Crenicichla lepidota

[AdamR]

I saw some beautiful ones at Auburn today. They got me thinking about setting up a tank for a pair. The problem being all the info i can find suggests they grow to 8-10 inches. Where as Ive heard else where they grow to 3-4 inches.

In short im looking for someone who has full grown ones to help with info. And whether or not they will be fine in a 3ft.

Adam

[pride]

I have a female which is around 6 inches and is about 6 to 7 months old. She's in a 6ft tank with an oscar and a small jag and she's the aggressor in the tank. I used to also have a male for her but she would bely the crap out of him right from a young age so I had to sell him. I think a 3ft tank would work for a pair for a long time. I reckon a 10in lepidota would not be very common, more likely around 8 in max. Beautiful fish, females have this nice red belly with yellows and blue shades around the face and fins.

[Ant]

If your male got the heck beaten out of him from a young age in your 6ft tank what makes you think a pair could do well in a 3ft? Assuming that is likely a typo and you meant 6ft?

Anthony

[Ged]

They are definitely not one of the dwarf species of Crenicichla. I would probably rate them as a mid-sized Crenicichla, growing around the 20cm mark. I wouldn't put them in a 3ft tank but would suggest a larger tank around the 5 or 6ft mark. You will find that it is the sub-adults that will be the more aggressive towards each other where an older pair tend to settle down.

Adam is it the shape, colour pattern or the size that interests you? If it is the first two then there are some dwarf Crenicichla in Australia but they are very hard to find.

The following site created by Vinny Kutty is well work checking out.

Mostly Cichlids

Ged

[AdamR]

I like the shape of them. Ive always wanted a dwarf crenicichla and It was suggested that these were one of them. Oh well. I can wait. The biggest i could get tank i could have is a 3ft so these fish are out of the question for the time being.

Thank you very much for the replies

Adam

[novafishy]

Adam,

I had a small 4cm one in my tank with some yellows and a pair of brichardi. but i think the brichardi attacked it and killed it. so sad

[kevkoi]

Adam, these are one of the easiest to breed and no doubt the most commonly available in Aust. These are bred in outdoor ponds all over Asia, so they're readily breedable, unlike some other pikes. However, a 3ft would be a little bit small for them as has been said. 3ft would be suitable for some of the smaller crenicichla, but I STRESS only SOME. Would always suggest a decently big tank for any pike cichlid.