mean pictus cat

[svetlana]

I had 1 pictus (~3"), 1 peppered cory and one recovering dwarf puffer in my "QT" tank. Pictus and a cory underwent ick treatment and it was already 2 weeks as they settled down nicely (another small cory died from the ick). DP is living there for a week and a half and still a little bit down from his injuries (i.e. - abs harmless).
Pictus is very neurotic fish but never looked like an agressive fish to me. 2 days ago I sarted noticing that my cory is kind of unhappy and his fins a little bit frayed. Considering the quiet life they are supposed to lead there i could not understand the reason. Today i saw it! The pictus chased the cory and tried to chew on him! The pictus actually is very well fed, so it should not be hunger. I had to remove poor cory and put it into my 29g tank. Have to see how he'll be there. There is pretty tight life there in this 29g.

 

[dethjam316]

well, from my understanding, such behavior is not uncommon for pictus cats. my roommate a few years back had one that ate several tetras and completely ripped the fins of his betta apart. after all, they are predatory like most catfish, even if they do not grow that large. from what i know they do best in schools (but many people successfully keep them singly as well), so that could be part of it. AND of course, he'll probably be a lot more comfortable once his period in the 10g ends...pictus cats like to have some swimming space and a 10g doesn't provide much.

your 29g does not look that bad. in fact, the DPs are the only thing in there i would move to their own tank if it were mine...they can be nippy as i'm sure you know + they generate a ton of waste for their size.

 

[FroggyFox]

I definitely agree with dethjam. When I got mine home he frantically swam around the entire 46G tank and finally calmed down after a couple of weeks...I dont think I would put him in anything smaller than the 3ft tank I have...and I'm thinking when he gets to be an adult size he's going to want even more space. They will pretty much eat anything that will fit in their mouths, incl tank mates. Even though they're not particularly aggressive...just big eaters.

 

[svetlana]

Yes, i'm planning to move him but i do not where yet. But since i'll have to do this, it will be done somehow. I also have gorgeous rainbow shark in the 29g and i have to give him new home also. It looks like the pictus and the rainbow will work nicely together... Yeah, i'd better start scheming toward new tank starting today ...
It'll be one of hardest task cuz i already got this 10g and 55g and my husband's saying we need to take more morgages solely to house all the fish i want...

 

[svetlana]

Aah, i forgot to say about DPs. Yes, ther are potential threat but they are living kind of long there. I know it against the rules but they are very happy and silky smooth and even if they nip i do not see anything drastic yet. In fact, zebras are very feisty and bite each other sometimes. Male DP sometimes takes fancy to court (!) other fish cuz his wife is more into eating than making love but looses interest quickly. Everybody is very quick and fussy for DPs to take advantage.
The water is very good in the tank, i had minor injuries on zebras which they brought on themselves, and they heal very quickly. Well, i HAVE issues i need to resolve. I do not want to confine puffers in 10g. It would be unfair. As i said i have to do some scheming... and i am going to be good at it...