Pictus And Malawi's?

[rixy]

my tap waters ph is approx 7 so would this be ok for pictusif so,would pictus and malawi's mixmy tank is a 55 gallon with approx 15 assorted malawi's.just 1 pictus,or 3/4.thanks in advance.

 

[Fishy412]

my water is at 8. 6 or something ridiculous like that. theyre absolutely fine and thriving. but the store that i bought them from did have a ph around 8.4 so it wasnt that drastic a change.

i'd say yes but i would use the drip acclimation method just to be safe. generally they tolerate a wide range of water conditions as long as its stable and the tank is mature.

I'd say a group of at least 3 or else they wont last long at all

 

[CFC]

Please dont put pim pictus or any other South American catfish in with African rift valley Cichlids, the outcome is never pretty with the catfish ending up with its barbels nipped off, its fins torn and its eyes removed in most cases. The trouble comes from that the catfishes predatory nature makes it want to eat the fry of the Cichlids and draws the catfish into the Cichlids territory (and Malaiwis always breed sooner or later) and the instinct of the Cichlid is to protect its offspring and territory from any intruders. The catfish are not designed to take the aggression of the Cichlids and are easily injured due to their lack of defence.

If you want a catfish for a rift valley set up then look into the Synodontis catfishes which come from the same areas and are well equiped to deal with all but the nastiest of Cichlids by means of have short stubby barbels, armour plating on the head and thick spines to the pectoral and dorsal fins. There are many species to choose from which are easily available in the hobby, take a look through the pictures here and see if there are any you like. http/www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/mochokid/G_29.PHP

 

[rixy]

what about 3 multipuncatus,or,3 petricolahow much is reasonable to pay for these as they seem pretty expensive.

 

[CFC]

Either of those species would be perfect. Unfortunately they do hold a fairly high price so you can expect to pay anything from £10 to £25 per fish depending on size.

 

[Fishy412]

ive only seen multis around here for 30-40 dollars but its different depending on your setup. what cichlids do you keep exactly? CFC is indeed right but i think there may be one or two species that are ok. i have a calvus (or comp, too small to tell yet) but its much smaller than my pims.