Pictus Catfish
- Thread starter jerky1280
- Start date
I think that they can grow to be about 6 inches long. I've got one of them in with a bunch of clown loaches and he hides under the same rock with the majority of them. He usually hides during the day and only comes out in the evening or when there is fresh food being added. I haven't heard anything about their socialability, but mine doesn't seem lonely of anything. Perhaps they would come out more often if they had freinds but I don't know.
Do you have a picture of your tank set up? Every time I see you post, I cringe. Tropical fish do not belong in an aquarium with a turtle and vice versa. Professionals in zoological nature settings may be able to pull it off, and I once had a friend who constructed his own 55 gallon vivarium with turtles and frogs and goldfish, but he was also an ecology/zoology major. It takes a whole lot of work to keep vivariums. Much harder than keeping turtles and fish seperate.
But I keep getting this picture in my mind that you have this full aquarium with one of those lame floating turtle rafts and this half-dollar size red-eared slider baby while you are trying to keep run-of-the-mill community fish with it. This is just, not a very good idea.
1) Many aquatic turtles are carnivors, so your fish will end up as hor'derves.
2) May aquatic turtles should have cool water to swim in and help them thermoregulate. The temperature will be too cold for tropical fish.
3) All aquatic turtles need some form of basking site and UVB radiation. The basking site should be twice as long and wide as the turtle itself so he can move around on it freely. Most people accomplish this by making their tanks half-land. That leaves precious little water to support fish.
4) Turtles defecate, a whole lot, and they do so in their water. Keeping turtle water clean is a challenge in and of itself, but to keep it clean enough for tropical fish requires real dedication. Turtles will out defecate the fish in their tank.
5) Almost all aquatic turtles are garunteed to outgrow their tanks. I once had a red-ear slider abandoned to my care at an LFS I used to work at. It was a good 14" long, and she didn't even fit the 60 gallon tank I had to put her in for lack of any other space. Luckily I was able to find her a home with someone who owned a large koi pond.
So please, explain much more fully what you are trying to accomplish with your aquarium. It will help us help you better.
~~Colesea
But I keep getting this picture in my mind that you have this full aquarium with one of those lame floating turtle rafts and this half-dollar size red-eared slider baby while you are trying to keep run-of-the-mill community fish with it. This is just, not a very good idea.
1) Many aquatic turtles are carnivors, so your fish will end up as hor'derves.
2) May aquatic turtles should have cool water to swim in and help them thermoregulate. The temperature will be too cold for tropical fish.
3) All aquatic turtles need some form of basking site and UVB radiation. The basking site should be twice as long and wide as the turtle itself so he can move around on it freely. Most people accomplish this by making their tanks half-land. That leaves precious little water to support fish.
4) Turtles defecate, a whole lot, and they do so in their water. Keeping turtle water clean is a challenge in and of itself, but to keep it clean enough for tropical fish requires real dedication. Turtles will out defecate the fish in their tank.
5) Almost all aquatic turtles are garunteed to outgrow their tanks. I once had a red-ear slider abandoned to my care at an LFS I used to work at. It was a good 14" long, and she didn't even fit the 60 gallon tank I had to put her in for lack of any other space. Luckily I was able to find her a home with someone who owned a large koi pond.
So please, explain much more fully what you are trying to accomplish with your aquarium. It will help us help you better.
~~Colesea
The turtle does eat fish, but sticks to feeders smaller than an inch. She won't bother anything much bigger (her last tankmates were a 3" gourami and a 2" chinese algae eater). I am aware that the turtle may outgrow the tank, but don't have plans. The turtle is actually my girlfriends, so at that point I'll make her figure out new living conditions for it.
In the pics the tank is only 2/3 full - it will be filled more when I get the fish (I have to plug up a hole first). It is 36Lx18Wx12H. I will also put in more hiding places (plants and caves). Right now I'm thinking to put in a red-tailed shark, two gourami's, and a pictus catfish or two. The catfish are my first priority to help keep the bottom clean. Some food (but not much) makes it to the bottom when I feed the turtle, so I figure that they will help.
I have been told that 70-80 degrees is an acceptable range for RES, and so far she has seemed very happy in this range of temperatures. I keep the tank right around 80 degrees, maybe dropping a degree or two at night.
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0883.JPG
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0884.JPG
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0889.JPG
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0891.JPG
In the pics the tank is only 2/3 full - it will be filled more when I get the fish (I have to plug up a hole first). It is 36Lx18Wx12H. I will also put in more hiding places (plants and caves). Right now I'm thinking to put in a red-tailed shark, two gourami's, and a pictus catfish or two. The catfish are my first priority to help keep the bottom clean. Some food (but not much) makes it to the bottom when I feed the turtle, so I figure that they will help.
I have been told that 70-80 degrees is an acceptable range for RES, and so far she has seemed very happy in this range of temperatures. I keep the tank right around 80 degrees, maybe dropping a degree or two at night.
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0883.JPG
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0884.JPG
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0889.JPG
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/jerky1280/images/Aqarium_0891.JPG
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