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I have two pictus... mine almost seem teritorial which i'm sure i hadnt read in a profile before i got them? perhaps this is because i only have two? they are very active, great eaters, out all day long, and love their caves

Pictus Catfish are definitely wild caught. They shoal in vast numbers in the wild.

Just think of Clown Loaches.. Wild caught as well, around here small clowns and pictus catfish go for around the same price.

being bred in some commercial fish farm can hardly be compared to a succesful spawning in a home tank. hormone dosing, huge pond-like holding areas, thousands of breeding pairs, and water conditioning on a large scale is usually beyond the grasp of most home aquariasts.

edit- i just spent a little while trying in vain to find info to support my assertation that pictus are commercially bred. no such luck. due to a lack of concrete data, i am forced to agree that pictus are still wild caught (at least until i can prove otherwise).




[span class="edited"][Edited by mariosim 2004-09-09 12:12][/span]

[span class="edited"][Edited by mariosim 2004-09-09 12:18][/span]

well according to http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/pimelodus_pictus.htm]http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/pimelodus_pictus.htm[/link] and [link=http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/pimelodi/pimelodu/276_f.php the 2 best catfish sites, they cannot be bred in the home aquarium, so i doubt they can

cfd

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Billy was a scientist, Billy is no more. For what he thought was H20, was H2SO4

"BREEDING: The fish you see in your store are all caught in the wild as these fish do not breed commercially." - according to this site http://www.aquazoo.co.uk/Page.cfm/Type=Fish/ID=390 not sure how good this site is, as i've never used it. But fishprofiles has them as cannot be bred.

I had a 6" pictus (Miyagi) for 3 years with balas, irridescents, columbians and a betta (imagine that...) The only problem I ever had was when I threw in a school of tiger barbs. I thought they were big enough to be in the tank... but slowly the school dwindled from 12, to 10, to 6 and so on..... the only fish big enough to eat them was Miyagi so watch out for any smaller fish. As long as you have somewhere for them to hide - I don't think you have to worry too much about them getting restless in the tank alone. Unfortunately I got ich in the tank, and cause pictus are scaleless... Miyagi got it pretty bad and since he hides in the back I didn't see it till it was too late (bye bye Miyagi ) Watch out for feeding time!!! they can move pretty fast when they want to.

, i was under the impression they were all wild caught...

For how inexpensive and easily obtained they are I highly doubt that they're wild caught .

Snugz, that's what mine did, and IMO it's not that he just hides in his happy place, not that he's calm per say, rather just looking for a somewhat safe place.
While I know trading him to a LFS was a risk (picti are easily stressed, stress can =ich) the possibility of him finding a more appropriate home is there, and besides I knew that I couldn't make him happy in the 30 gallon tank he came in.

^_^

I would have thought that it is possible in certain fish, although i would imagine it takes a real amount of time. Something that is a natural instinct is a natural instict! Rabbits... been bred as pets for years, can't stop them digging tho

i dnt think pictus are actully bred tho, i was under the impression they were all wild caught...

[span class="edited"][Edited by chrism 2004-09-08 04:33][/span]

another thing i have been thinking about- but have not made a solid decision about. if a normally wild schooling fish is bred in captivity, after several generations, does that species reliance on schooling decrease? this may not be true for neons and such, but what about some of the other species? can the scooling/shoaling behaviour be bred out over time?

I bought a (yes as in ONE) pictus catfish as an impulse buy (yes I know, bad me *slaps hand*) and he's doing quite well. Fat and content in his favorite little cave. He only seems to do the frantic side-of-the-tank swimming when he's stressed (i.e. when I have my hands in hte tank during tank changes). The rest of the time he hangs out and just chillaxes. But that might just be MY catfish. There ARE exceptions to every rule...

I would like to know what everyone thinks about these catfish! Are they good catfish?? Also, I am thinking about having 2 in my 55 gallon (currently empty). I also would like to have Tiger Barbs and maybe a Redtail Black shark and some Rosy Barbs. But I'm not sure. What does everyone think about that stock?? I would appreciate any help, suggestions or ideas. Thanks!!!!

There have been many accounts of hobbyists describing characteristic behaviour of their lone pictus catfish in their tanks.
When kept alone, they have a tendency to swim up and down the walls of the aquarium relentlessly, not generally expected behaviour.
The suggestion to these hobbyists is one and the same, get the single fish at least a couple more friends and the activity will cease. Most are too happy to buy a couple more, as they are often their favourite fish. I'm not an advocate of the 6 fish minimum for a school... not in the slightest... but pictus catfish are shoaling fish in the wild, found not in multiples of 3... more so dozens.

