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okay so i got a pictus a few weeks ago. and i keep reading conflicting reports. some say that pictus are solitary and dont like the company of their own kind unless its in a larger tank so that they can all have diffrent territorys. others are saying that pictus like to school. any ideas on which of these is right?

The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we dont know what to do.

They can be kept in groups or be kept singley, or in pairs, etc. The idea is that they need a large tank with many hiding spots for them to call their own.

ok thanks clown! i just wanted to make sure that my pictus wasnt gonna waste away from lonliness. thanks again lol

The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we dont know what to do.

They can be easily kept in schools not a problem. BUT what you must remember as they get older and bigger any thing that can fit into its mouth it will including any small fish up to 1ins with out any trouble at all.

You must provide plenty of cover for them including "caves" and DW note I said "caves"

They are also big but non fussy eaters.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

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Keith

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i jsut wanted to make sure schools werent a requirement keithgh. if at all possible i dont really want more than one.

The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we dont know what to do.

Shoals and pictus depends on space, they do it when young, but when older they rarely do it, and since males especially tend to fight, quite violently at times, for most peoples purposes one or two pictus will be fine. I had to split my pictus up several times because the fighting was getting too much. Only in 100 gal plus did they chill out enough to just hang out socially, and even then they spend 905 of the time at distance. Its hardly suprising though, pictus have two different lifestyles they adapt to at different ages, you'll see them shoal in petstores and in the presence of larger fish, mostly out of security, but given the choice , most seem to prefer their own space. Pictus in aquaria often dont mature sexually, and very few reach fully mature wild sizes and that will affect their behaviour. Abnormal behaviour in aquaria with pictus will be commonplace, as will the lack of breeding, and they often stay stuck in their "teenage years" sometimes they chill out and sometimes they become hyperaggressive, its very hard to tell, but generally the bigger the tank the more normal their life becomes. In small aquaria pictus are perhaps less predictable. I know people who have bought shoals only to have them tear each other apart quite by surprise another day, when conditions changed or a specimen changes mentally.

Its because of this Id generally recommend each pictus be given a territorial area of 3 cubic feet once past 4 inches in length, so that should territoriality start, theres enough space to avoid contact. Obviously you cant do that in a 55 with 6 specimens. Most people wont be wanting more than one or two pictus.Neither being a social shoaler nor being a solitary fish is a permanent situation for them, they are loose shoalers, often quarrelsome, who spend periods alone. High numbers may affect them developmentally too, rather like some cichlids they release hormones into the water and that may keep other specimens suboordinate. If you want to see the best of them, keep their biomass compared to tank volume very low.

thanks lhg ill just keep with my one due to tank restraints

The true test of character is not how much we know how to do, but how we behave when we dont know what to do.