Pictus Catfish

[jlcmkibc]

HELP!!!

I have recently purchased some pictus catfish. We originally got one male and one female. The female is doing well, but looks like she's gonna give birth soon. Either that, or she's just fat. Our first male died w/in 48 hours of being in the tank. I think some of it was because he got injured while being captured at PetSmart, but some of it might be because he was harrassed by our tiger barbs. We have since removed the tiger barbs, and had the male replaced. We've noticed that both males have eyes that look cloudy in comparison to the female. Is this normal? Does it mean that he's blind? :confused: This is our first experience with pictus catfish. We have looked all over the internet and can't seem to find any info on this particular issue. Any help anyone could provide would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

[ChilDawg]

Fat catfish usually do not imply gravid catfish. The pimpictus, or Pictus Cat, definitely does not have live babies, and is also prone to overeating. (S)HE probably had a large meal, and just looks like a pregnant one, but gravid fish are generally much less severely distended than overeaters.

[jlcmkibc]

What about the cloudiness on the eyes of the other one? I read somewhere that they are nocturnal. Does that have something to do with why they are a little cloudy? Also, while the female is content to sit on the bottom under our fake log, the male is swimming all over the place. He'll spend some time on the bottom occasionally, but mostly he's swimming at the top of the tank near the walls with his tail down. I'm starting to get a little worried since it's the same behavior as the one that already died.

[ChilDawg]

I wish that I could help you on that part. Unfortunately, I only knew how to reply to the first part, but, hopefully, someone else will be able to chime in and help.

[jlcmkibc]

thanks... one more question you might be able to answer... do the females have larger bellies than the males? Or is telling the diff between the sexes more difficult than that? okay... I lied... two questions... my second question... how long will they go without eating if they've eaten so much as to make thier bellies swell? If we throw in some shrimp pellets, she'll go after those, but she won't touch the flakes. The male I'm having problems with isn't showing much interest in any type of food.

Thanks

[ChilDawg]

According to the Catfish of the Month archives at www.planetcatfish.com, sexing Pimpictus is impossible. I don't know if that has changed since then, what with better research, but I have no other answer to that.

As for the eating...just give them some really small amounts of food (livefoods are best for indigestion) until the belly returns to normal. The other guy may or may not start eating...these are generally wild-caught, and have suffered some stress before they get to your tank, so it is hit-or-miss as to whether or not they'll make it. If they get acclimated, though, you will have some long-term companions!

[Skittyfish]

The two pictus I had (no way to tell sex) would eat so much that they would rest on the bottom just on their bellies. They also like places to hide and if they have enough room, will swim back and forth---a lot! Mine would eat cichlid pellets, algae wafers, flake food, anything that made it to the bottom.

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

i have had pictus cats 3 differenmt times, and the ones i have now are my third set... they will eat right after i just fed them and sometimes hold the food in thier mouths if they cant fit anymore into thier stomachs... mine always have a pregnant look. who said that you had a male and female?? i have heard that they are unsexable too... mine like to swim around a lot when it is dark... but my first pictus cats i had were always active, even at day time... they are more than likely just fat, not pregnant..

[ChilDawg]

K_S_W_I_S_S, egglayers can not, I repeat not, get pregnant. Pimpictus are egglayers. Thus, they cannot get pregnant. That is out of the realm of possibility.

(Sorry, RTR and WetmanNY, I beat you to it this time!)

[aquariaddictus]

Jeez, you're mean and cocky when you're drinking:eek:

[ChilDawg]

Cocky? Where'd you get that one? (Edit: Actually I see...but beating those two was the highlight of my night!) I will apologize for my tone, but I had already mentioned that fact in this thread.

[aquariaddictus]

Just kidding. Why are you the only member here who takes me so seriously?? ;)

[ChilDawg]

I dunno. I figured that you were being funny, but my sense of humour is a little too deadpan and dry to respond accurately without people seeing facial expressions. I'll try that again...

Cocky? Where'd you get that one? (Edit: Actually I see...but beating those two was the highlight of my night!) :rolleyes:

I will apologize for my tone, but I had already mentioned that fact in this thread. (Okay, I did take you seriously there...I must respect the mods too much or something...)

[GEV83]

Hey Im the only grouch aloud here. Im hijacking this thread hahaha. J/k Hey dawg chill theres no cats around yet. You see my new title im higher ranked the a moderator im a modergator. LOL. I got board so change it from senior member to modergator.

[jlcmkibc]

hehehe @ the forum drama... hehehe... reminds me of chat...

anywhoo... thanks for the info guys... the pictus that I was worried about died last night I think. On the EWWWW factor, found a pleco suckin on it when I went to scoop him out of the tank. Gross!

we have a 55 gal tank, but I swear the other one we have, which has survived for a week now just sits under our large fake log we have in the tank. it will come out from time to time during feeding, and swim for a bit, but then it's right back to hiding.

As for the sexes... we assumed, based on our virgin status with these fish, that the one with the large belly was a female and the other, slender fish was a male... hehehe...

so I'm takin by some of the info I got that it's really a hit and miss with this particular fish, and we may be swapping out dead ones for lives ones until we can get another that will acclimate itself to our tank? we shouldn't take it personally that they die? I mean we've been testing like every four days both the pH and the ammonia levels because we've been so paranoid. Our biggest tank prior to this was only 30 gals. We lived in Germany at the time (we're a military family) and we never had a single problem with it. We did partial water changes once a month, and we rarely tested it as the water always was clear and the fish were always in good health.

Should I feel like a real goober that I get depressed when yet another one of our fish kicks the bucket? We got our tank 2.5 months ago, and from my research, this can happen until the tank gets really well established. Should I just assume that there is more tragedy awaiting until the tank is established?

*could I sound more pathetic* I'm sure I could try... anyway, thanks for your help...

latah

[ChilDawg]

I would suggest establishing the tank pretty well before getting another pictus, but remember their ultimate size--I don't see more than one surviving to maturity in that tank!

[brianfl]

Pictus are generally nocturnal anyway. Mine very rarely makes a daytime appearance.

[Mantis_22]

I have had two before, they died from ammonia strikes in my first ever tank. I still feel sorry for the little guys. :(

[dethjam316]

my pictus is the most hyper cat i've ever had. he's out and about all day long, makes me dizzy watching him.

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

ok... i meant it may look like it is full of eggs.... are you happy now :p ???