Pictus Catfish Species Overview
A very popular species for the hobbyist, the Pictus Catfish can be found in many a tank and is easily spotted.
Speaking of spotted, this diminutive species of catfish, which is one of the smallest, is identified primarily by its spotty appearance. Their vibrant and distinctive coloring makes them appealing to have in your tank and are easy to admire and observe.
Found in the wild in the freshwaters of the Orinoco and Amazon rivers in South America, these tropical catfish are and extremely active and energetic predatory fish.
Being a predatory fish, your choice of tank mates is an important consideration as they are not picky eaters. Any smaller fish species, if not considered carefully, are likely to become your next catfish meal.
They can also be referred to as the Pictus or Angel Cat by suppliers to the fish-keeping community.
We’ll take a look at what makes this fish so popular for fish enthusiasts, how to care for them for optimum health, and what tank mates work well for a happy, thriving tank community.
Pictus Catfish Behavior
The Pictus Catfish is a reasonably peaceful species and gets on well with appropriately chosen tank mates. We’ll discuss more on that a little later.
They are shoaling fish, so they prefer to live in groups; ideally, 6 or more, although 3-4 would suffice if space is insufficient for more. Having them in a shoaling group allows them the social interactions they crave and also gives them a sense of confidence to be more active and somewhat bolder overall.
They will be far more active and fun to observe during the daytime if kept in a group as normally they are nocturnal, and you may otherwise not see much of them.
Quite a few people do successfully keep a Pictus Catfish solo, thinking they will be a good bottom dweller to include in their tank. If you do choose to keep one alone, it will likely be a shy character who will stay hidden most of the day and only venture out after dark.
The smarter option would be to have a small group as a minimum and then benefit from seeing them happier and more outgoing as a social subset in your community.
Pictus Catfish Lifespan
Pictus Catfish can live upwards of 8 years when looked after carefully. While they are a peaceful, easygoing type of fish, they are not usually recommended for novice aquarists.
Because of their sensitive nature to tank conditions and overall susceptibility to freshwater aquarium diseases, they are better suited to those experienced with careful monitoring and maintenance of their tank.
We will look at some of the causes for shortened lifespans a little bit later in the article.
Pictus Catfish Appearance
The striking appearance of the Pictus Catfish is hard to miss and what makes them so memorable.
With a gleaming, silvery-white body, the Pictus Catfish is a long and slender fish. The light body is punctuated by black dots throughout. Interestingly, the varieties that come from Colombia have smaller spots and the Peruvian varieties tend towards larger dots on the body.
The other notable characteristic of all catfish is their prominent barbels, resembling whiskers to the sides of their mouths. The Pictus Catfish has very long ones which can reach the length of their bodies in some cases. Barbels are what help this fish navigate in the muddy, murky moving waters of riverbeds.
These fish do not possess scales which is partly the reason they are more susceptible to diseases and conditions affecting their health in the tank as well as sensitivity to the water condition.
Their fins are transparent and quite rigid. In particular, their dorsal and pectoral fins have sharp spines that can make catching them rather difficult.
Not only should you avoid using mesh netting when catching or transferring these catfish because of the risk of entanglement, but you should avoid getting your hands in the mix also.
These spines can easily impale human skin, along with other slow-moving fish. And if you do get ‘stabbed,’ the mucous coating on the fin contains a toxin that will yield a stinging sensation that can be rather painful. Thankfully any pain inflicted will subside on its own within a few hours.
Finally, they have the classic catfish appearance marked by the downturned, ‘pouting’ mouth as well as a forked tail. Fully grown and depending on tank size, they can grow up to 5 inches in length.
Habitat And Tank Requirements
For the healthiest fish, all aquarists should aspire to recreate their natural habitats as closely as possible.
Since Pictus Catfish are tropical freshwater fish, they need warm tanks necessitating a heater for even temperature management.
Extensive filtration is a major requirement, and consistent slow-moving water to mimic the river conditions they favor in the wild. Let’s look at some specifics that are needed.
Tank Conditions
Pictus Catfish love a sandy riverbed in the wild, so a sandy substrate will suit them best and is generally a must, given that they are bottom dwellers.
The slow, flowing conditions of a tropical river should also be emulated, and this is usually done best by using a HOB (hang-on-back) filter system that provides an adequate and consistent current flow.
