Jump to content


Pickerel Tank mates


16 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*

Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*
  • Guests

Posted 01 August 2009 - 08:14 AM

Hey guys, I set up another 125 gallon as a predator tank. I recently purchased a Grass and Redfin pickerel approx. 4 inches in size. I would like to add a few other tank mates. I was thinking a pair of red tail barracuda (Acestrorhynchus falcatus), and some sort of catfish. I was doing some research and found that they share nearly the same feeding and social behaviors. And are both the same size. My tank is heavily planted, with 2 power heads on one side which produces a nice gentle current. If I decide to go with this combo, I will be heating the tank to approx. 72 degrees due to the tropical temp requirement for red tails. Any input is helpful. Thank you.

Edited by NYnativekeeper716, 01 August 2009 - 08:45 AM.


#2 Guest_jdphish_*

Guest_jdphish_*
  • Guests

Posted 01 August 2009 - 08:30 AM

Hey guys, I set up another 125 gallon as a predator tank. I recently purchased a Grass and Redfin pickerel approx. 4 inches in size. I would like to add a few other tank mates. I was thinking a pair of red tail barracuda (Acestrorhynchus falcatus), and some sort of catfish. I was doing some research and found that they share nearly the same feeding and social behaviors. And are both the same size. My tank is heavily planted, with 2 power heads on one side which produces a nice gentle current. If I decide to go with this combo, I will be heating the tank to approx. 72 degrees. Any input is helpful. Thank you.


Could you pm me where to buy some pickeral. Sounds like a nice setup. If the tank is in your house (obviously may not be) would it be necessary to heat the tank? I am thinking fish. Is it the plants that need the heat? My theory is keep it cool and less feed and less growth. That coming from a Mississippian may have a totally different meaning than someone such as yourself in NY. Newbie questions from me I suppose.

#3 Guest_Warmouth19_*

Guest_Warmouth19_*
  • Guests

Posted 01 August 2009 - 08:52 AM

i have a rock bass and black bullhead in with my grass pickerel they do just fine with each other.as for where to get a pickerel you could catch one like i did or you can get them here just look on the fourm.

#4 Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*

Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*
  • Guests

Posted 01 August 2009 - 09:29 AM

i have a rock bass and black bullhead in with my grass pickerel they do just fine with each other.as for where to get a pickerel you could catch one like i did or you can get them here just look on the fourm.




Yea, I have rock bass in another tank, I was just wondering if anyone had any insight on keeping the Red Tail Barracudas with the pickerel. Thanks for your reply :biggrin:

#5 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 01 August 2009 - 04:28 PM

I will be heating the tank to approx. 72 degrees due to the tropical temp requirement for red tails. Any input is helpful.


My input would be "don't do it"... heat is the enemy, and I would not recommend it... and why would you want another fish that would just be the same shape, and fill the same niche? Go with a different ambush predator... or even something like s spotted sunfish... and maybe a bullhead cat (nighttime predator... but you would have to be careful about relative size wiht the pickerel... mismatched either may and one would eat the other).
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#6 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 01 August 2009 - 04:30 PM

Could you pm me where to buy some pickeral.


Don't buy pickerel... go out and get one... they can be quite common once you find the right place to sample... and you are in MS right? You should be able to get out and get one this time of year no problem...
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#7 Guest_jdphish_*

Guest_jdphish_*
  • Guests

Posted 01 August 2009 - 04:43 PM

Don't buy pickerel... go out and get one... they can be quite common once you find the right place to sample... and you are in MS right? You should be able to get out and get one this time of year no problem...



That's right. MS.
Don't worry. I had no intention of buying one. I was just wondering what a person would pay.

#8 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 01 August 2009 - 04:51 PM

That's right. MS.
Don't worry. I had no intention of buying one. I was just wondering what a person would pay.

Not exactly sure as I don't hardly ever buy fish... but a fellow NANFAn has a business and sells little ones for $21 and big ones for $41... or so says his web site... and Sachs are good folks with high quality fish...

http://www.aquacultu...om/fwverts.html
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#9 Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*

Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*
  • Guests

Posted 02 August 2009 - 08:13 AM

Not exactly sure as I don't hardly ever buy fish... but a fellow NANFAn has a business and sells little ones for $21 and big ones for $41... or so says his web site... and Sachs are good folks with high quality fish...

http://www.aquacultu...om/fwverts.html



Thanks for your replies, im prob gonna steer away from keeping tropicals with my pickerels. I would love to catch my own pickerel, but have no idea where or how to even start,lol. Im located 5 minutes from the Niagara river, lake erie, and erie canal, so im sure there are some great spots.

