Tankmate Suggestions For Pictus Catfish

[Canadian Fish]

Hi! I am cycling a 55 gallon tank. I added Tetra Aquasafe Plus, which I think is basically just to remove chlorine, and added some liquid bacteria from the LFS. How long should I cycle before I can bring some water for them to test and add some fish if it all checks out? One store told me two days, another said a week, and another said a month.

I have a 20 gallon tank I set up a year ago and I think I cycled it for a week. I was impatient that time because it was our first tank.

I would like to stock an active, entertaining tank.

I plan on keeping a group of pictus catfish. Does anyone know how large they usually get in aquariums? I have read anywhere from 4" to 10", but 5 inch seems to be the consensus.

They seem to be entertaining in groups. I'm wondering if I should try a school of 5, or if I should only have 3, as I hear they produce a lot of waste. I only have an Aquaclear 70 filter.

Also, what are some middle and top level swimmers I can keep with the pictus? I know if fish are too small the pictus may eat them, but I want larger fish anyway. Our 20 gallon houses twin bar platies and julii corys so we want larger fish in the 55 gallon.

Ideally I'd like a school of active fish that are happy in a group of 5 or 7 and get to between 4 and 6 inches at maturity, and that will cohabitate nicely with the pictus.

OR, if there is no ideal schooling fish of the size and temperament I am looking for, I could try 3 or 4 different species of fish that range in size from 4" to 8" at maturity (just one of each fish), that all get along, and will get along with the catfish.

The platies and corys in our 20 gallon tank are super active and we'd like to replicate that sort of environment on a larger scale in our new tank.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. The hardier the fish (or the easier to maintain) the better. The only experience we have with caring for fish is the platies and corys and they're easy.

 

[onidrase]

I don't think pictus are aggressive, you just can't keep any fish small enough for them to fit in their mouths. I think anything above 2.5 inches would be safe. You could do any medium sized cichlids, like firemouths, or medium to larger sized schooling fish, such as bleeding heart tetras,barbs, and rainbow fish.

 

[snake007]

You can add some of the media from your cycled 20 gallon to your 55 gallon and your cycled!
Fishless cycling generally takes around 6 weeks
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/113861-fishless-cycling/

 

[Canadian Fish]

You can add some of the media from your cycled 20 gallon to your 55 gallon and your cycled!
Fishless cycling generally takes around 6 weeks
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/113861-fishless-cycling/

I am doing a water change on my 20 gallon tank today or tomorrow. If I add the water I remove from my established tank into my new tank, will that speed things up?

Thanks.

 

[snake007]

The water won't help but some of your dirty filter sponge will.

 

[Canadian Fish]

The water won't help but some of your dirty filter sponge will.

Do I just put some of the sponge in the new tank?

 

[snake007]

You put it in the new tanks filter.

 

[Canadian Fish]

My old filter is a Topfin 20 and my new filter is a Aquaclear 70, which has 3 separate layers in the filter assembly. Do I just add the sponge from my old filter on top of the other stuff already in the new filter?

Sorry for all the questions, thanks for the help.

 

[snake007]

I think so, although I'm not too experienced with those filters.

 

[moochy13]

as long as you can get some old sponge in your new filter somewhere, without stopping it working properly, jobs a good 'un. and replace the gap in your old filter with a new bit, or a bit from the new filter. if you see what i mean. you can remove about a third of the media without it having a drastic effect on your tank.