# nothern pike



## calem (Dec 13, 2003)

can u keep a nothern pike as a pet i notice there are things called orenge pike u can keep is this any difernt ?


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## LaZy (Jun 17, 2003)

you could keep it but your gonna need a big tank


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## J_TREAT911 (May 29, 2003)

Don't they get to like 10 feet in length???


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## air*force*one (Mar 5, 2004)

thouse are mighty big fish i dont no if i would want to keep 1 u wold need a really big tank or elts its gonna be all cruntched up then it will die


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## calem (Dec 13, 2003)

well in the summer i rember we catch realy small ones like lil under a foot i just wanted to know the leaglealitys of it is it leagle to keep thoughs or any other fish that u catch outa a lake or sumpin


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## air*force*one (Mar 5, 2004)

you could keep it i dont no why anyone would stop you beacuse u catch them and eat them and that would be the same as catching 1 and keeping it as a pet it still takes it out of circulation but i don not think u will get in troble


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## con man (Mar 7, 2004)

they get around 4 feet in the wild the smaller cousion is a pickerel witch only gets 24 inchs much like an arowana and the pickerel and pike dont like to be handled and often die after being caught so i doubt and they klike there water 60 degrees f

limited size tank for a pickerel 90 gallon and for pike probly 200 gal

if u catch and keep one suseecfully







and they love frogs, mice , and iother things and if u made a feeding video ud b god


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

pickerel are definitely more viable pets than pikes, due to their smaller size. they look the same really.


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## calem (Dec 13, 2003)

witch would u say would be more agressive id say pick looks way meaner


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

pickerel and pikes are not even remotely aggressive fish. They are predatory, but not aggressive/territorial, and can be easily bullied to death by more pugnacious tankmates


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## IDONTKARE47 (Jan 5, 2004)

yea i would love to see one of thoes in a home aquriam :nod:


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## fiaman101 (Feb 22, 2004)

Dude those fish get huge. I cought one on lake of the woods that was
51" and 34# You would need a ficking pool for that thing


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## calem (Dec 13, 2003)

i just want a baby


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## dead golfish (Apr 24, 2003)

get a large koi pond and that would be awsome because itl be big enough and f the pond is deep enough itll last the winter as long as u make sure there are many minnows in pond i can see it now
oh and fiaman i dont think that was a pike maybe a musky 51" sounds to big for a pike but musky they can get to like 8 feet and much harder to catch, and they can take down ducks!


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## air*force*one (Mar 5, 2004)

calem said:


> i just want a baby


 you could probly keep it for some time but it will grow big


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## calem (Dec 13, 2003)

sweet then i can let it go when he gets big nice


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## lophius (Mar 24, 2003)

I have a northern pike (Esox lucius) in an aquarium ... cool fish. I'll keep it indoors until it reaches a foot or so then pop it in the pond.

They do make quite cool pets.

carl.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

lophius said:


> I have a northern pike (Esox lucius) in an aquarium ... cool fish. I'll keep it indoors until it reaches a foot or so then pop it in the pond.
> 
> They do make quite cool pets.
> 
> carl.


 is it lethargic or pretty active? what are you feeding it? what is it housed with? does it pretty much mind its own business in regards to tankmates?


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## booger (Mar 8, 2004)

I was bitten by a northern pike when I was ice fishing a couple of years ago, those bastards have some sharp teeth and they fight real good when you catch them.


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## jeepman784 (Jan 8, 2004)

lophius said:


> I have a northern pike (Esox lucius) in an aquarium ... cool fish. I'll keep it indoors until it reaches a foot or so then pop it in the pond.
> 
> They do make quite cool pets.
> 
> carl.


 pics pics


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

calem said:


> sweet then i can let it go when he gets big nice


 No you can't just let it go.

either keep it or don't get it,
Release into any public water is not an option.<----thats a period


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

Polypterus said:


> Release into any public water is not an option.<----thats a period


 whats your reasons for this?


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## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

at a pet store near me they had a few captibe bred ones about 6" long. thats the way id do it. ya you would need a pond / pool since they do get very big. peacock, once a fish has been in captivity from a baby to an adult it will not know what to do in the wild. plus it would proboly be harased and get the sh*t beat out of it by other fish. so if you do get it make sure you dont realease it, it probly wont survive.


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## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

> QUOTE (Polypterus @ Mar 18 2004, 02:37 AM)
> 
> Release into any public water is not an option.<----thats a period
> 
> whats your reasons for this?


For the reason, visit the only pinned topic in the scientific forum.
Fish will get banned if this continues to happen, we don't want that!


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

but arnt we talking about Releasing it into a lake that allready has a population?


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

Peacock said:


> but arnt we talking about Releasing it into a lake that allready has a population?


One reason it's Probley Illegal, most all states do not allow the transplanting of
fish,

once it's in your possesion Native or otherwise to release it is
Transplanting the fish. Without licence and permit it's Illegal.

second if the fish came from a different source
perticularly if it was farmed, the genetics are either different or weak,
This could be passed on to the wild population and cause all sorts of problems,

I'm not just pulling this out of my ass, Transplanting fish is not a good idea
without special precautions.

Plenty already out there explaining this look it up.

