What killed my pictus?

[Anne81]

Hi everyone, I have a 240L tank with 6 cichlids, 2 plecos, 2 clown loaches and one pictus Catfish. The tank is recently cycled, ammonia and nitrite both zero. The temp is 27.5 degrees and has been since I started the tank 6 weeks ago. The ph is about 7.4. So I had one pictus Catfish, which I absolutely love, and I read they like company so I decided to get a couple more. The one that I had and that is still alive has been in there for about 2 weeks with no problems, so I decided to buy a second one. When I went into the shop the lady had just started working there and she had a lot of trouble putting the Catfish in the bag (he was out of water longer than usual) then when I got to the counter the lady had to re bag him because the bag she put him in had a hole in it.

So I got him home and he seemed fine. I was worried he wouldnt transfer well because of the issues we had at the store but he seemed fine. I out him in the tank at about 3pm. At 10am the next day we got home from the park, turned on the aquarium light, and his whiskers were really bent and he looked like he was definitely dying. I can't remember paying attention when I fed the fish this morning if he was ok or not.

Does anyone have any ideas what could have munted up his whiskers and killed him? Could it have been from the pet shop issues or would he have died yesterday if that was the case?

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Pet shop should handle the return if it's within 24hrs provided you supply a good sample of water. (They can be stiff too, so make sure it is spot on!)

Could perhaps be aggression from the clowns or the other pictus?
Plecs are not exactly friendly when it comes to turf disputes ......most if not all have a serious armour suite, defensive/offensive scutes and various spines all over.

That may not be the reason but if the fish looks like it's been in a fight........
Were the barbels in normal condition when you introduced the fish?

 

[Anne81]

Yep they were..... Hence why i think it may have been caused by something in my tank. Is it possible the other pictus did it?

 

[SherLar]

It could be a number of things, but likely it was stress from mis-handling at the pet store. And, sometimes fish die for no apparent cause? Does your store have a return policy of dead or diseased fish? If so, return it for another. She was right in that pictus prefer company. They usually do best in groups of 3-4, as do your clown loaches. Clown loaches may get too big for your tank however. It's possible, depending on the species of pleco you have, that they'll outgrow your tank also. Common plecos can reach 24 inches. Some, however, like rubber lipped, bristle nose, etc, stay small.

 

[Anne81]

One of my plecos is a sailfin, the other's a peppermint. I know they might outgrow the tank so will sell when that time comes. The thing that baffled me is the crooked whiskers, they weren't like that when I got him home ??

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Can't vouch for the pictus but it is definitely possible that the clowns or the sucker mouths did it. Usually plec damage is multiple scratches down the flanks of the fish. With an obvious pattern as it is multiple scutes at the same time.
They can deliver quite a slap if they are a similar or larger size than the target.

Clown loach usually leave one mark at a time as they only have one spine. They are persistent though. Move away, move away........

Were there any other marks or just damage around or to the barbels?
(Can be hard to see especially on silver fish)

Make sure you have plenty of caves. Each sucker will want it's own home, and they can get nasty with everything if they are not happy, I mean, they don't go out and attack but they will pick a spot and call it home.

The only group of pictus I've seen outside of a dealer tank, were a happy group.
So probably unlikely.

 

[Anne81]

Does that mean I should avoid getting more pictuses? Or could it be a one off?

 

[J.Mcpeak]

One of my plecos is a sailfin, the other's a peppermint. I know they might outgrow the tank so will sell when that time comes. The thing that baffled me is the crooked whiskers, they weren't like that when I got him home ����

Sailfin? Look up gibbiceps. If it's that, it will grow to at least 35cm.
I had a peppermint plec. L030 oligancistrus. But there are other plecs with this name. It preferred softer water.

Kept both for years, have a new baby gibbiceps because they are stunning!

Gibbiceps was the more boisterous of the two large plecs I had at the time.
(He was 35cm!)
He easily bested the larger hypostomus sp. which was 46cm. I mean easy, every time there was a dispute, gibbiceps wins. They have a lot of nasty spikes (scutes) all the way down the flanks.

L030 will stay small, about 12cm sort of size. Stunning little fish!

 

[Anne81]

So do you think it was the sailfin? I know he will outgrow the tank but didn't think he'd bully anyone ??

 

[J.Mcpeak]

Does that mean I should avoid getting more pictuses? Or could it be a one off?

Depends entirely on how you've set up the substrate/decor.
Plenty wood and rocks to form caves and similar hidey holes.
No problem.

You need to aim to break up line of sight in as many places as possible. If it can be seen, it hasn't moved enough......the attack continues. Not good in the confines of an aquarium. But yes, you can be successful depending on overall scape design. (I did ok once I learnt what was needed, and it was ok except for minor scuffles for several years)

 

[J.Mcpeak]

So do you think it was the sailfin? I know he will outgrow the tank but didn't think he'd bully anyone ����

I've kept,
Lda1 (still have 1)
L128 (don't have)
L030 (don't have)
Gibbiceps (had one, got rid when moved, have another)
Hypostomus sp. (got rid when moved)
Ottocinclus (don't have)
Panaque albivermis (still have 2)
Ancistrus sp. (Bristlenose, died jan17)

Plus 2 species that didn't make it past quarantine.
I think that's all of them!

All from the same family of fish.
Gibbiceps was the most boisterous! P. Albivermis comes a close second I'd say, but it's intraspecific aggression only, this is quickly over observing the plenty hidey hole/line of sight deal as outlined above.