Giant Pikehead

Care at a glance

Overview

The giant pikehead is a specialised ambush predator and a challenging fish that should be kept alone or only with fishes far too large to be eaten. It hangs motionless in the middle water among plants and wood, angled head-down, then shoots forward to seize prey. It usually refuses dry food, so be ready to supply live and fresh meaty foods such as river shrimp and earthworm pieces, and at first live fish or shrimp until it can be weaned onto dead foods. It is easily out-competed and stressed, which is why it is rated difficult. Keep it in a quiet, well-planted tank of at least 135 liters with a tight lid and subdued light.

In the wild

Luciocephalus pulcher comes from the peat swamps and blackwater streams of Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, where the water is soft, acidic and stained dark by tannins. Recreating those conditions matters: use subdued lighting, plenty of plants and wood for the fish to hang among, leaf litter, and a dark substrate. Keep the temperature between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius and the pH acidic to neutral, from about 6.0 to 7.5. Soft, tannin-rich water and a calm, shaded tank help this nervous predator settle and feed.

Good to know

The pikehead is an unusual member of the gourami family Osphronemidae, placed in its own subfamily, and reaches about 20 centimeters. Its most striking feature is a highly protrusible mouth that can shoot forward to engulf prey in an instant. It is a paternal mouthbrooder, with the male incubating the eggs, though aquarium breeding is rarely recorded. Everything about the fish, from its slender pike-like body to its telescoping jaws, is built around ambush hunting.

Did you know

The giant pikehead has one of the most extendable mouths of any freshwater fish, able to project its jaws forward like a telescope to snatch prey. Despite living among the bubble-nesting gouramis, it broods its eggs inside the male's mouth.

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