What size tank for a trio of apistos and a pair of pikes?

[Andrew]

In one tank I have a pair of Crenicichla regani, female is about 2" male is just under 3".
In another tank I have a trio of Apistogramma eremnopyge.
They are all about 1.5".
I would like to combine these two tanks into one, and aquascape it with lots of plants, wood, and rocks to make a nice display tank.

What kind of tank footprint should I be looking at.

 

[Apistt_ed]

...

Hello Andrew,

I just got some C. Regani about a year ago and they are absolutely drop dead beautiful! These little guys are pretty aggressive. I have been keeping a trio of them (2males 1 female) in a 20gallon long tank with a sand bottom and lots of pots and pvc pipes. I decided to move the unpaired male when the spawning rituals started. There's only one problem that I'd see with them with apistogramma or any other fishes and that's the aggression during spawning time. The pikes tend to overrun a tank when the female shows her rosy red belly and the courting starts. At the size of your's they might have already been doing that. I really don't see a problem with them as long as the tank is large enough and is well planted. IMO a tank no smaller than a 40 gallon (breeder) is needed. As long as the tank has plenty of floor space really. Sounds like a great plan. I hoped this has helped a little.

 

[cdawson]

I don't know about putting a pair of pikes in with apistos. Pikes can be very aggressive and especially during spawning. so much so that the male often needs to be removed ASAP or he'll surely be killed. Any apisto wouldn't last a day against a pike. Pikes are also very picky about mates, one second they'll accept a certain fish, the second you change the scenery they may not seem as attractive as they did before and they'll kill the other fish. a 40 gallon is not going to be sufficient for housing the two fish groups together. either the pair of C. Regani or the apistos, not both. For both you'd require a rather large tank for that application.