Pictus Catfish Attacking Long Finned Zebra Danios, Please Help Asap

[KaidatheDragon]

So I will sum this up as short as possible. I suffered with “New Tank Syndrome” a few weeks back with Ammonia and Nitrite levels off the scale. So I gave the fish vacation tablets to the fish for a few days and the levels recovered. Besides other miscellaneous fish, I had 5 Long Finned Zebra Danios and 4 Pictus Catfish. During the tank recovery, one of my danios had all its fins ripped to shreds due to either attacks or the high Nitrite level. I wasn’t sure since Pictus don’t usually attack danios I hear. So I put it in a hospital tank and died a few days later… A week later I put in one danio to make up for the loss and today I notice I only have 4… and I know it was a different one. So I thought it was hiding and moved on with my day. Just now I noticed one of my danios was in bad shape. It’s jaw seemed to be missing and very slow moving. I didn’t know what was wrong but soon enough I watched my Pictus literally attack it and tearing it’s fins. It’s still alive but it’s in shock with sudden stunt movement for a good minute then violently moving away and stunted again. There’s nothing to be done but I want to stop this from happening. I’ve been giving less food due to not wanting high Ammonia levels again but am I underfeeding them? Or am I wrong about the relationships between species? Should I get other fish instead?

Please help quickly. Thanks.

 

[onidrase]

The pictus catfish are going to eat those danios. They're a very predatory species. Whoever said that the pictus don't tend to attack danios was speaking rubbish. They'll eat everything they think they can get their mouths on, and they've got very big mouths, and very expandable stomachs.

 

[KaidatheDragon]

What should I put instead for filler fish then? All I have are bottom dweller fish.

 

[fishprotector]

As said above, pictus are predatory. Mine wiped out a shoal of black neon tetra I ended up with so I have seen it first hand. I would try deeper bodied slightly larger fish. I keep mine with fully grown black ruby barbs and they coexist happily. Depends on what size tank you have.

Adult pictus need feeding every few days (although they will normally eat anything that hits the substrate) and can get obese quite easily as they do not stop eating if it is there.

 

[Blitz]

So can you remove the catfish?

 

[KaidatheDragon]

It's a 50 gallon tank and I would rather keep the Catfish...

 

[fishprotector]

Depending on the dimensions, tank is borderline for keeping adult Pictus. If it is at least four foot ling, then maybe rehome the Danios and get a shoal of mid sized Barbs. Zebra Danios thrive in sub tropical conditions anyway and therefore require lower temperatures than Pictus so rehoming them would work.

 

[fishprotector]

I just did an experiment with my Pictus. I moulded a lump of new era pellets into a sausage shape, an inch long and as bulky as most small shoaling fish. It sank to the bottom and was devoured by one of my Pictus within 30 seconds. It could not swallow it whole, but kept pulling and pushing it in and out of its mouth until it was all gone. Easy to see how fish like most Danios and Tetras could be eaten!!

 

[gundamcichlid]

You can keep other fish with pictus as long as the size is bigger than the pictus. Kissing gourami and silver shark should be get long with the pictus.

 

[fishprotector]

You can keep other fish with pictus as long as the size is bigger than the pictus. Kissing gourami and silver shark should be get long with the pictus.

Not in a 50g they wouldn't though