# Anyone ever kept a Pike as a pet?



## SpaceHawk (Jan 29, 2005)

I want to buy a northern pike,  anyone ever kept them?  i know the basics about them (cold water fish...live food, bla, bla,bla) but what else should I know?


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## Vys (Jan 29, 2005)

I wouldn't know, really, but you'd need one gigantic aquarium? Pool? Pond? If it lived long enough to become that big, anyway. Or do you reckon it'd adapt to smaller surroundings and not grow so gigantic?

Northern pikes are cool..hmm..would you see if you could get baby-pike to play well with others? 

This article,
"Rearing the northern pike in aquaria; habits, description and habits" is available from here: http://www.nanfa.org/ac/72-75.htm for $7; electronic articles seem scattered as by a dust-devil.


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## orcrist (Jan 29, 2005)

There's a pet shop near my house that had young pike about 10" long going for about 20$ for a while.


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## edesign (Jan 29, 2005)

i know they're very VERY yummy  went fishing for them once while I was growing up in Alaska...put up a damn good fight, then again they were 3.5-4' long 

What kind of holding facility are you planning to use? A regular aquarium won't cut it of course...baby pike would play well with others until it got hungry


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## Schlyne (Jan 29, 2005)

I could be wrong, but don't northern pike get pretty big?


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## edesign (Jan 29, 2005)

Schlyne said:
			
		

> I could be wrong, but don't northern pike get pretty big?





			
				edesign said:
			
		

> went fishing for them once while I was growing up in Alaska...put up a damn good fight, then again they were 3.5-4' long


.........


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## bodisky (Jan 29, 2005)

SpaceHawk said:
			
		

> I want to buy a northern pike,  anyone ever kept them?  i know the basics about them (cold water fish...live food, bla, bla,bla) but what else should I know?


Keep a secure lid on top as they like to jump. They can find the smallest hole and out they come if they can fit through it. 
They dont necessarily always have to have live food. We got ours young and trained him to eat frozen fish too like silversides. This was many years ago and thats about all I can remember....
Kerry


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## Wh1teshark (Jan 31, 2005)

I take it that you are talking about northern pike..
They have one of those at a public aquarium in my city. I would say that it's about 2-3 pounds (they usually reach about 20-30 pounds, but I think the record in sweden is about 40 pounds).
They have it in a large tank and feed it live food. Nice fish to catch, please post some pics if you get one.


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## KingBollock (Jan 31, 2005)

If it's the same species of Pike we have in the UK the femlaes can get very big. I believe the UK record is around 46lbs and the world record is closer to 75lbs. The males generally only reach 12 to 15lbs. The bigger they are the more they tend to scavenge and are more likely to take dead bait.
I don't know how you'd go about keeping one as a pet but I do know that they are actually one of the more delicate fresh water fish. I could imagine that they'd be an interesting fish to keep.


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## Malkavian (Jan 31, 2005)

The local seafood restaurant had at one time a HUGE (like 10 feet x 3 high x 2 deep) tank with a small shoal of northern pike (under 12") for a time. I can't say if they're easy to keep or if they thrive because that manager has a history of killing the fish he puts on display, so the fact that they didnt live long there doesn't mean much.


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## galeogirl (Jan 31, 2005)

Pike are a tankbuster for sure, but if you can afford the setup, you should go for it.  What a cool pet to have!


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## Schlyne (Jan 31, 2005)

edesign said:
			
		

> Quote:
> Originally Posted by edesign
> went fishing for them once while I was growing up in Alaska...put up a damn good fight, then again they were 3.5-4' long   .........


Heh, I missed that


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## Bigboy (Feb 1, 2005)

*similar species*

I've kept a close relative, the northern chain pickerel.  If Northern pike are anything like them then be aware that they are very sensitive to water chemistry, I've kept three and all three have tox'd out in my best planted tanks.  Keep that NO3 as low as humanly possible


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## jper26 (Feb 5, 2005)

To keep one you will need about a 150 gallon tank in my opinion if you want it kept properly. Nothern Pike are awesome I would keep one if i had the room. I kept snakeheads when i was younger they get about 3 feet full grown mine never got that big I had them in a 55 gallon. I am mad that they banned snakeheads they were so much fun ate like hogs.


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## CherishYour_f8 (Feb 6, 2005)

I've thought about keeping pike myself but never knew if it was legal or where to get one.Also considered tanking a musky/muskie/muskelunge.Been to Canada a few times and caught a bunch of those toothy pike,put up a hella fight and will strike at anything.Believe it or not,we had a large one strike at a canoe paddle.Scared the living S--t outta us.
Im thinking they would only grow as big as their environment will let them.
For example,a smallmouth bass can grow up to say over 10 lbs in larger rivers and lakes.But in a small stream the environment/confinements will never let it get over 2 lbs.
So if a pike were kept in a 50 gallon tank as a fingerling,it may never grow over 12 inches long.


