Pictus Catfish

[Jesse]

I was wondering....Would a pictus cat be good for a 33 gallon?

 

[playfulalliecat]

They can get around 10 inches so unless you have something bigger in mind, I wouldn't recommend getting one. Also they are predator fish. Those beautiful long barbells they have are used to detect their prey as they cruise around the aquarium. They will eat smaller fish, I know we had 2 and they ate 6 neons one night after we went to bed! Their mouths are HUGE in comparison to their size! They will eat regular fish food, ours loved freeze dried tubifex worms as well. If you decide to get some make sure your other fish are a good bit larger than they are.

 

[kevin007]

i would say don't get it, unless it's the only fish in ur tank...
a 33gallon is way small for a adult pictus cat fish

 

[Jesse]

I dont know...most people say they only get to like 5". What's the buzz about this?

 

[jumpman]

I thought that they got bigger than that, but this site agrees.

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile70.html

 

[CFC]

In the wild they will reach 10" but when kept in a aquarium rarely get bigger than 6-7 inches.They do require quite a lot of swimming room as they are very active and should be kept in small groups of at least 3, if kept singularly they become shy and can be aggressive toward tankmates but if 2 are kept then they will fight.If the tank is a long 33g (40") then it should be OK for 3 as long as plants and decor are kept to the back of the tank and the front is left clear for swimming.

On another note you do need to be careful of tankmates,as previously mentioned they will devour any fish they can fit in their mouth which means any slim fish up to 2 inches is in danger but they should also not be kept with any fish that are slow to feed as they have huge appettites nor should they be kept with any overly aggressive fish (cichlids in particular) which may damage there barbels or bite their quite prominant(sp) eyes.

 

[Jesse]

Then I have the feeling they might eat my pristella tetras . I guess I will leave them to the 10 gallon then. Thanks for your help!

 

[BIANCA]

ive had my pictus for a long time now and it stopped growing at about 5". Just about every site says they get different sizes 10" 4" blah blah...From MY experience they stop at 5.
I have also never had mine eat any other smaller fish, like some websites suggest they have the tendency to do. 33 gallons would be okay for one, but keep in mind they are quite active so leave plenty of room for swimming.

 

[Jesse]

Yup, I'm sold on the pictus!

 

[beltdrive]

Would they be aggressive towards group of tigers in a 48" tank!

 

[CFC]

No but the tigers will probably be aggressive toward them,i would not recomend placing any catfish with long antenna in a tank containing barbs.