Schooling Fish and Loner Schooling Fish (Specifically Pictus Catfish)

[SilverArowanaBoi]

Hey y'all! I have a question that will determine whether or not I add more Pictus, get rid of the adult I have, or leave him alone in my tank.

A little back story to help y'all understand what I'm asking better. When I got the Pictus beauty I have now, he was already a full-grown adult. He and another Pictus were tankmates in a previous owner's tank, and he and his tankmate were dropped off at the fish store. His tankmate had already been sold leaving him alone. When I came to the fish store for some new fish, I saw him in a probably 20-gallon tank with some massive blue gouramis; he was continuously darting back and forth in the tank in a very disturbingly stressed manner. At the time, I knew a Pictus could be in my tank, and he would have a LOT more space in my tank. So I bought him and took him home. Later, I did further research on him and learned that Pictus usually schooled, one of the few catfish that do.

This leads to my question: since my Pictus has already been alone for a long time and is an adult, should I get more pictus for the tank, get rid of him (which I don't want to do, it's a beautiful one), or leave him alone?

Thank you in advance for any help!

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

My Pictus was always alone for the better part of three years with no issues, he stood his ground against my Oscar’s and always ate with gusto.

 

[celebrist]

I have 9 pictus cats. When in quarantine in a 90 they schooled up but after going in the 450 they kind of went their separate ways

 

[fishhead0103666]

This is just my personal experience so feel free to take it with a grain of salt but with how active I saw my picture were in my 75 I wouldn’t put them in another smaller than a 6’.

 

[jjohnwm]

I had a half-dozen pictus cats in a 6-foot 120gallon tank for a number of years. At a size of 2 inches, they were always very active, and spent more time exploring on their own than they did in a loose shoal. By the time they hit 5 inches, they were very independent and essentially ignored each other, patrolling separately and usually dispersed more or less evenly throughout the tank.

Perhaps in a much larger tank they would be more social? I agree with fishhead0103666 that they need a lot of room to look and act contented. I haven't kept them again since that first batch, because they are IMHO in that awkward "middle size range", i.e. too big and boisterous and wide-mouthed to keep with very small fish but still a bit too small to comfortably and safely live with the big boys.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

From our experience. I'd say pictus loosely shoal, not school together, especially when small and young. In general, the older they get, the more serious their squabbles and fights become to the point of torn or largely missing fins. Usually when in large numbers, like a dozen or two, and in smaller tanks, they still prefer to stick together more or less but some peers, like Celebrist and JJ above, report them becoming territorial and defending their territories - it seems to depend on the tank size and the number of the cats.

Other than the the gregarious aspect, I don't understand the question or your situation to offer any other thoughts.

 

[SilverArowanaBoi]

[QUOTE="thebiggerthebetter, post: 8509067, member: 65222"1
Other than the the gregarious aspect, I don't understand the question or your situation to offer any other thoughts.
[/QUOTE]

What I'm asking is, should I get more Pictus catfish for my tank? I already have an adult loner, and I'm wondering if he would do better in a shoal/school of his/her own species. He/she seems fine now, frequently dashes around the tank for fun, hides like a catfish in plain sight (and I thought catfish were good hiders *smh*), and eats like a catfish.

However, it sounds like the general consensus is that independence isn't really a bad thing for a Pictus as they already become more independent in time naturally. So I will probably keep him alone with the other species of catfish I already have.

 

[Fishman Dave]

I think the answer from most others experience and from mine; I had 5 in a six foot tank and as they aged (reaching in some cases 5-6”) they became loners, tolerating the sight and movement of others but falling out if they tried to spend too long in each others territory or company; the answer you seek is stick with the one !