Orange Xingu Pike Cichlid (Crenicichla sp. 'Xingu I')

Choose an orange xingu pike cichlid for a specialist predator tank

The Orange Xingu Pike Cichlid, Crenicichla sp. ‘Xingu I’, is a pike cichlid found only in the Rio Xingu, a large southern tributary of the Amazon in Brazil. It is also sold as the Orange Pike, the Xingu Orange Pike Cichlid and Crenicichla sp. Xingu 1. Like all pike cichlids it has a long, torpedo-shaped body and a large mouth, and it hunts smaller fish from cover.

It has not been formally described, so it carries a trade code instead of a species name. It belongs to the lugubris group of large pike cichlids. In 2023 a revision of pike cichlid classification by Varella, Kullander, Menezes, Oliveira and López-Fernández placed Crenicichla lugubris and its relatives in a new genus, Lugubria, and Maidenhead Aquatics now lists this fish as Lugubria sp. ‘Xingu I’. The same revision created Saxatilia and Wallaciia, the genera of our Spangled Pike Cichlid and Two-Spotted Dwarf Pike Cichlid.

Young fish are the reason it is popular: they are bright orange and very active. The Mostly Cichlids profile notes that juveniles in the hobby also come in yellow and brick-red forms, and suggests that more than one species may be sold under this name. Adults look very different, as the colour table below shows.

Decide from the adult, not the juvenile

Browse our South American cichlids, the American cichlids directory and the Crenicichla pike cichlid category, or our rare and collector fish for other specialist species.

Know what you receive and how it changes

One purchase quantity supplies one live Orange Xingu Pike Cichlid, sold as a young fish in its orange juvenile colour. No dispatch size is listed; ask us if you need the current size. Young pike cichlids cannot be sexed reliably, so sex is not specified, and the photographs show the species, not the individual you will receive.

Follow the colour change

It will not stay orange. Both sources describe adults as olive-green to grey with red fins. If you want a permanently orange fish, this is not the right choice; if you want to watch a juvenile grow into a large, impressive predator, it is.

Plan the aquarium for a 35 cm adult

Maidenhead Aquatics gives a maximum of 35 cm, and Mostly Cichlids gives 12–14 in (about 30–36 cm) for adults, adding that males can grow too large for most aquariums and that adults are rarely seen in home aquariums. OATA’s American cichlid care sheet sets a minimum of 300 litres for species over 15 cm, and Maidenhead advises an aquarium as spacious as possible.

There is no species-level tank size for this undescribed fish, so look at its closest described relative. For Lugubria lugubris, which reaches 40 cm standard length, Seriously Fish recommends a base of 180 × 60 cm. That footprint, with 300 litres as an absolute floor, is a sensible plan for an adult Orange Xingu Pike Cichlid.

Run a space check before you buy

1. Measure the base: aim for 180 × 60 cm for an adult, and never less than 300 litres.
2. Plan for the adult body: about 35 cm, not the size you receive.
3. Count every other fish as an adult: tank mates must be at least as large and need their own territory.
4. Time the upgrade: have the adult aquarium ready before the juvenile outgrows its first home.

Our tank volume calculator converts your aquarium’s dimensions into litres; remember that sand, rock and wood reduce the real water volume.

Build caves, cover and current

Maidenhead Aquatics recommends soft sand, dim to medium lighting, and plenty of hiding places and visual barriers: tangles of driftwood, rock caves and several PVC or bamboo tubes per fish. Hardy plants can work, but Java fern and Anubias are safest because they can be tied to wood or rock. Pike cichlids generally do not rearrange décor much.

Divide the footprint by function

Keep lighting moderate and diffuse brighter light with floating or tall plants. Visual barriers matter more as the fish matures, because disputes start when one fish can watch another across an open tank.

