I have had a 55G running since Christmas with 3 Pictus Cast as well as other community fish. The tank originally started with all fake plants and over the last three weekends I have been replacing them with real plants. Up until then the Pictus cast pretty much stayed on the left side glass of the tank. They would move up and down the glass and take turns zipping through the bubble curtain across the back. They also relatively stayed as a school. Sine I have changed the plants around I have noticed that they have gotten much more lethargic and solitary. They have moved into the middle of the tank which is dimmer from the plants and has a few caves/hiding spots. Now they each have found a hiding spot or area in the shade and they pretty much stay there non spot. Very little movement about the tank day or night. My water parameters are the same as they have been for months and do weekly 20% changes. I am wondering if the fish are showing stress sings nor or were they showing them before?
Pictus Stress?
- Thread starter bdobosz
- Start date
Swimfins
This is as good as it gets.
I have my pictus in a moderately planted tank. When I first setup the tank, I had only 2 large swordplants and a big piece of driftwood. There was alot of open space and he would zip around and swim in circles on the glass. Now that the tank is more planted, with the addition of higher light, he stays more in the back of the tank, under rocks and in the shade of tall vals. I never even see him feed anymore and wonder if he's getting enough to eat, but I know where he hides so I check his state of health and he looks just fine, he hangs out with my ghost knife and clown pleco that share the same cave under my piece of driftwood. I turned on the light at night and saw him zipping all over the tank, so I know he's active then. Light might be the issue. I think these fish come from Columbian fast flowing streams, that are rocky and not too planted. I think one of the problems with these cats is that they think predators are lurking in the plants and so they stay put. In open areas in high numbers they are safest and in the wild are a schoaling fish, used to fast water. I think most tanks are not setup for them, I regret that I didn't think of this when I bought him.
Pictus cats are nocturnal. Mine loves to just hangout under rock structures during the day. But at night he's all over the tank. Did you increase your lighting when you started adding real plants? It doesn't make too much sense to me that they would be stressed from the real plants themselves. Unless infact what swimfins said is true about them being stressed from the possibility of a predator lurking in the plants. And this would only be if you added live plants in a higher density then the original plastic plants.
I guess what has me wndering is that I dont see them move too much at night anymore either. I didnt change my lighting with the new plants and the plants pretty much went in the same spot as the plastics were. My only guess is that they discovere new hiding spots. In the first few months I had them they would always stay on the far left side of the tank even though the caves and things were in the middle. Perhaps they just found them for the first time now. I guess Ill just keep an eye on them.
Actually the Previous behavior was an indicator of stress, and the change is an indicator that they are more comfortable now. Pictus are very skittish, and highly noctournal. If you were to sneak in after everyone goes to bed, and flip on the lights you would probably catch them roaming. Mine seldom come out into plain view when there is any light at all in the room, none of mine ever have over the years. The up and down swimming motion is something that you will seldom if ever see a pictus do when it is not stressed. If they have a nice shaded spot that they are comfortable in they will generally stay there all day, and go hunting when all of the lights are out (room lights included).
dave
dave