Pictus Cat
- Thread starter Kuda
- Start date
F
FishHeadSoup
Guest
they love to school, super active, max out at about 6 inches, eats anything and everything!
be very careful when netting them out,
one word...SPINES!
be very careful when netting them out,
one word...SPINES!
Overview:
One of the most active fish, the Pictus cat needs a large tank as it can suffer from lack of exercise In smaller aquariums.
Quick stats:
Typical habitat
Common name:
One of the most active fish, the Pictus cat needs a large tank as it can suffer from lack of exercise In smaller aquariums.
Quick stats:
- size:up to 5" (12cm)tank:48 inches strata:bottom-middlepH:6.5 to 7.5Hardness:soft to hard. dH range: 2.0 - 15.0temperature:73ºF to 82ºF (23-26°C)
- Order:SiluriformesFamily
imelodidaeGeneraimelodusSpecies: Pictus
Typical habitat
Common name:
- Pictus cat, Pimelodella, Pim
- South America, The Amazon and Orinoco river basins.
- An elongated catfish that has long barbels extending from the mouth. It has a large head and a wide mouth.
- The basic body color is sliver spattered with many black spots. These spots are also seen on the transparent fins. The three pairs of barbels that extend from the mouth area are white.
- The tank should be fairly large as the Pictus is an active swimmer and needs plenty of open spaces. Although a 36 inch may suffice I believe the standard 48 inch, 55 gallon would be better. Generally an easy to care for fish the Pictus cat should present few problems. Preferring to be kept in schools when young, they tend to form smaller groups when mature. When kept in small groups this nocturnal fish will be seen out and around more often during the daylight hours. Feeding is not an issue as the pictus will accept all types of food, being an insect eater it is beneficial to feed live food on occasion and frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp when live is not available. The tank should be planted toward the rear and include large areas of open space for swimming as well as areas for hiding such as caves, driftwood and roots. The substrate should mimic its home and consist of fine sand or gravel. Clean, soft and slightly acidic water with strong filtration and a good current is ideal. They are great tankmates for the larger community cichlid aquarium, smaller species such as neons will be eaten. A note of caution, the spines are very sharp and can cause injury to you and the fish if mishandled. It is better not to use a net but rather some sort of plastic container (or bag, watch for leaks) when buying or moving this fish.
- Found swimming above all types of bottom substrates: muddy, sandy and even small pebbles of shallow small tributaries of its home range.
- Unknown, may be do to not reaching sufficient size or sexual maturity in the home aquarium. It is thought that the females are larger and more plump than the males.
A standard pimelodus pictus doesn't get to 8 inches, I've never seen one over 6. 4 lines get bigger.
would 3 pitcus be okay in a 75 gallon, 48X18 tank? along with 2 clown loches (not fully grown yet)
yes that would be fine, as long as they are pimelodus pictus, the ones that stay pretty small. There's room for a few mid water swimmers there too.
Spines Suck,(ask my Jag) I quit using a net to catch my picus as they get stuck in it EVERY time. I now use my gravel filter vacuum(not powered) remove the hose and place my finger over the hole. Push it toward the cat & remove finger. as the air exits; the picus is sucked in without damaging them as I found a net was doing even though I cut the net always instead of pulling a fin.
but it works
F
FishHeadSoup
Guest
Spines Suck,(ask my Jag) I quit using a net to catch my picus as they get stuck in it EVERY time. I now use my gravel filter vacuum(not powered) remove the hose and place my finger over the hole. Push it toward the cat & remove finger. as the air exits; the picus is sucked in without damaging them as I found a net was doing even though I cut the net always instead of pulling a fin.
wow never heard of that before sounds cool...
your vacuum tube must be pretty wide!
Spines Suck,(ask my Jag) I quit using a net to catch my picus as they get stuck in it EVERY time. I now use my gravel filter vacuum(not powered) remove the hose and place my finger over the hole. Push it toward the cat & remove finger. as the air exits; the picus is sucked in without damaging them as I found a net was doing even though I cut the net always instead of pulling a fin.
wow that sounds like one rough way to catch a fish, rough for the fish