Alta pike cichlid

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a predatory pike cichlid that lurks near the bottom and ambushes prey, so treat it as a hunter rather than a community fish. It does not want its own kind around except to breed, so keep a single fish or a carefully introduced pair, never a group. It is aggressive and will eat anything it can swallow: robust catfish and other sturdy, mid-sized fish can share the tank, but small tetras and dwarf fish will simply disappear. Choose tankmates with caution and give everyone hiding places among wood and roots. Feed meaty foods such as earthworms, prawn, and mussel, plus the occasional sinking pellet; avoid a diet of live feeder fish. Allow at least 400 liters of floor space.

In the wild

It comes from clear and tannin-stained savanna rivers of Guyana and the upper Amazon, including the Essequibo and Branco drainages, where it hunts along wood piles, root tangles, and grassy margins. Recreate that with warm water of 24 to 28 C and a soft, slightly acidic to neutral chemistry between about pH 5.5 and 7.2. Give it a sand or fine gravel floor, plenty of driftwood and rock to form ambush cover, and gentle flow.

Good to know

A member of the cichlid family, this pike reaches around 19 cm and belongs to the saxatilis group of Crenicichla, marked by a dark shoulder blotch ringed in pale gold. Recent work has reshuffled the pike cichlids, and some authors now place this group in the genus Saxatilia. It is a cave and crevice spawner that forms a bonded pair, and it is considered difficult to breed in the aquarium.

Did you know

Pike cichlids often turn the usual script around: when a pair comes into breeding condition, it is the female that shows the brighter color, flushing a bold red or orange belly while the male stays comparatively plain.

Common questions

Related species

• Proteus pike cichlid

  Crenicichla proteus

  Freshwater

  7.5 in (19 cm)106 gal (400 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Halfbanded pike cichlid

  Crenicichla geayi

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)106 gal (400 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Jegu's pike cichlid

  Crenicichla jegui

  Freshwater

  9.4 in (24 cm)119 gal (450 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

• 

  Ringtail pike cichlid

  Crenicichla saxatilis

  Freshwater

  9.4 in (24 cm)119 gal (450 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Sven's pike cichlid

  Crenicichla sveni

  Freshwater

  9.8 in (25 cm)119 gal (450 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Zebra pike cichlid

  Crenicichla zebrina

  Freshwater

  11.8 in (30 cm)159 gal (600 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)