#10 Guest_LiquidPyro33_*

Guest_LiquidPyro33_*
  • Guests

Posted 03 August 2009 - 12:43 PM

I am from the Hamilton Area and know of one little spot for grass pickerel...


Thanks for your replies, im prob gonna steer away from keeping tropicals with my pickerels. I would love to catch my own pickerel, but have no idea where or how to even start,lol. Im located 5 minutes from the Niagara river, lake erie, and erie canal, so im sure there are some great spots.



#11 Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*

Guest_NYnativekeeper716_*
  • Guests

Posted 03 August 2009 - 09:23 PM

I am from the Hamilton Area and know of one little spot for grass pickerel...



Well? LOL

#12 Guest_LiquidPyro33_*

Guest_LiquidPyro33_*
  • Guests

Posted 04 August 2009 - 05:59 PM

Well...I am sure I could round a few up if someone was interested and able to get them...They are only in a little stream back in one of the fields by my place...top secret

#13 Guest_darthcard_*

Guest_darthcard_*
  • Guests

Posted 25 September 2009 - 08:37 PM

I too have pickerel. I absolutely love them. They are not the vicious fish i thought they'd

be but are truely great fish. I have 2 redfin pickerel 1 green sunfish and a redtail barracuda.

They surprisingly all get along. 1 pickerel is 8inches the other 4 inches the barracuda 4 inches and the

sunfish is only 1 inch. Never attacked each other but it looked like the bigger pickerel gets territorial

over the plants. I only have 2. I love the look when i go to my local fish store and tell them i have pickerel.

Sachs aquaculture is the place i got my little monsters.

#14 Guest_CATfishTONY_*

Guest_CATfishTONY_*
  • Guests

Posted 26 September 2009 - 12:03 PM

I too have pickerel. I absolutely love them. They are not the vicious fish i thought they'd

be but are truely great fish. I have 2 redfin pickerel 1 green sunfish and a redtail barracuda.

They surprisingly all get along. 1 pickerel is 8inches the other 4 inches the barracuda 4 inches and the

sunfish is only 1 inch. Never attacked each other but it looked like the bigger pickerel gets territorial

over the plants. I only have 2. I love the look when i go to my local fish store and tell them i have pickerel.

Sachs aquaculture is the place i got my little monsters.


brian has grass pickerel for sale. i have one grass pickerel about4.25" in my stream tank
it allways lurks around the hornwort and will only eat small fish.care must be taken with this type of fish my last one eat him self to death one day it caught and eat 7 minnows and it was his undoing by morning he was dead.

http://forum.nanfa.o...grass-pickerel/

#15 Guest_schambers_*

Guest_schambers_*
  • Guests

Posted 26 September 2009 - 01:59 PM

brian has grass pickerel for sale. i have one grass pickerel about4.25" in my stream tank
it allways lurks around the hornwort and will only eat small fish.care must be taken with this type of fish my last one eat him self to death one day it caught and eat 7 minnows and it was his undoing by morning he was dead.

http://forum.nanfa.o...grass-pickerel/


I was worried mine would do that the other day, I put 20 feeder goldfish in with it and it ate about 5 immediately. It didn't die, though. Just got bigger.

#16 Guest_gzeiger_*

Guest_gzeiger_*
  • Guests

Posted 26 September 2009 - 05:16 PM

Tony, can you elaborate on that story? At the moment I have a 5" pickerel in a 60 gallon tank with probably a hundred feeders. He's doing fine, though I have noticed a few dead feeders that appear to have been bitten and released, since I'm sure he's well-fed enough to have lost a bit of his enthusiasm for the hunt.

#17 Guest_CATfishTONY_*

Guest_CATfishTONY_*
  • Guests

Posted 26 September 2009 - 06:42 PM

Tony, can you elaborate on that story? At the moment I have a 5" pickerel in a 60 gallon tank with probably a hundred feeders. He's doing fine, though I have noticed a few dead feeders that appear to have been bitten and released, since I'm sure he's well-fed enough to have lost a bit of his enthusiasm for the hunt.

Some times fish will eat more then they need to stay alive.this fish ended up not being a good tank mate for any fish that would fit in his mouth.one day he even ate a 3.5
greensided darter,there is no way the fish could have been hungry if any thing i over feed all of my fish.i had trouble with two other fish as well.a creekchub and a greensunfish.



Reply to this topic



  


0 user(s) are reading this topic

0 members, 0 guests, 0 anonymous users