so the stocking is in my signature, starting a few days ago my two smaller pictus starting swimming up the side of the tank instead of on the bottom like they normally do, i have had them for about a month and a half and after quarantining them for about a week i added them into my large tank with my larger pictus. there was the expected little tuffles but then they were fine and everyone stayed down on the bottom and was active for the last couple of weeks, now one of the small pictus that is swimming on the side of the tank has pretty much its entire tail chewed off, but its feelers are still completely intact, its only his tail that someone is tearing on. who do you guys think could be doing this? the only thing that has changed was the re-addition of the argentea after a time-out in the quarantine tank to give the angels time to settle in so he would leave them alone, i haven't seen him bother anybody since i re-added him and if it were him i would think he would go after the feelers not the tail, in the past whenever a cichlid went after any of my pictus they always went after the feelers but even then didnt do this much damage, i cant for the life of me think of who could be bothering them, i never see anyone going near them, and i would think if it were the larger pictus the trouble would have started from the beginning not suddenly a few days ago, what are your guys thoughts?
Who could be the culprit??
- Thread starter Sarah88
- Start date
the green terror is only like 3in and doesn't bother anybody, not even the small tetras that are in the tank and he even schools with the angels, i would be really surprised if it were him
o, then im stumped. how big is the pleco? i had a pleco who would eat the fins off of my angelfish?
he is only like 2.5-3in and gets fed half an algae wafer every night and any extra food he finds on the bottom as well. if he were a very large specimen then he would be the one i would think of but he is still tiny, and the pictus are super active at night so i dont know what could be actively chewing down his tail like this 
as soon as i get rid of the HRP in my quarantine tank im going to move him over to it and see if i can get his tail to grow back or at the very least heal it up, but i would like to know who the culprit is as the other small pictus doesnt have any damage but he is swimming up along the side as well like something is bothering him too...
as soon as i get rid of the HRP in my quarantine tank im going to move him over to it and see if i can get his tail to grow back or at the very least heal it up, but i would like to know who the culprit is as the other small pictus doesnt have any damage but he is swimming up along the side as well like something is bothering him too...
yeah i mean the argentea is the only thing that has changed, he was in with them before i got the angels with no problems but he may have changed his mind since i re-added him, i was just led away from thinking him because my past experience has showed me that cichlids usually go after the long feelers first and nip them down and his feelers are still completely intact but he does seem the most likely, i just dont know why he would suddenly mess with them out of the blue
would maybe the larger pictus suddenly turn on them? do you think getting a couple more would help?
would maybe the larger pictus suddenly turn on them? do you think getting a couple more would help?
Maintenance:
- 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.
i know they like to be kept in groups that's why i asked if getting a couple more might help, but i already have 3 so that should be an ok size group, only problem i see is that one is an adult while the two smaller ones are still young. that's why i thought it might be the larger pictus bothering them, but why would they be ok for a few weeks and then he suddenly decide he doesn't like them anymore you know? ugh i dont know i guess i need to stay up tonight with a flashlight lol