Northern Pike Info??

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sheajared

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jul 26, 2011
564
1
16
Stillwater, MN
I live in MN and there are many fish stores that sell northern pike and other MN native fish. I really want to buy a northern but have NO IDEA how to take care of it. Or native fish in general. I need to know:

Can these fish be kept with tropical fish? (Ignore the size and stuff)
What temperature should the tank be kept at?
Do they need a heater in the aquarium?
What are the differences in keeping these fish and other tropical fish?



Thanks.
 
Northen pike can not be kept in aquarium They grow way too big and their diet requirements are extensive. Northen pike grow to massive sizes, i most commonly catch 4lb fish that are 25-35" and those are small pike. I strongly advise against keeping northern pike in any aquarium.

Could you be mistaken are they Grass pickeral???
 
Owain4 said:
Northen pike can not be kept in aquarium They grow way too big and their diet requirements are extensive. Northen pike grow to massive sizes, i most commonly catch 4lb fish that are 25-35" and those are small pike. I strongly advise against keeping northern pike in any aquarium.

Could you be mistaken are they Grass pickeral???
Click to expand...

Definitely northerns.
 
sheajared said:
Can these fish be kept with tropical fish?
Click to expand...

This made me laugh. And no, they can't be kept with tropicals, unless you want them to be fish food. Plus, northerns are coldwater fish, and not warmwater. As already stated, they grow to large sizes and I don't recommend keeping one.
 
if you have the money, and you have the room you can probubly keep one, but it will take alot of both.
 
I'd get a nice grass pickerel. They look cool and won't grow too big. You may be able to mix it with other similarly sized natives like smallmouth maybe green sunfish etc.
 
You don't want to put a aggressive coldwater fish that can get over 36 inches with most tropical pets (I believe that all except large fish like big catfish, Alligator Gar and Northern Snakehead would quickly become dinner), a pond with cool water would be much better (you would need a tank over 400 gallons depending on the dimensions, which would be very well oxygenated, and supplied with live feeders and you might need a chiller so that it dosent ever get over 80 degrees and to keep it around 65-75dg where a pike would be healthy). I am deeply sorry if that ruins his dream, but its better than him wasting time and money on a 55-100gallon tank to only have his pets die on him. Ps there are rules regarding the keeping of fish and especially natives in many states; you cannot usually return them to a fish store (most don't take natives) and you never want to eat a fish that you've had In a tank because of what there fed and chemicals.
 
pickerals are a better option since they grow a lot smaller. They look like likes but are smaller.
 
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