Acestro already has an excellent post in scientific, (I think this should be copied and
pasted above all topics on this site as a permenant fixture)

It is advisable if you want to keep a fish to understand what that means,
Think through carefully what your abilities and resources are,
If you can not keep an animal for its full life do not .

This simple concept can save so much frusteration, grief and pain down the road.


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

I think some discretion could be applied here for releasing native species. Transplanting a northern pike into another lake containing northern pike is not going to cause any significant harm. Especially in lakes in the same vicinity connected via rivers and/or inlets. Zebra mussels have become a problem in lake Michigan. So, I can understand some of these regulations.


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## Peacock (Feb 23, 2004)

thanks Pol.

i had my own ideas but i wasnt sure of your "Opinions".


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## scrapedogg (Apr 28, 2003)

I've had numerous northerns in my 150g native tank. They're excellent to watch feed, but they're difficult to keep alive. They seem particularly sensitive to water changes, and saprolegnia fungus. I dont' know exactly why they are so much more susceptible to dying from it than a bass or crappie, but they have died within a week of putting them in the tank each time I've done it. As far as them being huge, I've had bass for over a year in my tank that haven't grown an inch the entire time. I really don't think that they have an active enough life living in an aquarium after coming from the wild to really grow to their full potential. I say you'd be fine putting one in your tank if you can keep it alive, they rule. I have video of mine feeding, and it's frickin awesome. As far as releasing them, yeah, don't do it, I don't know what diseases a northern can get living in a tank with no tropical fish, and thus no foreign diseases, but I guess it does happen, so it's just much better never to risk something like that. Good luck.


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## NTcaribe (Apr 8, 2004)

those fish are unkeepable in captivity they are always on the move 
AS A PET







bad choice


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## BoomerSub (Jun 23, 2003)

Polypterus said:


> Peacock said:
> 
> 
> > but arnt we talking about Releasing it into a lake that allready has a population?
> ...


 Also, it may have been exposed to diseases in your tank that the wild fish have never encountered and have no defense against.

-PK


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## burna (Feb 10, 2004)

> oh and fiaman i dont think that was a pike maybe a musky 51" sounds to big for a pike but musky they can get to like 8 feet and much harder to catch, and they can take down ducks!


Northern Pike do get that big! I've caught them that size in the northern part of saskatchwan, canada. And muskies get even bigger than that.

Of course they would never reach that size in captivity. I caught them in an isolated lake only reachable by plane.


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## englishman (Aug 14, 2003)

i fish for pike a lot there good fighters look at this lucky fishermans catch



















you would need a huge tank for these beasts


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

holy crap those are huge....


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## 1piranhaman (Apr 21, 2004)

i totaly agree with lemmywinks that once acclimated into a becoming a household pet, there is very little hope for it in the wild once you let it go again. it sounds to me like you keep making exuses for yourself to do this, so why dont you just do it so you can destroy this certain fish's life get it over with and hopefully you wont do it again. im sure almost everyones going to do it, or thinks about doing it at some point in their life.


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

englishman said:


> i fish for pike a lot there good fighters look at this lucky fishermans catch
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 they remind me of a dog :rock:

releasing fish back into the wild is not good, some how the croc hunter guy does it but it is different with fish


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

You know it is a fricking shame so much time needs to be spent
Explaining why fish should not be released and then hours more are spent
later explaining the laws passed because the fish was released.
(which always lands on us that follow the laws to explain why)

and then there is the consistant bitching and complaining that you can't have
(fill in the blank) fish Because some idiot lacked common sense.

What part of common sense is getting in the way here for this very 
simple concept to be understood?

_*YOU DO NOT RELEASE ANYTHING THAT HAS BEEN KEPT IN CAPTIVITY*_. _*NEVER RELEASE ANY FISH OR ANIMAL*_

Is this subject over with now, is it clear? What really needs clarification?
Beleve this is a damn simple concept to grasp.

Stop in your tracks before asking why one more time,

you do not get it by now you never will, which makes you an idiot,
as this has been rehashed a thousand times and tons of material is
available explaining this very simple concept.


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## Kory (Jun 5, 2003)

Hey poly are you against re-stocking lakes with farm raised fish?


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## DuffmanRC (Oct 2, 2003)

yeah it wouldnt be a good idea to get a pike, they are built for speed and would require a much more than even an 8ft long tank


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

if you want aquarium sized pikes, get pickerel


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## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

Kory said:


> Hey poly are you against re-stocking lakes with farm raised fish?


 That depends Kory, in some cases transplanting fish can be valid,
IE, reintroduction of an exirpaited species,
in others it can be highly detrimental to Locally Native fish,

One example I can think of being incredably bad was the stocking of
Trout in Miller lake oregon, seems this stocking while popular to the
public, came with a hitch, a locally native parasitic lamprey.

This Lamprey was exterminated to make way for introduced fish,
(With not much fanfare though, this lamprey was rediscovered recently
Much to my joy in an adjacent watershed.)

I do not beleave farm raised fish destined only for the commercial
fisherys market should ever be stocked, if a fish is clearly failing to
reproduce on it's own, that is an indication it's not properly adapted 
to the habitat, Such continued introductions are a waste of money,
and only takes away from the funds needed to truly re-stock fishes
that are threatend and the protection of habitat of those fish already there.

Fisherys management really needs an overhaul in this country.


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