Grass Pike... need some advice

[SonicMarauder]

heylo... its been a while since ive been on here but anyways

i just got a niiiice 55g setup....all-glass.. niiice pine stand... canister and HOTB filters... airpump.... lots of silicone hose.. lights... some decorations..and lots of other goodies..... and didnt pay a dime for it
my girlfriend's mom's boss gave the whole set up to her mom for free and since she already has a nice 55 setup, she offered it to me.... after i woke up after fainting i was like SURE!.....

well anyways... college just let out and ive been fishing like crazy.. theres this one state park around here thats just loaded up with sunfish and bass between 1 and 2lb range and a ton of grass pike(aka grass pickerel) and they have been suckers for a small inline spinner so ive caught a few of them lately... well now that i have a 55g, i can actually bring 1 home after the 55 is done cycling and all...

now ive already check the state laws and theres no law that says its illegal so its on..

grass pike rarely exceed 12" and most average in at about 7-9" so i think that a 55 is plenty of room for this mini pike to lurk around in...

as you can see they are exactly like miniture versions of their bigger cousins, The northerns...their teeth are just as sharp too.... a grassy bit through 10lb fireline fishing like like it was silly string
Grass Pike

Northern Pike

ANYWAYS.. has anyone ever kept these? this will be the first predatory fish requiring live feeds ive kept so what do i have to look forward to both positively and negatively?

any advice is well appreciated

my GF hates my aquarium and her mom gives me a bigger one gotta love it

 

[allybanana]

I have no knowledge of the fish species but I have kept a number of wild Australian and PNG native fish in the past. Hope this helps.

An adult fish that is used to being free is likely to smash its face in on the glass, jump out or be just downright miserable. To avoid this get one as small as possible, so it is not crowded in the tank and will be more relaxed when it grows big. Also young animals are more adaptable, it should be easier to develop a good relationship with it that way. (Which may be a necessity if you loose the GF as a result)

In addition if it gets to difficult or big it can be let go. But I advise against it if you have fed it fish from the pet shop or housed it with other fish or even introduced plants from the pet shop. One can easily introduce diseases into the wild, this is a high risk as live fish are shipped around the world and disease screening is minimal. I am currently researching frog declines and reviewing species of frogs for endangered species status, introduced diseases are wiping them out. Unfortunately there is very little we can do once a disease is established. There are quite a number of fish diseases in circulation in the aquarium industry that could have big impacts on both wild fish and amphibians.

So if you plan to do it, which I think is great, you will get an amazing amount of insight into your local fish fauna (and Plants and Inverts)

Here are a couple of suggestions;

1) All local biotype and collect it all from the wild and preferably the one river system (hard to get enough food).

2) Mix it all up but don’t release.

3) Go local biotype, but for ease of feeding get feeders from the pet shop or breed them, but never release.

Can’t wait to see pics if you get it set up

Good luck

Ally

 

[zoo minsi]

well sounds like a kewl idea, i would collect plants, rocks and wood from where i caught the fish and use them to decorate the tank. Gotta say this has some awsome potential. I would try and get a sain net and use it to collect the fish that way the fish is less stressed and gives you a better chance at getting a smaller fish to start with. especially this time ogf the year with all the fish spawing. Good luck and keep us updated. I would love to see some pics when you get it set up.

Also there a few members here that keep native species tanks that im sure could give you some good advice. i believe seastaar and etheostoma and a few others do.

 

[SonicMarauder]

I An adult fish that is used to being free is likely to smash its face in on the glass, jump out or be just downright miserable. To avoid this get one as small as possible, so it is not crowded in the tank and will be more relaxed when it grows big. Also young animals are more adaptable, it should be easier to develop a good relationship with it that way.

^^ this was part of my plan... i occasionally catch a one every so often dipneting for baits that isnt much bigger then 2-3" which for this species is just shy of a yearling

even introduced plants from the pet shop.

im not too good with plants so fakes which closely resemble natural vegatation from its natural habitat are my choice

1) All local biotype and collect it all from the wild and preferably the one river system (hard to get enough food).

ive closely examined the biotype that the fish im going to catch currently inhabit... crystal clear water with a mud bottom and vegitation consisting of Water Milfoil, Elodea, and water lillies... im sure there are other but these three are the most abundant...i usually find the pike around water lillies

3) Go local biotype, but for ease of feeding get feeders from the pet shop or breed them, but never release.

the pond it inhabits is filled with emerald and golden shiners... which are actually common baitfish and there is a baitshop that gets their shiners from the same lake as i intend on getting my grass pickerel from so i have a good source of the actual food that the pike normally feeds on.

i would collect plants, rocks and wood from where i caught the fish and use them to decorate the tank.

that was part of my plan as well... except for the plants

Gotta say this has some awsome potential. I would try and get a sain net and use it to collect the fish that way the fish is less stressed and gives you a better chance at getting a smaller fish to start with.

i planned on this as well however its illegal to take anyfish other then a minnow/baitfish in ohio with a seine. however.. i am allowed to take them by way of minnow traps and dip nets so thats how i plan to do it

especially this time ogf the year with all the fish spawing.

Grass pickerel spawn in the spring when water temperatures range from 43 to 53 F which is iceout, when everything starts to thaw... which happened about a 2 months ago so there should be some little guys swimmin around

 

[allybanana]

sounds like a plan

Man your using your head. Just a couple of ideas they may help. If you have problems getting enough small fish to feed a young one, you can always use insects. I used to run a butterfly net through the very long grass and get a good range. Meal worms and crickets from the pet shop are all right in a pinch just feed them the good stuff first. You may also be able to collect a heap of water bugs when you collect your fish. If you check the gut contents of similar fish at the collecting site it should be possible to get an idea of what they like and let them loose in the aquarium. That way the fish it will not have to adapt feeding strategies during the freak out time. Hopefully it wont care and will guzzle anything. Another problem to consider is temperature how cold is the water they come from (i don’t know much about USA) will your fish tank be much hotter than the hottest summer water temp., heated houses can be difficult for cold mountain fish.

Luck Ally

 

[SonicMarauder]

well.. im in the temperate zone.... we've had some hot days so far and i got water temps with an infrared thermometer of about 60 degrees... thats pretty much where i wanted to keep it and the lake im pulling them from is both spring and creek fed.... i took my aquarium test kit to the lake and the ph and every thing comes out to about the same as my tap water.. pH=7.8