lazy catfish

[Mephistopheles]

I've got a spotted pictus catfish in my 10 gallon tank. He's been in there for about three months now but I don't know if he's comfortable or not in there. I read somewhere that this fish is supposed to be fairly active but "Fluff" seems to like to hang out in a tunnel created by the lava rock. He doesn't even come out at feeding time (I have no idea what he's eating cuz I never see him eat. Of course I assume he must be eating or else he would be long dead by now.) The only time he really swims is when the gravel vac is around (he's real timid). Is this acceptable behavior? Is he stressed? cuz I know my water has a real high pH (closing in on 8 ) and I also read that they like more acidic waters. temp is 75, ites, ates and ammonia are just fine, tank mates are 2 bloodfin, 2 platys and a small gourami. I'd really just like to make sure that there's nothing to worry about.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mephistopheles]

(why does the number eight equal smiley face with sunglasses? that should read "...(closing in on eight and..."

how bizarre

 

[Mephistopheles]

oh, and i feed them tropical fish flakes, sometimes algae pellets and brine shrimp when I think they deserve it.

 

[christerrell2k3]

check in their about 15 minutes after the lights are off with a flash light..

 

[mgkaelen]

pictus catfish won't be good in a 10 gallon. they get extremely large and are best kept (and most active) when they're in groups of 3 or more; your 10g DEF can't hold that, though .. hope this helps!

 

[madasafish]

The 8 turned into a smiley because the emoticon 8) consists of an "8" and a ")." Fixed it for ya!

Yeah, think about a larger tank for that guy. He'll appreciate it!

And a lot of fish are just timid in a tank setting. Do you have a background? That helps keep fish at ease, as do more decorations (esp nice rocks, driftwood), as does keeping the tank in a quiet place.

I'm not surprised at this behaviour, though, as I think the guy needs some room to swim. He'll grow to 10 inches in a properly-sized tank. Don't mean to criticize but, as kaelen has correctly suggested, you need to think about upgrading your tank. Apart from anything else, it will give you great pleasure to see this guy gliding around the bottom of a beautiful new 55 gallon tank (I'd still get a bigger tank eventually...).

See my signature line? Catch the bug! Get more, bigger tanks!

 

[mgkaelen]

oh madasa--- one of my oto's died! i don't know what it was =( i'm scared to think that maybe he didn't have enough to eat.. there wasn't much algae in the tank yet, and i was putting a lot of algae wafers on the tank that just had to be siphoned out becvause they were uneaten and growing fungus! i put the other one in my 30 gal beause i am (WAS) having a red algae problem, and i didn't want this one to bite the dust too! now that my plants are starting to grow like crazy i think the oto can go back in the 10 -- check my profile for a crappy picture of the new tank.. the plants have already grown 2-3 inches since that picture, and it was taken last week! --- . this post doesn't belong here--....

 

[Mephistopheles]

oh really? that's kind of disappointing. My LFS informed me that he wouldn't get any bigger than 5 or 6 inches. Well, thanks a lot, I hope I can muster the resources before he gets REALLY uncomfortable.

 

[grimlock3000]

"there wasn't much algae in the tank yet, and i was putting a lot of algae wafers on the tank that just had to be siphoned out becvause they were uneaten and growing fungus!"

What kind of algae wafers are you using? The Hikari wafers I put in my tank usually turn to mush and sink into the gavel before I get a chance to take them out.

 

[illuminum]

I have a pictus cat and it's also almost always hiding. It comes out after I turn off the lights. It's still not too big in size. I keep him in a 30g tall tank. MY pictus is very shy. I'd love to see him swim around more but I guess he's just shy.

Are these fish shy in nature?

 

[rocky_2197]

Have you tried feeding your pictus live brine shrimp? Mine love tho eat them right up and they love chasing them around the tank. I try and feed them live food atleast once a week just as a treat. They just go crazy.

 

[venters04]

My corry catfish does(Did) the same he used to hide in a cave in my tank and would come out after about 5 minuets after i turned of the light then he got fungis growing on the side of him and after 2 weeks of treatment he was fine then i added 2new corrys and they all swim about the tank and has anyone ever notice their corrys swimming very fast to the top then desending to the bottom again???