adult size - Oreochromis mossambica, for instance, may start breeding at 2" but eventually grows over 10".

I think you and the others who think it is a large species that happened to spawn at a small size are correct.

The example of this sort of thing you chose was my first Cichlid I ever bred. I had them when I was 11 years old. I had a 10 inch male and was surprised when the first fry began spawning for me at only 2-1/2 inches.
They were the first egglaying fish I raised. Goes back about 45 years ago.

 

[lucky_13]

male

female

the female's belly is turning pink and getting swollen, which means eggs!

 

[lucky_13]

i talked to my fish lady the other day and she said that the pike i got were NOT Wallacii, a previous batch of pike had been wallacii, but these are not. so i agree that they are Proteus. however, she maintains they will only reach 6" max. but as a precaution, after they spawn, i plan to sepperate the male with a divider so that he will not kill the female after an article i read said they have that bad habbit. i don't really care about fry right now and will not give them any special treatment. if any survive i might try to sell them online.