pictus catfish
- Thread starter paul8811
- Start date
They don't belong in an african tank. They like low ph and low(ish) temp. They are also nocturnal but the ones I had years ago would scavenge during the day if there was a lit of drift wood or plants for shade. I didn't like them, and they kind of put me off catfish for a while until I bought some corys recently. Now I am trying to buy any nice catfish I can get! Just got some bristlenose yesterday.
Pictus are typically skittish, and will be far more so if they have no where to hide. I have kept them in all types of water, and in temeratures as high as 78*F They are slow to acclimate to high TDS water, and therefore would not be my first choice with africans, but they should be O.K. once they get used to the water. They need lots of places to hide, or they will injure themselves zipping around the tank. Set up some rock caves or PVC caves for them. They are primarily noctournal, but will get used to you in time, they will never quit moving when they are outside of their hiding places though. They are in general a very spastic fish. Still my favorite by far.
Dave
Dave
daveedka said:
Just curious why you like them so much? Mine were always zipping here and there, never available for guests to see and had a nasty habit of stalking fry.
well my pictus isnt that skittish in my african tank because i have alot of hiding places for him if you can make some more hiding spots for them they should calm down a bit
Everyone has their own thing, for me The colors (spotted especially) are magificent, I like bold colors and contrast, and Pictus have it. They are a fairly small (in the catfish world) catfish that will hold their own in an Oscar tank, they do a fair job of clean-up, eat anything I might feed an Oscar, and add some excitement to the tank. They are simultaneously ferociuos and timid, and always up to something. I would not keep them in any tank with small fish or Fry, cories are wonderful for that purpose, but to me no other catfish that I've kept has been as interesting. My tanks aren't big enough for most catfish that I like (TSN's, irridescent sharks, channel cats, etc. ) so the pictus does it for me.
Dave
daveedka said:
Fair enough! I don't have much NW cichlid experience but I could imagine them fitting in perfectly. You are right about the colors though, that's why I bought them.
Pictus are great, I just bought 2. I fell in love with them as soon as I saw them, the patterns were great and I love the big whiskers, they are skittish and do tend to fly around but I've read they become less skittish if kept in a gup (the more the better as i understand it) and obviously providing hiding places will help loads too. There great though they eat any bits of food my fish leave behhind and have real character. At this point I'm kinda wishing I had a 300 gallon tank dedicated to pictus catfish, wouldn't that be sometyhing (ah whaty a dream). OK perhaps I sound a little obsessed but seriously I've had mine about 3 days and I can honnestly say they're me new favourite fish.
Each to their own I guess
Each to their own I guess
I've never really liked them that much. Just their frantic non-stop movements makes a lot of other fish uneasy.
Swimfins
This is as good as it gets.
I had my pictus in a 25g long for awhile. He hung around the back of the tank, and I never sensed him really happy. After moving to the bigger tank, he's calmed down quite a bit. He has a favorite nesting spot under a rock in front of my driftwood. I see the whiskers poking out. Before I had the tank planted, I'd sit on the floor and he'd come right up to the glass and touch my face with his whiskers, then dart away and fly right back and do it again. Maybe he figured I was edible? It was the weirdest thing. Now, I see him occasionally but he chooses to stay under cover more since the tank has been planted. He survived getting caught in a net, and me having to destroy a net to free him. He remained calm throughout the whole ordeal, which surprised me. Then he/she survived ich, bloody lesions and all. I think they're pretty cool, and a tank with these guys and some colorful mid-dwellers like rainbows who aren't so nervous, would be really nice.