I knwo this is an old post but Jesus man are you insane?
Pike are highly cannibalistic - SCIENTIFIC FACT - Google it - You cannot unless you are a complete idiot keep 2 pike together unless you have a small lake / v.v.large pond and keep them very well fed.
You absolutely cannot keep any other fish smaller than 75% of the pike's size in it's tank/pond - even if it cannot swallow it, it will have a go - trust me I have a 4lb pike in an 8 ft tank - he was 3 inch's long 3 years ago. He can eat between 3 to 6 v.large goldfish a day if I let him and point blank refuses any dead food - I am hoping this will change as he gets older. His record is 11 Goldfish (and im talking 3-5 inch's long) in a 24 hour period.
I have to collect thousands of goldfish fry each august from a local park pond which I grow on in a separate tank for 1-2 years just to keep him/her from bankrupting me.
Long term i will have to release it unless I win the lottery.
YOU CANNOT KEEP A PIKE IN ANYTHING BUT A SOLITARY TANK - they are eating machines and will try and eat anything smaller than themselves. Mine (his name is lil wheezy the beast) killed a 50 cm, armoured plec that had previously lived with piranhas in a pet shop show tank - they react to movement and so anything moving in their tank (except for ur hand) had better beware.
I would say however that at no point has my pike ever show any aggresion towards me / my apendages and is in fact very skittish and one of the most timid animals I have ever kept and I have kept a very wide range of critters.
They are basically totally unsuitable to captivity, they hate being confined are very , very delicate and highly aggresive to other fish.
I will be letting mine go when he outgrows this tank (i estimate this will be in autumn/ early winter) again unless I win the lottery and can get him a tank larger than his current quarters.
Your better off with perch - i have 6 1-2lb perch in my pond with mixed (LARGE) orfe, koi, roach, tench, terrpains, a 4lb barbel and some other large coldwater odd balls.
ALSO bare in mind that perch will eat ANYTHING that fits in their mouth which is why I never get any fry and lost a shoal of half pound rudd and some pretty damn big dace (for dace anyway) that were in the pond.
Predatory fish are exactly that predators - they cannot be tamed, so dont take the risk.
peace out