Of course, one cannot replicate nature exactly, but we often certainly try as responsible hobbyists.

As for size, do not trust any internet source.. They range from 4" to 10"+, Planet Catfish has them at 5"...

This mainly stems from the fact that there are different species of catfish that all look similar and are sold under the same name. Some will stay 5 inches, others will reach to at least 8", I've seen in aquaria myself.

Good luck with the fish!

Indeed mariosim, they are in a q-tine tank ...they're waiting to be big enough to swim with the big fish as the saying goes.

aquaman18, since you're setting up the tank I'm making suggestions on how to start off right. Many times a tank ends up with mix matched fish. I've had experience with pictus. VERY little of what I've found on various websites have corresponded with what I've experienced personally and what I've been told by other members here that I hold in high esteem. Yes I had one in a 30 gallon tank. It was part of a tank I liberated from an owner who didn't know a thing about fish and how to stock a tank. The fish has long since been traded to a LFS for gold barbs (there was one in the tank, I'm working on slowly building the school).

You could be kept in 10 foot long coffin. You'd have plenty of room length wise, but turning head to foot would cause trouble...it would stress you out...hey you might even have a mental breakdown or other fun. But you'd still be alive. Guess if it's good enough for you it'd be good enough for the fish. People often forget to think of how the fish would be in the wild when they stock and instead think of their own wants and desires. Will the pictus be okay in the tank...I suppose so....just make sure they have plenty of swimming room that they are kept in schools and that they have places for hiding.

^_^

aquaman18- i think you missed the point of babelfish's reply. an answer to a post is not a personal attack against the author- it is a suggestion/advice based upon their experiance. the preface to her reply- imo (in my OPINION) should be proof of that in itself. babel's past postings shows her to be an avid, knowledgeable fishkeeper who cares about the hobby. for all we know, those zebras could be in a quarantine or fry tank.

i have researched other fish profiles prior to buying my pictus, and have found them to be somewhat inaccurate. mine are not nocturnal, they do not seem to care about being together or apart, and i won't even attempt to comment on their adult size quotes. does that mean i will ignore fish profiles in the future? of course not. they are merely used as input/information that will influence any decision i make. choosing to selectively ignore information on a topic i know little about defeats the purpose of searching for information.

I would like to keep 4 Rosy Barbs in my aquarium. It says in their profile to keep them in schools or pairs (4 = 2 pair). I think it's funny when someone tells me that they are supposed to be in a school and I should either have 6 or to just drop the whole school. Then when I look in their profile I see that they have 3, yes 3, Zebra Danios in a 10 gallon aquarium. My first thought is "Do they know that Zebra Danios are supposed to be in groups of 6+?" Well, I am a firm believer in the "practice what you preach" saying. So that pretty much makes your whole argument quite invalid and it will be ignored from now on! Thanks!!

One more thing, I have read profiles about the Pictus catfish on other sites and it does say that they can be kept alone and that you can keep them in aquariums as small as 30 gallons. So I figured I could keep at least one in my 55 gallon!

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-09-02 12:19][/span]

Pictus catfish are schooling, and active swimmers....they'll need IMO/E more room than a 55 offers, I'd say a 75 for the depth of the tank. They'll also eat anything they can catch and fit in their mouths.

Rosy barbs are also schoolers, I'd increase the 4 to 6 or drop the school entirely.

^_^

My pictus is about 4" long and as in the previous reply is very active often chasing my smaller clown loaches around but stays away from anything bigger than itself.They are great scavengers and nothing remains at the bottom of the tank for long.

Gibson SG you know you want one!!

I have rethought my stock option. Here's a new list:

1 x Pictus Catfish
4 x Rosy Barbs
10 x Tiger Barbs

I took out the RTBS because I have already owned one. I did like it but I would like to own a pictus cat to see what they are like. Also, if anyone has something to add to my stock, feel free to change as you'd like!!! Thanks!!!

i have had 2 in my larger tank for several months. they are pretty cool, and almost complete opposites. both were 2" when purchased- 1 is now 4", the other still 2". both eat AMAZING amounts of food. they eat anything, including fry. the larger 1 is constantly cruising the tank, the other just hides. the larger one will chase my rts whenever it swims around the tank gravel, the smaller one ignores it. neither one cares for eachothers company. the tank is a community setup, so nothing really attaacks them.
both like extensive cave networks.

i cannot find anything concrete on their full grown size. the lfs said 5", and websites vary from 4" to 8".

so far, they have been very easy to keep. they are very pretty (liquid silver and black) and different looking (their barbells are awesome). the antics of the larger 1 rivals any clown loach. i would not hesitate to buy them again (this is my first experiance with them)