Corys with a pictus

[lovemybarbs]

Am I able to have corys with a pictus? Do you think he will attack. What kind can I get?

I only mention this because I once put a crawfish in my tank and he attacked my dwarf frog. Funniest, yet scariest thing I've ever seen. He had him by the leg. I sware, I didn't know he would do that!

 

[BrianNY]

Definitely not a good idea to combine the two. The pictus will outcompete the corys.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I'm only anxious for another bottom feeder because my pictus hides all day. I never see the shrimp. If he died, I never saw the body. It's been over a week.

 

[BrianNY]

Most all catfish are nocturnal and will hide during the day. Adding other species of catfish won't change that.

 

[lovemybarbs]

Okay. That stinks. Maybe I'll try another shrimp or two and see if they stay out in the open more. I mean I have the whole bottom of the tank because no one is ever on it.

 

[SerLunchbox]

The more shrimp you add, the more expensive of a snack your pictus will get. The only "shrimp" species that i would keep would be the large ones like the african filter shrimp (AKA a Vampire Shrimp) They get to be about 3" or so and are cool to watch and are of a size that most fish won't bother them. Just be sure to havea cave that it can hide in (higher up the tank so the pictus won't really go for him at night if he has recently molted)

 

[lovemybarbs]

What does molting do? I think my last one molted because I saw the skin. He was pretty big, so I doubt he could have eaten him.

Explain this cave and where can I get one?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Even though my experience may be out of the norm, I'll go ahead and add it in here.

I've had two pictus cats in my 55 gallon tank for years, with albino and julli cories, and they never bothered anyone. Didn't attack my smaller fish. Even sleep side by side in a log with the two clown loaches. All fish have their own temperment. I think the key with adding in pictus cats is to have a larger tank, so they can claim and stake out a territory. I do notice that the cories hoard the right side and the pictus the left, but even when they cross paths, they just move over each other and don't bother a soul.

Molting is what inverts do to shed their exoskeleton and grow larger. They leave the smaller "skin" behind and adorn a larger one. You'll see molts that look just like a dead shrimp, so don't confuse the two.

 

[Zagz]

Your pictus will eat anything he can fit in his mouth. If you want the bottom of your tank to be more active, get rid of the pictus and get a school of cories instead. Or some small loaches. In schools they will be out more. HTH.

 

[SerLunchbox]

When a fish molts, it does loose its exoskeleton as forementioned. The problem is that in freshwater cases, most aquariums have too little calcium in the water for the new exoskeleton to grow back quickly. This results in the invertibrate being exposed with a new soft and fleshy exoskeleton for far too long. This is the ideal time for a lot of fish to get their fix of shrimp and other inverts.

You may think that he wasn't eaten because of size, but if you lost sight of him after a molt then he is most likely eaten (as forementioned, they become very soft and fleshy). It is either that or he has found a hiding spot that is ideal. as for caves you can use just about anything from the way wood in the tank is put together or even the way that rocks are stacked together.

 

[lovemybarbs]

He climbs up into my wood and won't come out for nothing. I think he is in there, but he latches on pretty snug.

He did molt, I know that for sure. I saw the skin.

My pictus is pretty calm. I have a dwarf frog and he leaves him alone. The shrimp was bigger than the frog.

I noticed the frog was just under that wood. I wonder if he was talking to him. I wish he would come out if he is in there. I even shined a flashlight up in there, but it turns.

 

[Devilishturtles]

Check the tank an hour or so after you shut the lights out for the night. See if he comes out then.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I may be crazy but I keep I think finding his waste.

 

[lovemybarbs]

I don't think he's in there.