Update on my Pimelodus Pictus

[tyberiusj12]

First off i want to thank @B0B from Australia & @HoldenOn from Texas for their very knowledgeable advice.
it has been 4 days since my Pimelodus Pictus Catfish grew a very large underbelly most likely caused by the excessive amounts of NO3(avg 180) in my tank. They both advised me to do a huge water change (i did 50% & did a massive gravel cleaning) and advised i reduce the amount of times i fed them a day, to lessen the amount of ammonia created by uneaten food.
My water looks far better then it did, my glofish look more vibrant and my Pictus is back to swimming like crazy at the top of the tank instead of hiding in his cave. There is hardly any noticeable swelling.

However my fish have been snipping at one another more then they use to. Idk if its because their hungry or if that's just what they do but i don't want them to lose their scales and be vulnerable to any harmful bacteria. Should i be concerned or just let them be?

But thanks again for saving my beautiful Pictus Catfish we highly appreciate you both!!!
In the third picture can you spot the Upside Down Catfish, Pleco, and Pictus Catfish!!!! GL

 

[Colin_T]

Black widow/ skirt tetras (glofish) are fin nippers and will normally cause problems to slow moving fish or fish with long fins. Having them with fantail goldfish could be a problem for the goldfish.

Your goldfish need plenty of plant matter in their diet. Live aquarium plants like Duckweed can be used, as can vege flakes/ pellets, and even things like pumpkin, zucchini, peas, etc. Make sure the fruit/ vegetables are free of chemicals and boil them for a minute to soften them up.

 

[tyberiusj12]

Black widow/ skirt tetras (glofish) are fin nippers and will normally cause problems to slow moving fish or fish with long fins. Having them with fantail goldfish could be a problem for the goldfish.

Your goldfish need plenty of plant matter in their diet. Live aquarium plants like Duckweed can be used, as can vege flakes/ pellets, and even things like pumpkin, zucchini, peas, etc. Make sure the fruit/ vegetables are free of chemicals and boil them for a minute to soften them up.

I appreciate your comment!!

so i have a problem with over feeding my tank, i drop 2 small pinches of flakes into my tank and it all appears to be eaten and whatever's left my pictus comes and cleans up. i put a pleco wafer in before i go to sleep for my pleco and my upside down catfish.

i have a redcap orando and regular goldish that id like to feed peas to, should i feed them with the flakes or should it be an afternoon snack?

also how many peas should i feed each of them?

 

[Colin_T]

Feed the fish flake or pellet food. After they have eaten that, give them some mushed peas. Start off with 2 or 3 peas, maybe add more if the goldfish eat them all. The other fish can eat them too if they like.

To feed the peas, boil them for a minute and let them cool. Remove the skin from the peas and throw the skin away. Mush the peas with your fingers or put them between a couple of spoons and squash them. Add a few bits of mushed pea and let the fish eat it. When they have eaten it, add a bit more. Let the fish eat as much as they can in a couple of minutes, then stop feeding and remove the uneaten food.

You might want to add some raw/ cooked prawn/ shrimp or other types of frozen foods for the pictus catfish. The other fish can also eat this.

 

[tyberiusj12]

Feed the fish flake or pellet food. After they have eaten that, give them some mushed peas. Start off with 2 or 3 peas, maybe add more if the goldfish eat them all. The other fish can eat them too if they like.

To feed the peas, boil them for a minute and let them cool. Remove the skin from the peas and throw the skin away. Mush the peas with your fingers or put them between a couple of spoons and squash them. Add a few bits of mushed pea and let the fish eat it. When they have eaten it, add a bit more. Let the fish eat as much as they can in a couple of minutes, then stop feeding and remove the uneaten food.

You might want to add some raw/ cooked prawn/ shrimp or other types of frozen foods for the pictus catfish. The other fish can also eat this.

thats awesome!!!!!! im so excited to introduce them to new foods. thank you so much prawn/shrimp and peas sweet!!!!

 

[Colin_T]

When using prawn, use cooked prawn if you have live shrimp in the tank. If you have shrimp and use raw prawn, it can introduce diseases to the live shrimp.

You can buy frozen prawns from a fishing store (in the bait freezer) or from a supermarket seafood section. Keep them in the freezer. When you want to feed the fish, take one prawn and defrost it. remove the head, shell and gut (thin black tube in body) and throw these bits in the bin. Use a pair of scissors to cut the remaining prawn tail into small pieces and offer a few bits at a time. feed until the fish are full.

Meat foods like prawn can cause water quality issues (ammonia, nitrite) faster than normal foods, so make sure you remove uneaten food and do big regular water changes and gravel cleaning to keep the tank clean.

 

[tyberiusj12]

When using prawn, use cooked prawn if you have live shrimp in the tank. If you have shrimp and use raw prawn, it can introduce diseases to the live shrimp.

You can buy frozen prawns from a fishing store (in the bait freezer) or from a supermarket seafood section. Keep them in the freezer. When you want to feed the fish, take one prawn and defrost it. remove the head, shell and gut (thin black tube in body) and throw these bits in the bin. Use a pair of scissors to cut the remaining prawn tail into small pieces and offer a few bits at a time. feed until the fish are full.

Meat foods like prawn can cause water quality issues (ammonia, nitrite) faster than normal foods, so make sure you remove uneaten food and do big regular water changes and gravel cleaning to keep the tank clean.

thank you so much!!! i dont have either prawn nor shrimp so i will feed them both and see if they life it!!!!

 

[Colin_T]

Prawn and shrimp are pretty much the same thing (a few slight differences but nothing major) and I use the words interchangeably. Some places refer to them as prawns ad others call them shrimp.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Prawn and shrimp are pretty much the same thing (a few slight differences but nothing major) and I use the words interchangeably. Some places refer to them as prawns ad others call them shrimp.

Now that I keep neocaridinas and amanos, I mentally think of "pet" aquarium fish as shrimp - and will spend an hour or more hunting through buckets of water for tiny shrimplets after a water change so I can save them and return them to the tank, can't bear the thought of accidentally throwing them out with the old tank water...

And mentally distance them as somehow being different from prawns - the ones in my freezer that I really really love to eat! It helps me manage the cognitive dissonance

 

[tyberiusj12]

Now that I keep neocaridinas and amanos, I mentally think of "pet" aquarium fish as shrimp - and will spend an hour or more hunting through buckets of water for tiny shrimplets after a water change so I can save them and return them to the tank, can't bear the thought of accidentally throwing them out with the old tank water...

And mentally distance them as somehow being different from prawns - the ones in my freezer that I really really love to eat! It helps me manage the cognitive dissonance

i heard you can just put a net or small fabric over your pump and itll prevent fish or small shrimp from being sucked up. id hate to have search through a bucket of fish poop to find a transparent shrimp xD