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Caring
for Your New Pictus Catfish Info from Aqualand Pets Plus on Pimelodus pictus |
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Origins: Since no one breeds these cute little catfishes, we still import them (wild) from South America. Even though they come in as wild fish, these little guys quickly adapt to captivity. Many catfishes (especially corydoras catfishes) poke each other with their sharp fins when shipped in crowded plastic bags. Pictus seem to relax these sharp little fins when kept together. In other words, they ship very well.
Warning: Always catch your pictus catfish in a plastic container. Pictus “stickers” – their dorsal and pectoral fins – nearly always catch in a regular net. These fins catch – and will not come out -- because they have several times more barbs than a fish hook. We even saw one individual (who said “I can catch these guys in a net”) deeply imbed a pictus pectoral fin in his finger while trying to free it from a net. Painful, but we couldn't help but laugh. You often wind up destroying your net and your pictus. Watch your fingers, too. You may need them later.
Appeal: Long a staple in the aquarium hobby, pictus catfish are cute. A school of pictus with their whiskers as long as their bodies instantly catches your eye. Attractive black spots on their white-silvery bodies complete the attractive picture. And they never stop moving.
Size: Pictus catfish start out in our tanks as cute little two-inch, speedy, spotted, be-whiskered, eating machines on wheels. Beware. They grow to six inches and can cause problems as their mouths continue to enlarge right along with their bodies.
Housing: Pictus look great in a 10-gallon tank, where they also start out just fine. However, because they grow to six inches, pictus catfish work best when kept in larger tanks (and with larger fish). Scavengers? Many people add pictus to catfish their tanks because they think of all catfishes as scavengers – cleaner-uppers of the leftovers. Sure, they clean up any food that hits the bottom. However, you’ll notice it only takes them two seconds to smell food in the water and zip to the top where they power-graze whatever you feed your other fishes. Think of pictus catfish as pre-scavengers.
Foods: Pictus eat whatever you feed them (as well as any small fishes that will fit into their smallish mouths). They love ALL foods. Do not, however, expect them to eat moldy old food layering the bottom. Do not overfeed. Keep your pictus catfish just a bit hungry. Temperature: Keep your pictus catfish at tropical temperatures – 75o to 80o. They do not do well in cool water.
Temperament: Unlike the
armored catfishes, pictus rarely hide.
They constantly patrol their tanks in search of edible morsels.
Pictus catfish swarm about even more when kept in groups.
Shawn Charton, September 2, 2009
Hey, I just read your page on pictus cats and you neglected to mention their ability to go kamakazi if there's a hole in the lid or the water level is too high. Last week I bought 2 pictus' for my 40 gallon tank. They were VERY excited and I enjoyed watching them very much. (Constant motion doesn't even begin to describe it.) Then one day I walked by the tank and noticed that the constant motion had calmed to a random pacing along the back wall. Turns out one of the cats had gotten so excited in making loops that he came straight out the back of the aquarium through a hole cut for the filter system and dried up on my carpet. I lowered my water level and bought a new buddy for the other pictus which, if I didn't know better, was MOPING around the back of the tank looking for his friend. (I'm not someone who normally attributes human behaviors to fish but this was such a drastic change it really seems to be appropriate.) Anyway, love the site. Thanks for all the good info and bazillion hours it takes to create such a comprehensive site. A: Consider it mentioned now. I added your comments to my pictus page. LA Decor: You can aquascape
their quarters just like any other community fish.
They neither knock things about nor dig holes.
David Faline Seattle WA
Ok, let me state first of all that you, sir,
have one of the most sadistic websites I
have ever visited. It's completely
mesmerising. I just discovered it. On the
first day I was up til'
4 AM.... 4 AAAAMMM!!! And very
late and tired to work. Nazi! So that's my
version of a huge compliment. I want to add
an observation about pictus cats. When
adorning and furnishing your tank, leave an
open "track" in the front. This will keep
them out of their hideouts. And thus less
agressive. As well as in good view. They run
with one whisker tracing along the glass
then cruize through a hole. Then back out.
Yes, I have a limited social life. If they
hit a solid object with their whisker they
will follow almost the exact same route back
to their hideout. Really it's a
barrel of monkeys to observe.
Again no social life is to blame. I hope
this is helpful to anyone, with an
evil hermit cat.
A: I'm adding your info to our pictus page. LA Plants: Feel free to add live plants to their tank. Pictus catfish do not destroy vegetation. Water: Pictus catfish demand very clean water. Dirty water causes stress and eventual death. Always use a water conditioner. Some of the chemicals in tap water will severely stress them.
Medications: If medicating for ich, use your cure at half-strength. Most medications severely stress pictus catfish. Use medications only as a last resort. Too much malachite green will yield a tank of dead pictus with their mouths wide open.
Aaron Davis, Sacramento, CA, January 23, 2007
Hey, I'm a big fan of your website. I love the pics and the
information has been helpful to me for researching potential new
fish. However, I would like to point out one thing about the social
nature of pictus catfish that isn't mentioned on your site.
A few months ago, I began stocking a nearly empty 120 in my bedroom.
Based on information I found on your site and elsewhere, I decided
to get a small school of pictus cats. I went to the store, (sure
enough, their tag had "best in groups of 3 or more" written on it)
and I bought 7 ranging from 2.5-3".
When I introduced the fish to the tank, they continued schooling as
they had in the store's tank. But after a couple of days, they
started to disappear one by one. I was worried they were dying or
getting eaten by other fish, but after moving some rocks around I
found no bodies, just hiding pictus. A little disappointing, but no
big deal. After a week or so, all the pictus cats had become hiders.
Things got really interesting awhile later when I rearranged my
tank. Since all my pictus were displaced from their hideouts, they
naturally went to find new ones. But what I hadn't noticed before
was that the cats would no longer tolerate other pictus in their
caves. They began to quarrel over the best spots, facing each other
head-to-tail, displaying erect fins, and thrashing their bodies in
an attempt to stab each other with their pectoral spines, often
making buzzing noises. Eventually they formed a stable (almost
African cichlid-like) power structure with a couple larger dominant
fish occupying large caves and patrolling nearby open space, and
weaker fish crammed into smaller caves and hiding more of the time.
I did some further research and found out that pictus cats will only
school when small and become increasingly aggressive and territorial
toward each other with age. Mine mostly ignore other fish in the
tank, and even each other at feeding time, and none of them has been
injured by their territorial disputes. However I believe this is
partly due to the large footprint of my tank and the fact that there
are plenty of pictus for even distribution of aggression. It might
prove problematic if someone were to keep only two pictus in a small
tank. Just a heads up. Thanks,
A: Excellent and informative report. Thanks. I'm adding it to my pictus catfish page. LA Last Word: Never catch your pictus catfish in a net and always use medications very carefully. LA. © 1999, © 2003, © 2004, © 2005 LA Productions
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