Soften and stabilise the water

This is a soft-water fish. Maidenhead Aquatics gives 26–29°C and pH 5.5–6.8 in soft, acidic water. Field measurements from the Rio Xingu near Altamira, published on the Mostly Cichlids site with data from Mike Wise, found pH 6.5, 1 °dGH and 1 °dKH with a conductivity of 120 µS/cm at low water in September 1988, and pH 6.7–6.9 with a conductivity of about 20 µS/cm at high water in March 1996. The low-water reading was taken at 32°C, warmer than the recommended aquarium range.

Keep to one target table

Much UK tap water is harder than this. If yours is, blend it with reverse-osmosis water to bring the hardness down, keep a little carbonate hardness so the pH cannot crash, and prepare and match replacement water before every water change. Our aquarium water parameters guide and pH testing guide explain the readings, and our water matcher compares your tap water with this fish’s range.

Seriously Fish gives 0–15 °dGH and pH 5.5–6.5 for Lugubria lugubris, so the related species tolerates a spread of hardness. Stability inside the soft range matters more than one exact figure.

Keep oxygen high and nitrate low

Maidenhead Aquatics stresses warm, well-oxygenated water with plenty of current, and warns that nitrate must not build up, so regular partial water changes are essential. Efficient filtration with fast-flowing areas and quieter spots suits it. Our aquarium filtration guide explains how to size filters for a large aquarium.

Follow a weekly routine

1. Test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH before maintenance; OATA advises testing at least weekly.
2. Change at least 25% of the water every week (OATA), and more if nitrate climbs.
3. Prepare the softened replacement water in advance and match its temperature and pH to the aquarium.
4. Siphon waste and food remains from the sand.
5. Check filter flow, and rinse media lightly in removed aquarium water, never under the tap.

Mature the filter before the fish arrives, and add fish gradually: OATA warns that stocking too fast causes new tank syndrome, with rising ammonia and nitrite. Remove uneaten frozen food after a few minutes.

Feed meaty frozen foods, then wean

Maidenhead Aquatics recommends mainly meaty frozen foods such as white mosquito larvae, bloodworm, vitamin-enriched brine shrimp and Mysis. Many pike cichlids in the trade are wild-caught and may need live food at first before they are weaned onto frozen food; some eventually accept dried foods such as cichlid pellets. OATA advises feeding American cichlids once a day, only what they finish within a few minutes.

Build a varied menu

• Mosquito larvae and bloodworm: Duet Red-White Frozen Mosquito Larvae.
• Mysis: Mysis Frozen Blister.
• Brine shrimp: Frozen Artemia Blister.
• Pellets: a sinking cichlid pellet, once the fish is feeding confidently on frozen food.

To wean, start with the frozen food the fish already takes, then mix in a little of the new food and increase the share over one to two weeks. Mostly Cichlids notes that the stomach is highly elastic and looks very lumpy after a meal, so a swollen belly after feeding is normal and no reason to feed more.

Introduce it and watch the first weeks

Mostly Cichlids describes juveniles as active and peaceful but easily bullied until they mature, so introduce a young fish to a quiet aquarium without boisterous companions. Before it arrives, confirm that ammonia and nitrite are zero and that the water is soft and warm.

Use the floating-bag method

1. Switch off the aquarium lights and float the sealed bag for 10 minutes so the temperatures equalise.
2. Add small amounts of aquarium water to the bag over up to 20 minutes.
3. Release the fish, letting as little bag water as possible into the aquarium.
4. Dispose of the bag and its water appropriately.
5. Watch the fish closely for the first week, especially the water quality.

These are OATA’s steps. Because this fish needs much softer water than most UK tap water, measure the pH and hardness of your aquarium before it arrives so you know how big the difference is. Our guide to acclimatising new fish explains when a drip method suits and why a longer drip is not automatically safer after a long journey, and our delivery information covers delivery days and the Live Arrival Guarantee.

Watch health and behaviour

OATA describes healthy fish as having clear, bright eyes, undamaged fins, intact scales, no ulcers or bumps, normal swimming and steady breathing. Learn your fish’s normal routine once it has settled, so that changes stand out.

