Pictus catfish...not so humble.

[Nedly]

I have had horrible Pictus luck since I got one. My first one looks more like a dalmatian (I understand there are 2 breeds)..For months it sat in a corner, swimming up and down up and down day after day, never really venturing or being pleased with the tank.

I have read all about these fish and tried hard to accommodate for it. There are caves and shadowy places all around so it could travel the entire tank in style, and the tank is all live plants, and I set it up to have plenty of current, the right P.H., right temps, pellets for food and more.

This fish is still weird to this day. Although it does venture more during the night, it just constantly acts like it wants out. Always swimming up and down at the glass never stopping unless to rest. Given this has been months now.

Well I helped out some people who got in over their heads with a big tank and took in some of their fish, including two more Pictus. These are striped, and you could tell had been abused and was scared seems most people have no clue how to actually handle them raise then etc..

Well these two have been in my tank only a few days now, so I am not surprised that they have not done much but hide, but they seem literally no different. I cannot get them to venture, eat, or live like the usual Pictus is viewed to be.

I have been watching for progress, hoping the two new ones will make the original feel more confortable, but so far they are all buzz kills, with two who will not come out or eat at all and the original one non stop trying to find a way through the glass.....

I have experimented too, with less or more shade, less or more current, less or more food, idk anymore! I have never seen a fish day after day only think about the glass and one corner of a tank!!

I read they like clean soft water and usually need bio-filters, although I do not have bio-wheels I do however have two large power filters managing my tank with really good water that I treat and condition. I test my water like most, water changes, tds testing, etc....

Does anyone have any advice at all? What will make these guys feel happy?

 

[Hops2010]

What other fish do you have? Substrate? Mine occasionally swim up and down the side of the tank too. How big are they?


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[Nedly]

I have the pictus catfish, a bumblebee catfish, corey catfish, a red tailed loach, msc molly platty guppie swordtail danio etc....

Right now I want to say they are like 4-5". More like 4". I have a standard gravel, the stuff that is like small actual rocks. I tried a softer substrate at one point and it made no difference for them. So I also got Java moss to go along with some of my plants hoping that would help.

I read that some sand is good so I intended to try and get some into there for them. Can you add sand without having to switch out your substrate? I could get some asap and apply it to areas to see if it helps...

 

[Nedly]

This is the tank. There was more java moss everywhere but I lost track of some. And the substrate is only deep on the edges, I left it shallow at the 1/4 inch the articles I read suggested, I just used the edges to help mold some caves in the center...

 

[sinibotia]

My lone surviving pictus rules my tank at night. Try just watching the tank then. He does not move from his designated spot all day but at night he roams around, very active, and it's fascinating to watch.

 

[Nedly]

At one point I had softer rocks around to make it river like.... If anyone has suggestions I am game as this is the first year I have had these catfish and would like to make them happy...

 

[Nedly]

My lone surviving pictus rules my tank at night. Try just watching the tank then. He does not move from his designated spot all day but at night he roams around, very active, and it's fascinating to watch.

I have! Actually just last night! The two new comers did not leave their cave spots, and the spotted one I have comes out but when it is out and about it just swims up and down at the glass....

 

[aqua_holic]

How large is the tank?

 

[sinibotia]

I have! Actually just last night! The two new comers did not leave their cave spots, and the spotted one I have comes out but when it is out and about it just swims up and down at the glass....

Oh hey! You're in Maine! If my 150 gallon were up here, and not in CT with my parents, I'd offer you my big lone pictus catfish to see if another bolder catfish might help. I don't have plans to get more pictus cats so he's all alone.

 

[aqua_holic]

My lone surviving pictus rules my tank at night. Try just watching the tank then. He does not move from his designated spot all day but at night he roams around, very active, and it's fascinating to watch.

I have 10 in my 125 and they all have their own individual territories during the day.

IME glass surfing is something that the young fish do. Mine never do it anymore. Though, I suspect being kept in too small of a tank can increase that activity.

 

[Nedly]

This tank here is only 55 gallons. I have been working in a larger tank (making space for it), and originally I only intended to have one pictus. I had to take in those two though, these other people had a 50 gallon that had no lights at all, had no regular cleaning, and 0 swim space as they had several of those 20" size decorations in their tank! They even had to Plecos I could not even home for them, really crossing my fingers they find a new home as I warned them about everything they had done...

I had wondered if there was too little space for them, but at the moment they are having a better home than where they came from. It was a literal rescue mission from these two hippie people who got over 20 fish and did not care for them or know anything about them....

I do have another tank and supplies I am picking up soon from a family member, I just have not been very excited to deal with cycling and transferring all over again...Figured that could be a winter project or something for next year..

 

[Nedly]

I have 10 in my 125 and they all have their own individual territories during the day.

IME glass surfing is something that the young fish do. Mine never do it anymore. Though, I suspect being kept in too small of a tank can increase that activity.

If you have 10 in a 125 gallon then woulden't 3 in a 55 gallon be ok? Idk anyway, I know quite a bit about aquatics but I am still very much a noob..

 

[aqua_holic]

If your current tank is cycled then all you need to do to cycle additional tanks is to move some of the media from your cycled tanks filter to the new tank. It's as easy as that.

55 is larger than I initially expected. I don't think size is so much an issue at this point - not as much as only keeping one of them. I would give it a little time and see how these new catfish influence it's behavior.

A 55 is big, but it's not that big. For example, a 75 has a 50% larger footprint than a 55 - an important consideration for active bottom dwelling fish. No doubt where they are is better than where they were.

 

[Nedly]

I have been researching and I found the Pictus are not good with aquarium salt? I have added a pinch of aqarium salt here and there but they say that is bad??

I think I could use some lessons here willing to do w/e I need to do! Let me know!

 

[aqua_holic]

I've never used salt in any of my tanks for any reason, so I cannot say more than what I've heard which is the same as what you've read.

 

[sinibotia]

Aquarium salt is entirely unnecessary at best and can be harmful at worst. Only add it as a treatment for certain diseases.

 

[Nedly]

There is a guy at my local fish store I always get tips from and he is a heavy salt user who tried to tell me he has had the best luck tossing mollys right in a salt tank, and told me to use 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon. I never did, because that just did not sound right to me, I always added say a pinch per 10 gallons....But I figured they knew what they were talking about so I got and use a little for maintenance but if these pictus do not like it that situation is not happening anymore.

 

[aqua_holic]

Mollies can be kept in full marine setups, so they really aren't representative of tropical fish as a whole.

 

[Nedly]

I understand that, but this guy as seen all of my fish and has told me to use this salt stuff a lot. I only have like one mollie.

 

[Nedly]

I think I am going to work a water change into today. This whole salt thing has gotten me thinking and I sure hope it is not torturing these pictus like articles describe..