what to expect for xingu pike trade? planiceps ?'s

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 27 May 2003, 07:27

I have one xingu pike about six or seven inches long and very healthy and good looking, i was wondering if these fish are rare (in the trade and in the wild), I baught him for ten or fifteen dollars from a shop that didnt know what he was and just wanted to get rid of him, there is another shop in town that usualy only sells big aggressive fish (oscars,knifes,gars,eels) and they said they would be interested in buying it and asked me to think of a price i would like them to sell it for and i would get half of it. I have no idea how much the fish is worth so thats where you guys come in?? This shop sells oscars for $25 and this fish would put any oscar to shame so im thinking atleast fourty bucks, any ideas?? Also they said i can either just get store credit or have them order me something and i'm leaning towards ordering a center piece cat for my 55 gallon tank. I'v been looking at pictures of suribim planiceps (spelling) lately and it looks like a neat fish, I'm sure its probably way too big for my tank but i could wait until i get a bigger tank to cash in some of that store credit, i remember reading they only get ten inches which im sure is wrong, does anyone know exactly how big they do get?? What kind of price do they go for?? Are they fairly common?? What should a minnimum tank size for one be??

Yann · Post by **Yann** » 27 May 2003, 08:10

Hi!

There are several species of Crencichla coming from the Rio Xingu!
One of them is very common, it is Crenicichla sp Xingu 1 known as the orange pike
The other ones are quite rare and a bit more expensive...
Cheers
Yann

coelacanth · Post by **coelacanth** » 27 May 2003, 08:46

Zack wrote:I'v been looking at pictures of suribim planiceps (spelling) lately and it looks like a neat fish, I'm sure its probably way too big for my tank but i could wait until i get a bigger tank to cash in some of that store credit, What should a minnimum tank size for one be??

Sorubimichthys planiceps reaches over 2 metres, and as such requires several thousand gallons to house one adequately, beyond the reach of all but a very few people!
Stay with beauties like Leiarus pictus, you can house one of those comfortably in 200 gallons.

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 27 May 2003, 15:53

Yann do you have any pictures of the orange pike?? Or know of a site i can go to? Are two hundred gallon tanks a standard size or do they have to be custom built?? What is the largest standard size??

Post by **Silurus** » 27 May 2003, 16:14

There are pics of the orange pike here.

general-sherman · Post by **general-sherman** » 27 May 2003, 22:29

i have never seen a sorubimichthys planiceps housed properly. even in a public aquarium!

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 28 May 2003, 02:09

Thanks for the link silirus, my pike doesnt look much like that, hes got a light brownish base color and a thick black line running his length, the top of his dorsal fin is egded with red and he has lots of small spots on his head. At the moment the biggest tank i have is a 55 gallon but within a month or so i should be getting a tank of atleast 125 gallons, what mid sized s. american cat would do best in there with two tire track eels,a rusty pleco,and a small black ghost knife?? I'm looking for somethign in the 8-12 inch range that doesnt need to be in groups, I'v already looked into ornate pims and i cant get them (atleast now). I can get suribim lima but the lfs called it a shovle nose catfish i asked if they meant lima shovle nose and they just said its called shovle nose so im guessing its a tiger shovle nose.

FatCat · Post by **FatCat** » 28 May 2003, 15:28

Zack the zingu 1 pike is probibally the most imported pike cichlid however they are very recognizable by there orange coloration as juveniles but are much different in maturity. That site silurus posted is the best pike site ive ever found, you should be able to identify it there. Also the zinju can get up to 14-16 inches and in alaska I would have to guess that any pike is pretty pricy there as it would be around $20 to start in the midwest here, however you will not get its totall worth as they have to resell it. In reguards to putting other fish with a pike you could get lucky but especially the zingu 1 is tenaciousely agressive and will kill anything! reguardless of size and have the means to cary it out with ease, along with a large belly they can eat forever it seems like and want more. The good news is that your pike Dosent sound like a Zinju 1. I would identify him at Mostly chchlids site and get some information on him he will probibally max at 10 -14 inches and would be great by himself in that 55 with lots of structure. Rocks, bogwood etc. to hide in and ambush pray as pike are extreme predators. You will be very lucky to get him to accept anything other than live food because these guys love to hunt. They are very interesting fish that just seem to be very smart, they have that look in the eyes.

coelacanth · Post by **coelacanth** » 28 May 2003, 16:55

Zack wrote:Thanks for the link silirus, my pike doesnt look much like that, hes got a light brownish base color and a thick black line running his length, the top of his dorsal fin is egded with red and he has lots of small spots on his head.

Sounds like one of the Crenicichla lugubris group. Species from this group are found across a wide area of both the Amazon and Orinoco, and some are absolutely superb when adult, but big. Often over 15 inches for a male.

jscoggs27 · Post by **jscoggs27** » 28 May 2003, 19:08

Zack, how about pimelodus ornatus? or sorubim lima?

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 29 May 2003, 01:06

Thanks for the help,
to fatcat: he deffinately isnt a xingu pike then, Im aware of his extreme preditory nature he does however eat floating pellets,bloodworms,brineshrimp,and earthworms. I have noticed his insaciable appitite, thats one of the reasons for getting rid of him is the other fish dont get a chance to eat the good stuff, they only get what he doesnt like.

Coelacanth: i will do some looking on yahoo/google to find some positive pics of him.

General: I would like to get some pimelodous ornatus but the lfs cannot get them (although its been a while since i have checked). I already explained the reasons i'm not ordering the lima, although i could see if they will order a few and not make me buy them if they arent what im expecting. Do you keep ornate pims general?? Are they ever very active??

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 29 May 2003, 01:20

I searched a few sites and this is about the best match i found of him, He looked like the little one when he was small and is now sort of in between the color of the adult and that of the juevinile.

http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/549 ... apage.html

general-sherman · Post by **general-sherman** » 29 May 2003, 22:46

yes i keep p. ornatus. they are one of my favorite sp. of pimelodid, attractive, active, predatory (but not TOO predatory), resonably sized and just plain interesting. i like their head structure, seems different from other pimelodus sp. reminds me of the shovelnoses...without the gigantic size. buying p. ornatus really helped me resist buying a tiger shovelnose. my ornatus (s) live in a 6'x18"x18" at the moment, i'm currently in the process of designing a biotope in a 4'x2'x2' for them. great fish

Zack · Post by **Zack** » 30 May 2003, 02:24

What do you fead them?? How many do you have?? What are they in with?? Would a 100 gallon - 150 gallon tank be big enough for say three of them and a black ghost and two tire track eels??

what to expect for xingu pike trade? planiceps ?'s

what to expect for xingu pike trade? planiceps ?'s

Re: what to expect for xingu pike trade? planiceps ?'s

re planiceps

re p.ornatus