Pictus Catfish Care Guide: Feeding, Breeding, Size and Tank Mates
| Quick Facts: | |
| Common Names | : Pictus Catfish, Pictus Cat, Angel Cat |
| Scientific Name | : Pimelodus Pictus |
| Family | : Pimelodidae |
| Origin | : Amazon and Orinoco River basins of Sou ... |
What do Pictus catfish eat?
The absolute best foods you can give to your Pictus Catfish are catfish pellets, frozen food, bloodworms and flake food. These are the ones you can buy in a typical pet shop. Of course, there are home alternatives as well. It is a great idea to prepare some chopped chicken meat or beef for your fish too.
Do Pictus catfish need tank mates?
In fact, it can be tough to find tank mates that aren’t a good fit. The most important thing to keep in mind when picking pictus catfish tank mates is size. As we mentioned briefly in the food section of this guide, your pictus might eat fish that are significantly smaller than it.
What do you feed your catfish?
Enjoys commercial catfish flake and pellet diets along with fresh/frozen/dried treats like brine shrimp, bloodworms and mosquito larvae Prefers well-filtered, well-oxygenated water and enjoys swimming in heavy currents and playing by filters, bubble walls and airstone outflows
What is the best filter for a Pictus catfish?
One of the best choices for this is a hang on back filter, since it provides excellent filtration and a decent amount of flow to a tank. It’s very important that you keep to a regular cleaning schedule in their tank, since pictus catfish are very sensitive to nitrates.
What will Pictus Catfish eat?
The best food for your pictus cat is a commercial catfish or omnivore flake or sinking pellet diet supplemented a few times a week with algae wafers and live/frozen/dried treats such as brine shrimp, bloodworms, Daphnia eggs, and mosquito larvae.
Do Pictus Catfish eat vegetables?
Pictus Catfish fish are scavengers and will eat just about anything that they can find. By nature they are omnivorous, so they will eat both meat and plant matter.
What fish will Pictus Catfish eat?
Pictus Catfish are carnivorous predators that feed on smaller fish and invertebrates like worms, shrimp, and insect larvae. This means that they should not be kept with fish small enough to be eaten. They aren't aggressive but they are opportunistic predators.
How do you take care of a Pictus Catfish?
Water ParametersWater temperature: 70°F to 80°F is the commonly used range, but we recommend aiming for 75°F-80°F if possible.pH levels: 7-7.5 should be your target, although we've heard from people who have managed with slightly lower since these fish like soft water.Water hardness: 5-15 dH.
Do Pictus Catfish eat algae wafers?
Pictus Catfish need a mix of both protein and greens, and the flakes that you give them should reflect that. You can also supplement high protein fish flakes with algae wafers and tablets. Your flakes must be quick sinking and able to reach the bottom without being gobbled up by other greedy tank mates.
Can Pictus Catfish eat Pleco Wafers?
Pictus Catfish will happily eat small algae wafers. The vitamins and nutrients in the algae wafer make a useful addition to the Pictus Catfish overall diet. Whilst they will eat algae wafers, Pictus Catfish will not eat algae in any other forms.
Do you have to feed Pictus Catfish?
As we previously mentioned, the Pictus Catfish is an incredibly greedy fish, who will not hesitate eating other smaller fish in your aquarium if they are not fed enough, so make sure you are feeding them some good quality food, and you are feeding them often.
Can 2 Pictus Catfish live together?
Keeping Pictus Catfish Together They do well in a group of 3-4 but in general, you can keep up to 6 at once; just make sure your aquarium is large enough.
Do Pictus Catfish like to hide?
They are also very natural hiders. Often, they will move around the tank, looking for some natural hiding spots that you have created for them. It's not unusual to see your catfish hide in those hiding spots without a particular reason.
Are Pictus catfish Hardy?
Despite their preference for caves and hiding spots, their appearance in the tank makes for a beautiful treat that many aquarists adore. Though these fish are not recommended for a beginner due to their large gallon requirements and community stocking restrictions, they are otherwise hardy and peaceful fish.
How fast do Pictus catfish grow?
It takes 8 to 12 months for the Pictus Catfish fry to become a full-grown adult. All the things we talked about above can hinder their growth. If you notice any unusual behavior or hindrance in their growth, then you need to keep your eyes open.
Do Pictus catfish need a bubbler?
Do Pictus Catfish Need Air Pump? If you already have a good level of filtration, then there is no need for an air pump. However, you can still use it to add another layer of oxygenation for your water. A good air pump will provide more oxygen for your fish, keeping the water fresher and cleaner at the same time.