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## Daywalker (Feb 10, 2005)

Northern Pike 
Esox lucius 

Pikes and pickerels are a small family (Esocidae) of five species of predatory fishes with slender, elongate bodies and long, sharp teeth. The dorsal and anal fins are far back, the tail is moderately forked, and the mouth is large with the jaws extending forward like the bill of a duck. Esocids live in weedy areas of lakes and streams. Sometimes they can be seen hovering almost motionless near clumps of water plants. The Northern Pike occurs in both North America and Europe. Its large size, enormous appetite, and toothy jaws make it the "shark" of freshwater lakes and streams.

Look For: A large, elongate, greenish pike with creamy white, oval spots on the sides. Cheek and upper half of gill cover scaled. 


Length: 4'.

Habitat: Slow-moving, weedy areas in lakes and streams.

Range: Alaska and throughout Canada south to Missouri; New York and Pennsylvania west to Nebraska and Montana.
 ****************************************************
for a 10" pike you should use a 125 to 175 gallon tank . 
a 55 gallon tank would be a very short term fix . 
with a pike if it can fit it in it's mouth it will eat it . and most likly will try to eat any other fish even other 10" to 12" fish . also alot of cold water fish can get baterial infections or ulcers if the baterial levels get to high in a tank "poor filtration" or lack of water changes . it would be a cool fish but the larger it gets the harder it will be to care for . you would in the long run have to build a pond , release it or eat it . 
it is though a very beutiful fish but like koi if you don't have a big enough place to put it don't buy it . i have 2 ponds , one is 1800 gallons and the other is 2400 gallons . my biggest koi are 24" long .
keeping a fish that can grow 3 to 4 ft in a small tank will slowley kill it it won't stop growing because of the size of the tank . it will get bigger and the fish waste will increase with size and you will slowley poison the pike .


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## Sheri (Feb 10, 2005)

CherishYour_f8 said:
			
		

> I've thought about keeping pike myself but never knew if it was legal or where to get one.Also considered tanking a musky/muskie/muskelunge.Been to Canada a few times and caught a bunch of those toothy pike,put up a hella fight and will strike at anything.Believe it or not,we had a large one strike at a canoe paddle.Scared the living S--t outta us.
> .


I would LOVE to take you fishing sometime then.
I live 2 hours away from the best pike and muskie fishing near a populated area...

Muskie get larger and more aggressive than pike, and they are much harder to find.
I've only caught one, but it was amazing! We had to hire a guide... 
These are the only species I fish for, as a result I use 50lbs test line, minimum, and have a heavy action rod. I generally use rapella for my larger lures, and of course, some oldies as well.

Damn... summer seems far away all of a sudden. Well, ok, it already did, but this is just another reason it will go painfully s-l-o-w...


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## SpaceHawk (Feb 12, 2005)

*Cool...*

I have to order the pikes up to Idaho, since they are illegal to buy here in Utah. Everything is illegal here, it sucks.  They have 5-8 inchers right now. They are cool!  I am getting a 55 gal for the one I am buying. Despite what most people think about fish only growing to the space given is a myth.  If you have bad water quality, it will stunt the fish, or if it is malnurished, but not the size of the tank.  Smaller confinements usually lead to poor water and higher ammonia...etc, whihc is why people think the size of the aquarium can stunt them.

But this is a cool fish for sure.  I read some articles in fish mag about them and it specified about only feeding live fish, but I think they should be able to eat silversides too (and crickets, worms, sideblotched lizards, mice, frogs..).  I need to figure out how to keep the water super cold.  i guess I'll need a good sump.  When I was a kid I went to North Dakota and fished for these guys.  I never ate one though, just tried to smuggle them back to CA. for a pet.  Never worked.  I never knew they were legal to buy until this year, considering they are a game fish.


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## CampCoX7 (May 20, 2020)

We have caught a few baby pikes. We are trying to keep one as a pet. Thanks for all these suggestions.  Do they happen to eat fish food? Lol He jumped out of his tank and I held him and swam him around for 45 minutes. He's still alive this morning.

Reactions: Dislike 1


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## Vanisher (May 20, 2020)

Sheri said:


> I would LOVE to take you fishing sometime then.
> I live 2 hours away from the best pike and muskie fishing near a populated area...
> 
> Muskie get larger and more aggressive than pike, and they are much harder to find.
> ...


