Pictus catfish??

[iloveyouDIE]

I have 3 pictus. Originally we just had 1 but we never saw him. He would peek out at feeding time but I assume he was eating scraps late at night.

I was worried about him getting enough food and I had read they were social so I bought 2 more.

What a difference! These guys aren't as active as quicklynx describes but with 3 of them keeping each other company, I see them all the time!

They are adorable and amusing. Great little fish.

 

[knicks791]

I have two, and they hate each other.

 

[Snowflake311]

If you only have 2 they fight but if you have 3 or more it evens it out and they get along better.

Mine go crazy when food hits the water. You would think they were starved. I have to make sure I don't let too much food get to the bottom because these guys fill up and get fat tummys then look like they will pop. They are overly active at feeding time. Every other time they just hang out sometimes with eachother. They are so neat.

 

[long nose gar]

should i try adding new pictus in or should i just let him be

 

[Snowflake311]

should i try adding new pictus in or should i just let him be

They seem to feel safer in groups of 3 or more. But if you think he is fine on his own. If you have room I would say get 2 more.

 

[andge1989]

My pictus is crazy active. especially at night. He has grown an inch since I got him from lfs. that was about 6 months ago...i tihnk he had some freak growth spur though. I had a betta in with him too so I would drop the shrimp pellets down for him and then the bettas food, but he always preffered the betta food. He races to the top of the tank and literally jumps out of the water and hits the lid at every feeding time. teh little betta pebbles kind of sit against teh glass and he races from one side of the tank to the other with his mouth pretty much open the whole time.

I had him in with a violet goby, but the goby had a little accident...poor guy..anyways, he was best buds with him..they swam together everywhere and wouldnt let anything else into their cave. since the goby, i have added a pleco...he is huge..dnno how many inches, but anyways, he sits in the cave and sucks on teh top all day and the cat literally swims upward towards him all day..kinda weird and dont know why he does it...I was think he is lonely and just wants to be near the pleco, but that seemed a little crazy to me. Im gna go get him a few more of his own kind...hopefully he hasnt gotten too big, because the ones i would introduce would be way smaller...anyways...they are great little fish.

 

[quicklynx]

should i try adding new pictus in or should i just let him be

If your one Pictus killed off 4 others, I say remove the log he seemed to be territorial over. If he is much larger than the new ones you get, they may not stand a chance. I'm sure he is striving for some sort of interaction with his own kind, but you may have to do some searching for fully grown ones, and pay a little extra.

As for their bellies. Yes! They are like dogs and will eat everything in sight and keep eating until its gone. They won't stop eating. If their stomachs are still plump, I don't even feed my other fish because they always will get some of their food. It literally is a huge balloon on the bottom of their body. It looks almost unreal how much their stomach can expand. They almost match my larger Iridescent Shark's body shape when they are full, haha.

 

[CODzilla]

I have two, and they hate each other.

Same here, the first one I got is 6 inches and was kept on his own for a year or so but he got less active as time went on so I got him a pal to play with who is about 4-5 inches and the hate each other and just squabble when the come into contact with each other. Now I find the in opposite corners of the tank most of the time.

When I got the larger one he was kept in my community set up, with Silver Dollars, Rosy Tetra and fancy Plecs, I added 16 Neon Tetra one weekend and by monday there were only 4 Neons left and a very fat looking Pictus!