Zebra Pike Cichlid

Remarks: The Zebra Pike Cichlid is often considered to be the holy grail of pike cichlids due to its striking colors. When in optimal conditions, these fish display an olive green body with yellow vertical stripes, red fins, a red chin/throat, and a large dark gray to black spot behind the gill plates known as a non-ocellated humeral spot. Being a large, predatory fish, these pike cichlids should be fed a high protein diet and only kept with fish that can easily defend themselves and cannot be easily swallowed by the pike such as other large, south American fish and plecos. It should also be noted that the zebra pike should be provided plenty of space, at least 150 gallons for one fish, lots of hiding spots, and sand to dig in.

  A fascinating thing to note as well about these already fantastic fish is that they were the first to have a medical procedure performed to determine their gender! In the early 2010s, Panta Rhei, an importer of tropical fish in Hannover, Germany, enlisted the help of a veterinarian to determine the sex of 6 specimens he had acquired. After being sedated and through the use of an ultrasound, they determined which were male and female by looking for the presence of ovaries. This makes the zebra pike a truly fascinating species not only because of its beautiful colors and rarity, but also its historical significance in the fishkeeping hobby.