A Few Pictus Catfish Questions

[twincessna340a]

I'm really interested in having a couple of Pims for my 75g and I was wondering a couple things.

First: Peruvian or Colombian? At my Petco, they seem to have Peruvians (judging by their heads) and they easily roam about the substrate. At my Petsmart they carry the Colombians and they are always acting like they are on crack and are constantly trying to "crawl" on the exact same 3" spot on the wall of their tank. Is this a LFS or a temperament thing? Also is there a significant size difference between the two?

My other question is how big of fish will they eat, specifically are cherry barbs and platys safe?

Thanks!

 

[Zagz]

When the catfish are small the platies would be safe. When they are bigger, it is a game of chance. I have columbians that are 5" + and they do eat fish that are 1/2-3/4 ".

My columbians do not crawl into the same space. I think that is because they are in smaller tanks at the LFS.

 

[BigJim]

I don't know how to tell the difference between the Columbian and Peruvian cats, so I don't know which I have. What I can tell you is I got him from Petsmart when he was about 2" and now he's 8" In the store, he was a little psycho. Now he hides in his slate cave until dusk, then prowls the tank.

He hasn't touched my cherry barbs, but I have a feeling that I've lost a few guppies his way. Adult platies are much too large for him to eat.