Nice. I live in Sweden and we had very good pike waters around thecorner. Nowdays they are not as good, not baltic sea anyways. I remember 30 years ago when i caught 20-25 pounds pikes in our harbour


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## moricollins (May 20, 2020)

CampCoX7 said:


> We have caught a few baby pikes. We are trying to keep one as a pet. Thanks for all these suggestions.  Do they happen to eat fish food? Lol He jumped out of his tank and I held him and swam him around for 45 minutes. He's still alive this morning.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It jumping out of the tank is a sign that it shouldn't be kept in that tank, or any tank. 

They aren't likely to eat fish food they EAT FISH.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## CampCoX7 (May 21, 2020)

moricollins said:


> It jumping out of the tank is a sign that it shouldn't be kept in that tank, or any tank.
> 
> They aren't likely to eat fish food they EAT FISH.


He was in a bucket while we cleaned the tank. He's been eating tiny minnows and little tadpoles. His tank is 30 gallons and he is almost 4 inches long. I was just curious about the fish food. But we go out every day and get him food and we add creek water from the creek we caught him in to the tank weekly.


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## moricollins (May 21, 2020)

CampCoX7 said:


> He was in a bucket while we cleaned the tank. He's been eating tiny minnows and little tadpoles. His tank is 30 gallons and he is almost 4 inches long. I was just curious about the fish food. But we go out every day and get him food and we add creek water from the creek we caught him in to the tank weekly.


You realize this fish would grow to be 3-4 feet long in nature, right? 30 gallons will not remotely be big enough. You'll need 10 times that much space.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Graylingo (May 31, 2020)

I caught my 4 cm pike in a small pond and I plan keep him in 85 galon tank with lot of plants and driftwoods for first year. I found that its good to use fan to keep water few degrees cooler, especially when you use fluorescent light bulb. Here's a video of my setup and my pike eating few different species of fish:

Reactions: Like 1


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## cold blood (May 31, 2020)

CampCoX7 said:


> He was in a bucket while we cleaned the tank. He's been eating tiny minnows and little tadpoles. His tank is 30 gallons and he is almost 4 inches long. I was just curious about the fish food. But we go out every day and get him food and we add creek water from the creek we caught him in to the tank weekly.


They don't eat just fish, they will literally eat ANYTHING they can fit in their mouths...and esoconids can actually eat other fish that are 2/3 their own size...so  30 incher can eat a 20 incher...


moricollins said:


> You realize this fish would grow to be 3-4 feet long in nature, right? 30 gallons will not remotely be big enough. You'll need 10 times that much space.


But it will also take time to reach such sizes.  They may get big, but they start out pretty small.

Pike are kinda unique, in that small pike are really warm water fish, preferring weedy shallows, as a pike gains size, they change and become more of a cold water fish, living in deeper, cooler water...which is why big pik and small pike aren't usually found together except for those times in springf and fall where the shallows are cool.

Keep in mind, in most places, local DNR will require specific permits to keep them....generally its not an issue, but if a warden ever wanted, he could make trouble for you...generally a fish farming license is required.   Catching them yourself also presents a problem in many places, as they generally have size limits that dictate what you can keep......but there does tend to be places here and there that do not have size limits, so its important to know your states and lakes laws.

IMO bass make for a much better aquarium fish.

Reactions: Like 2


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## CampCoX7 (May 31, 2020)

cold blood said:


> They don't eat just fish, they will literally eat ANYTHING they can fit in their mouths...and esoconids can actually eat other fish that are 2/3 their own size...so  30 incher can eat a 20 incher...
> 
> But it will also take time to reach such sizes.  They may get big, but they start out pretty small.
> 
> ...


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## Salmonsaladsandwich (Jun 2, 2020)

If you're interested in keeping pike, there are redfin/grass pickerel (_Esox americanus_), which are the smallest pikes, only growing to 10-12", usually even smaller. Apart from being much smaller and needing a smaller tank, they look and behave similar to larger species, and i've read that although they prefer live food at first they can quickly learn to eat frozen food and even pellets.

Reactions: Like 1


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## NathanB (Jun 5, 2020)

Northern pike get BIG! You would need like a huge tank to house one. They can grow over a metre long


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## Rhino1 (Jun 5, 2020)

Hey man, when I was into fishing I kept various large-growing sportfish in aquarium set ups, plastic ponds/ kids wading pools etc. Although the only experience I've had with northern pike was bowfishing for them whilst chasing Colorado elk in 2009.

Dude who cares if they grow big, just upgrade your tank size as the fish grows, no point putting a 3 inch fingerling into a 6ft tank, provide open water near the top of the tank and a good bit of structure/driftwood/rocks for him to hide in and hunt from.
The best "pet" sports fish Ive ever kept have been bass and barramundi, both were easy to hand feed and everyone that came over seemed impressed with this. Good luck


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