Your Thoughts On P. Pictus Catfish?

[kahira]

I personally love them to death, and in my opinion, are the best fish ever (lol) but as I browse along around through the aquarium forums I'm seeing that there are very few people that... out of all the catfish they can choose, barely any have P.Pictus. Why is this? I see TONS of people with cory's and plecos, but I've seen maybe.... 5 or less with pictus in their tanks.
 
I'm just curious about why that is, not trying to bash anyone heh, everyone has their favorite fish, my curiosity is just asking for answers haha.
 
Is it just because of their hyperactive energy levels? They don't get THAT big (5-6" max with the usual being between 3-5"and this is info that I received from Nick from the ATM company (ever see that show Tanked on animal planet? Yup... I talked to them about this a few months ago about the right tank size and everything for a pictus) Are they more aggressive then what I've researched? Petsmart says semi-agressive, other places say peacefull. I've heard of a few people telling me that they just get a bit territorial when you have more than one Pictus, hence why you need lots of driftwood/rocks/etc.
 
Just plain curiosity hehe
 
(I personally plan to get ~3 this summer for my 100g when I get it all set up)

 

[lock77]

In my lfs the pictus costs three times as much as a pleco or cory.

 

[kahira]

Really? o-o Hmmm interesting. I mean I know Pictus are a bit on the more expensive side but at the petsmart where I live (the only LFS we have here has had REALLY bad reviews in the past... i've been told they're under new management but I've yet to visit them) they're about... 11-12$? and Corys areeee... 2-3$ i think and the plecos are around 6$ (which surprised me becuase they get so HUGE compared to pictus...). they're def pricey but not extremely so, price also varies on the size too but I think most pictus at petsmart are about 2"? and are about 10-11$ normally. (from what i've seen anyways)

 

[lock77]

Petsmart sounds alot like our Pets at Home shop.

 

[JenCliBee]

You will likely find the answer to your question is there predatory nature, they will snack on literally anything they can fit in there mouths, opposed to cory's and plecs which are completely placid and don't hunt and eat fish unless the fish is already dead. The other is as you say, they should be housed in large tanks due to there very active nature.
 
 
Beautiful fish though, ive kept them many times and would do again if the conditions were right

 

[phantomlink]

Whatever fits in their mouth they will eat, I had 18 Harlequin Rasboras that had to share a tank with 3 pictus for 2 days, after 2 days I was down to 5 Harlequins.  I have a tank that just has pictus in it for awhile, I recently added my oscar because he needed a larger tank and he leaves them alone and they leave him alone.  

 

[kahira]

True, I guess small fish + pictus = eaten small fish. Heh... I never viewed it as predatory though... always liked the word "opportunistic" better hehe. Most of the fish I saw in the general amount of tanks seemed 2" or bigger, always thought it was 1" or smaller that ya had to worry about hehe... I know they'll gobble up guppies for sure. P: but that was the only fish i heard that would be a prob with pictus. but yes, thats a good reason to keep pictus out and add in corys or plecos. P:

 

[phantomlink]

I had no idea they could fit those Harelquin in their mouth, apparently they could though.  In general, any catfish that has barbels is a predator, in this case they're as long as their body  I've read stories of people watching a pictus eat the odd cory as well

 

[phantomlink]

Here ya go
 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=82GLEfTj0sY
 
^ My tank

 

[Lunar Jetman]

I would love to get some Pictus at some point in the future. They just don' fit in with my current stock. Also the cost has been prohibitive. A couple of small but reasonably sized Pictus can cost the same as 8-10 Corys.

 

[kahira]

Here ya go
 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=82GLEfTj0sY
 
^ My tank

AWWWW theyr su cuuute <3<3<3<3 lol all chillin in the corner. Oscar's like "Dude I want in!"
"***** no go away" lol

 

[phantomlink]

Last night we moved the tank around we had the rock homes all over the tank but we moved them all to the back to make the tank more open because oscars can be a little dumb at times and run into the rocks...  they're somewhat exploring the new setup but I still think they're a little freaked trying to find new territories 

 

[Timmy_Bee]

I recently purchased a P. Pictus, but im now a bit concerned...
S/he looks in good condition, if not a bit on the skinny side, and is very active. I've seen her nibble on a bit of food, but not a great deal in the half a week i've had him.
 
The issue is that s/he spends all day and all night at the top of the tank, just swimming against the current right in front of the glass, right at the top of the water.
 
I'm sure these are typical bottom feeders, so what is my Pictus doing spending all her time at the top of the tank?

 

[phantomlink]

They're very social fish and while they get older and enjoy their own territories in the tank still like company.  I see videos of people with a single pictus but I still say they need some friends to act more natural.  How big is your tank?

 

[SaltyTheFry]

Pictus are awsome i would have them if i didnt have tetras