pictus cats

[katanaone]

any info on breeding and keeping pictus catfish.

the internet as usual had alot of conflicting information.

cheers...ryan.

[novafishy]

Ive got four at around 9cms now. they are VERY active and kinda timid. they are relatively peaceful fish which wont cause too much troubles. ive got them in a community tank now, and they've been in there for quite some time now.

I feed them flakes, tiny sinking food, shrimp pellets, algae tabs. the lot.

What sort of conflicting information are you getting?

[r.d.m]

everybody you speak to or anywhere you look on the internet says they havnt been bred in captivity, but you see so many juveniles in lfs that i reckon someone somewhere is breeding them, the lfs's ive spoken to reckon they just order them from the wholesaler, but if they were wild caught i dont think theyd all be an identical size or so common, and for a common fish there expensive,ive had 2 for about 2 years one you described as "the biggest pictus ive ever seen" the other has not grown a single mm in all the time ive had it, they both eat the same amount, so i can only assume the big ones a female and the little one a male, but it is a mystery, but certainly they are a pretty fish and a welcome addition to any tank with tankmates too big to swallow,good luck with whatever you can find out

[katanaone]

thanks for the quick reply, i was told at an lfs where i got them that they can only be kept in alkalinic water, on the net some say alkalinic some say slightly acidic.

i have them with some small gt's at about 7.4 at the moment.

[novafishy]

Mine have always been in an acidic tank. around 6-6.5 and they have been doing fine.