Best Food for Pictus Catfish
The absolute best foods you can give to your Pictus Catfish are catfish pellets, frozen food, bloodworms and flake food. These are the ones you can buy in a typical pet shop. Of course, there are home alternatives as well. It is a great idea to prepare some chopped chicken meat or beef for your fish too.
Do Pictus Catfish Eat Algae?
Since Pictus Catfish eat pretty much everything edible you give them, they are more than willing to eat algae as well. However, they eat it only in that concentrated, tablet or cube form. Those are types you can buy at the fish shop. No matter how much algae there is in your tank, they are not going to nibble on it, ever.
Do Pictus Catfish Eat Aquarium Plants?
It is okay to give your Pictus Catfish some plant-based food. They are going to consume it, yet this doesn’t mean that they are going to nibble on your aquarium plants too. They don’t see it as food, so this is not something that you should worry about.
Can Pictus Catfish Eat Flake Food?
Flake food is the most basic fish food every fish keeper can buy. Pictus Catfish are omnivores, so they are not going to reject flake food. On the contrary, they are going to be more than eager to consume it. Just make sure to compliment their diet with other foods because flakes don’t contain all the nutrients they need.
Will Pictus Catfish Eat Snails?
The Pictus Catfish has a tendency to bully slow-moving species that are smaller than them. Unfortunately, aquarium snails fall into this category. It won’t take long until the snail becomes the target of this highly active and swift catfish.
How to Feed Pictus Catfish?
When you set up a community aquarium that contains the Pictus Catfish and some other species, the feeding schedule is going to be quite simple. This species has pretty much the same needs as most of the other fish that aquarists keep at home. You can feed all of them the same time and with the same food.
Conclusion
Feeding the Pictus Catfish is not more complicated than feeding any other species that you can keep at home. They are also omnivores who are ready to eat everything that fits in their mouth. This leaves you with a lot of alternatives when it comes to feeding your fish.
What Do Pictus Catfish Eat?
Pictus catfish are omnivorous. They’ll happily eat a wide range of foods including bloodworms, shrimp, and krill.
Will Pictus Catfish Eat Fish Flake Food?
Yes, pictus catfish can eat flake food. However, depending on the makeup of your aquarium, flake food is probably not the best source of nutrition for the catfish.
How Often Should I Feed My Pictus Catfish?
Because pictus fish are active and have a large appetite, you need to keep them full. A daily feeding routine is recommended.
What Should You Not Feed Fish?
Pictus catfish will eat almost anything edible in the aquarium. This includes pellets, vegetables, meat, algae and limited detritus.
How Big Do Pictus Catfish Get?
My name is Jack Bennett. I'm husband, father and aquarist enthusiast. I hope you will learn more about fish keeping with me.
Overview of Pictus Catfish Species
Pictus Catfish are also known as Pictus Cat and Angel Cat. The scientific name for this species is Pimelodus Pictus.
Origin, Distribution, and Availability
The hotspot for the Pictus Catfish is the Amazon and Orinoco River basins of South America. The Pimelodus Pictus was first described in 1879 by an Austrian zoologist who found it in the warm waters of South America.
Pictus Catfish Typical Behavior
The Pictus Catfish is a peaceful non-aggressive, and non-territorial bottom swimming fish species. Note that if the fish is stressed, hungry, or distracted it can turn to be predatory behaviors, this is why it should only be kept with equal-sized tank mates.
Characteristics of Pictus Catfish
The Pictus Catfish deserves a lot of credit for the appearance aspect. The fish has a long, slender body covered with scaleless skin. Their mouth is wide and the abdomen relatively flat. These fish have black silver and white color combinations that create special markings all over their entire body.
Habitat, Tank Conditions, and Care
Good habitat is paramount when you want to keep your Pictus Catfish healthy and happy. A good habitat for these fish should first be dimly lit since they are generally nocturnal. Secondly, since the Pictus Cat is adapted to warm water, its indoor habitat should provide exactly the same condition.
Gender Differences
In terms of appearance, there is barely any difference between males and females. You might not see any difference between a male and female Pictus Catfish until they reach sexual maturity where the females may look larger and rounder.
Breeding the Pictus Catfish
The Pictus Catfish is not one of the easiest fish to breed and there are reasons for that. First, it is hard to distinguish a male from a female, and hence selecting a breeding pair is extremely hard.
Introduction
Are you a vivarium hobbyist and looking for some hugely popular fish for your collection? You might be an amateur hobbyist or even a pro, but looking towards filling your community fish tank with some good mates like Pictus Catfish to attract your neighbor’s attention.
What does the Pictus Catfish feed upon?
As told earlier that the Pictus Catfish is omnivorous in nature, they will feed anything starting from plant platter or might be smaller fishes. In fact, they scavenge anything that comes on their way.
