I bought 5 pictus catfish hoping theyd be a nice addition to my 125 CA cichlid tank but they have been some what of a disappointment. Every where I read says they are a shoaling fish and that they love to swim together but mine just stick to their own little territories. If ones crosses into another's spot then there is a lot of tail slapping and face to face confrontation with their wiskers pointed straight up, which actually looks cool. It reminds me of bettas when they flare up. Should I buy more or is this a some what normal behavior?
Pictus behavior?
- Thread starter gutted
- Start date
All 5 of them claiming a spot in a 125 gal is unusual IMHO but I guess possible. If the cichlids have no part in this situation, then I'd get 7 more and see what happens.
If they don't swim in the open (much) all together or in other fashions, they can be too small and easily scared, or the surroundings are not conducive to that and cause stress, like not enough cover to dart under at any moment, too much light, bullying from cichlids... or simply they have not established/settled in yet.
If they don't swim in the open (much) all together or in other fashions, they can be too small and easily scared, or the surroundings are not conducive to that and cause stress, like not enough cover to dart under at any moment, too much light, bullying from cichlids... or simply they have not established/settled in yet.
They grow to ~3" rather quickly, in a year or under, but then take several years or longer to get to 5"-6" total length. That's the max.
Maybe I'll try more once they go on sale. I've had thrm for about 3 months so I think they're settled. When I first got them they all stuck together swimming on the side glass for about 2 weeks then one day they all claimed a small section of my tank.
The cichlids don't bother them at all except my polleni who chases anyone from his spot. Most of the cichlids are the same size or a little bigger.
My tank is all driftwood. I have 5 XL pieces so there's plenty of places to hide with a lot of break in sights. Lighting is dim with a couple of CFL bulbs.
I thought their max was around 18"?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
The biggest I've ever heard a pictus getting is maybe around 7 but that's it
Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app