Pair each observation with an action

Do not diagnose from a single sign. If a problem continues after the water checks, contact us with the aquarium size, temperature, pH, hardness, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings, the tank mates and what you have seen.

Manage aggression and tank mates

Maidenhead Aquatics describes pike cichlids as having something of a reputation for being nasty: they are predators with large, protrusible mouths that will try to eat fish somewhat smaller than themselves, and most are highly territorial towards their own kind. Aggression can be reduced with visual barriers, by buying a group of similar-sized young fish and introducing them together, and by keeping them in a species aquarium. Aggression rises further once a pair forms and tries to spawn, and other fish may then need rehoming.

Use a suits and avoid list

Our tank mate checker screens proposed companions. To compare other pike cichlids we sell, see the Johanna Pike Cichlid, Peru Pike Cichlid and Comb Pike Cichlid, each with its own care needs, and read our cichlid care guide for general cichlid planning.

Know what breeding would involve

Maidenhead Aquatics knows of no reports of this fish breeding in home aquariums. It is a cave spawner: the female tends the eggs in a cave or crevice while the male patrols the area around it. Mostly Cichlids mentions a couple of undocumented aquarium spawnings in which the eggs did not hatch, and notes that adults guard their spawns for many months, often until the fry are 4–6 in (10–15 cm) long. For Lugubria lugubris, Seriously Fish describes pair formation as difficult, with prospective mates often killed, but excellent parental care once a pair succeeds.

If you hope for a pair

• Start with a group of young fish of similar size and let a pair choose each other.
• Provide several caves and plenty of visual barriers.
• Have a separate aquarium ready for the other fish once a pair forms.
• Expect much higher aggression from a breeding pair, and long parental care if the eggs hatch.

Answer Orange Xingu Pike Cichlid buying questions

How big does the Orange Xingu Pike Cichlid get?

About 35 cm (Maidenhead Aquatics); Mostly Cichlids gives 12–14 in for adults. It is sold as a young fish but grows into a large predator, so plan the aquarium for the adult.

Does the Orange Xingu Pike Cichlid stay orange?

No. The bright orange is the juvenile colour. Adults turn olive-green to grey with red fins, and females develop a wine-red belly.

What size aquarium does it need?

At least 300 litres, the OATA minimum for American cichlids over 15 cm, and as spacious as possible. For its closest described relative, Seriously Fish recommends a base of 180 × 60 cm.

What water does it need?

Soft, slightly acidic, warm water: 26–29°C and pH 5.5–6.8, well oxygenated, with strong current and low nitrate.

Can I keep two together?

Only as a pair that forms naturally from a group of young fish, in a very large aquarium with visual barriers. Most adults are highly aggressive to their own kind.

What does it eat?

Meaty frozen foods such as mosquito larvae, bloodworm, brine shrimp and Mysis. Some wild fish need live food at first, and some eventually accept cichlid pellets.

Is it the same fish as Lugubria sp. ‘Xingu I’?

Yes. The fish is undescribed; a 2023 revision placed Crenicichla lugubris and its relatives in the new genus Lugubria, so some retailers now use that name, while the trade name Crenicichla sp. ‘Xingu I’ is still widely used.

Which tank mates can live with it?

A species-only aquarium is best. If you add tank mates, choose robust fish at least as large as the pike cichlid, add them first and provide plenty of space and hiding places.

Consult the care references

• Maidenhead Aquatics: Xingu Orange Pike Cichlid — names, size, water values, set-up, diet, sexing, behaviour and breeding.
• Mostly Cichlids: Crenicichla sp. ‘Xingu I’ (Orange Pike) — Rio Xingu water data (courtesy of Mike Wise), adult size, colour change and behaviour.
• Seriously Fish: Lugubria lugubris — the closest described relative: tank footprint, water, aggression and breeding.
• Varella et al. (2023), Revision of the generic classification of pike cichlids, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 198(4) — the genus Lugubria.
• OATA: How to look after American cichlids — group tank size, water quality limits, feeding, maintenance and acclimatisation.