Different diet types for the Pictus Catfish
The catfish depends on their barbells to find food and also smells things. They are omnivorous in nature and see to consume smaller fish, other aquatic animals, invertebrates and fish eggs. Catfish belonging to the species Loricariidae feed on strange objects like algae and wood.
How do I set up the tank for Pictus Catfish?
Since we all know that Pictus Catfish is an active fish, the tank requires a larger space, a larger swimming area with at least 45 gallons (205 liters) of water. The species is non-territorial in nature and can exist peacefully in a handful area where the water is limited.
How do I make the Pictus Catfish breed?
Determining the sex of Pictus Catfish is also not a daunting task. The females become a bit roundish when it’s time to mate.
Pictus Catfish care in the fish tank?
The Pictus Catfish is an active fish, and it requires a lot of space to swim in a tank. The minimum surface area needed for swimming is 200 liters (44 gallons). The fish is not a territory dependent kind, so you can easily keep them along with other fishes in a tank. You can also easily mix these fishes with at least 5 of its kind.
Pictus Catfish Housing & Tank Set Up
As the Pictus Catfish is a shoaling species, in the wild, you will find them in large groups, so it’s important that you keep this in mind when setting up your home aquarium to house this species of fish.
Pictus Catfish Diet
In the wild, Pictus Catfish are omnivorous by nature, so they will eat pretty much anything that comes their way. This makes our job as fish keepers a whole lot easier!
Breeding Pictus Catfish
Unfortunately, it’s not really possible to breed a Pictus Catfish in a home aquarium, simply because of the lack of open space that the fish needs to reach its full sexual maturity.
Suitable Tank Mates
The Pictus Catfish is generally a non-territorial and non-aggressive fish, so you should have no problems keeping them with most other species of fish.
Common Pictus Catfish Diseases
The Pictus Catfish, like most other species of catfish, is a scaleless fish, which you probably already know means they are more susceptible to common aquarium diseases such as Ich and White Spot.
Species Overview
The Pictus Catfish (scientific name: Pimelodus Pictus) has been a trendy freshwater fish with aquarists for some time. This is mainly due to the ease of maintenance and the distinctive “catfish” look that your tank receives.
Life expectancy
The average life expectancy of the Pictus catfish is between 8 and 10 years. This is quite long compared to other popular aquarium catfish species like Otocinclus.
Appearance
If this is your first time looking at a Pictus catfish, the barbel will jump first. Some people also call them whiskers, but we will refer to them by their real names in this guide.
Pictus catfish size
The average size of the Pictus catfish is around 5 inches (maximum). It is very unusual for these fish to exceed this size in adulthood, but it is possible.
Pictus catfish care
Caring for Pictus catfish is not that difficult once you know the basic guidelines to follow. These fish are simple and low maintenance, which is ideal for aquarists who do not want trouble.
Tank size
The ideal size for Pictus Catfish aquariums is 50 to 55 gallons. However, we prefer at least 55 as these fish will definitely appreciate the extra space! Plan to add an additional 40-50 gallons for each additional Pictus cat you wish to have.
Water parameters
The ideal size for Pictus Catfish aquariums is 50 to 55 gallons. However, we prefer at least 55 as these fish will definitely appreciate the extra space! Plan to add an additional 40-50 gallons for each additional Pictus cat you wish to have.
Species Summary
The pictus catfish (scientific name: pimelodus pictus) is an extremely popular freshwater fish among aquarists and has been so for quite a while. This is primarily due to the ease of care and the distinct “catfish” look it brings to your tank.
Appearance
When you first look at a pictus catfish the first thing that jumps out at you is their barbels. Some people will also call them whiskers, but we’ll refer to them by their proper name throughout this guide.
Pictus Catfish Size
The average pictus catfish size is roughly 5 inches in length (maximum). It’s very uncommon for these fish to exceed this size when fully grown, but it is possible.
Pictus Catfish Care
Pictus catfish care is not that difficult if you know the basic guidelines to follow. These fish are easygoing and low maintenance, which is great for the kind of aquarist who doesn’t want any hassle.
Food & Diet
Pictus catfish are pretty easy to feed, but it’s important to understand their natural and ideal diet so you can make sure they’re getting the nutrition they need.
Behavior & Temperament
Pictus catfish are extremely mellow fish that don’t want to cause any trouble. This is one of the reasons why they’re so popular with freshwater aquarists. You can really put them anywhere!
Pictus Catfish Tank Mates
The list of potential pictus catfish tank mates is rather long due to their peaceful nature. In fact, it can be tough to find tank mates that aren’t a good fit.