Being nocturnal fish in the wild, they thrive with dim tank lighting. This type of lighting will encourage them to swim around more actively, whereas brighter lighting conditions will relegate them into more typical hiding behaviors.
Important to note here that any decor should have smooth edges. Anything sharp can abrade their delicate skin creating the perfect storm for illness and disease.
Plantlife should be present as their natural habitat has river floor vegetation, but likewise, smooth stones, treated driftwood, and other cave-type decors will help recreate their environment equally well.
Any plants present shouldn’t need a lot of bright lighting as this will discourage activity from your Pictus.
Filtration should be high on your list of priorities as these fish create a lot of waste. They are sensitive to ammonia and nitrates in the tank, so careful consideration needs to be taken to ensure enough filtration is present.
Air stones can be helpful to keep oxygen flowing without making the water too disturbed for their liking.
You should be expecting to partially change the water every week and stick to a strict regime.
Water conditions should be noted and maintained as follows:
- pH of 5.5-7
- Water hardness between 15-18 dH
- Temperature between 72-77 ºF (22-25ºC)
Tank Size
The minimum tank size needed for a single Pictus Catfish is 55 gallons (approx. 210 L), and if you are planning on a shoal of 3-4, you will need at least 150 gallons (approx. 620 L).
So size matters if you plan on having this species.
They need a lot of active swimming space to thrive and prevent stress. Keeping them interested and engaged is important for their health and shoaling.
The tank shape should be rectangular or a large square, not a tall vertical-style column. They need active swimming, and a narrower design will not suit their swimming needs.
Choosing Tank Mates For Pictus Catfish
It’s very important to take stock of what is best for the fish species you choose to care for as an aquarist when considering tank mates.
Educating yourself and doing the homework necessary to have a harmonious environment is a key aspect of being their caretaker.
The biggest issue with having Pictus is that you should ideally ensure that they are the smallest fish in the tank. Anything smaller could be construed as fair game to this predatory fish.
They are not finicky, and basically, you can assume if it’s small enough to fit in its mouth, then it’s good enough to eat. This isn’t restricted to fish either! The same principle goes for small invertebrates, snails, and crustaceans too.
Avoid slow movers like Cichlids as a busy shoal of Pictus would ultimately irritate them to no end. High energy, robust fish are the order of the day when it comes to mixing with this species successfully.
You should also avoid housing them with other aggressive species as they are not aggressive or territorial, and confrontation will be stressful for them.
Remember to consider species that require similar water conditions to ensure that the chemistry is compatible. Your retailer should be able to advise, but we have provided a list here.
Some excellent fish tank mate pairings for Pictus Catfish are:
- Rainbow sharks
- Tiger barbs
- Other catfish species
- Clown loaches
- Opaline gourami
- Rainbowfish
- Giant Danios
Pictus Catfish Common Health Issues
We mentioned earlier that Pictus Catfish weren’t ideal for a novice hobbyist.
The main reason for this is that they do not have scales, and so their skin is reactive to poor water conditions, and infection is even easier to contract if they catch any scrapes or abrasions — a reminder here to keep decor that has no sharp edges in the tank to facilitate this.
Being a species that is known for getting sick quite easily, it should also be noted that if they do become ill, things tend to progressively worsen quite rapidly.
This is the primary reason that water maintenance needs to be strictly scheduled and adhered to.
Some simple signs to keep an eye out for include changes in gill color, any ulcers on the body, lack of appetite (easy to spot with a fish that normally gorges), and white patches on the skin indicative of fungus.
The few medications available to these fish must be used as directed by your vet. The delicate skin of these fish means that they can easily over absorb medication which is also dangerous, so be sure to calibrate the correct dose if you are instructed to use any.
Finally, they are known to be susceptible to swim bladder conditions which are exacerbated by overfeeding and poor filtration, so take care that your catfish don’t gorge to the point of looking swollen!
Pictus Catfish Breeding
Normally we would have quite a bit to say about breeding a species of fish. Are they good for the novice or the expert?
Are they fish who need no encouragement to reproduce and pretty much get on without your intervention, or do they need very specific conditions that you, the hobbyist, have to get ‘just right’ to allow nature to take its course?
Well, in the case of Pictus Catfish, I’m afraid the reason we have almost nothing to note here is because they are virtually unknown to breed in captivity.
In fact, these fish are a bit of a reproductive enigma in all areas because it isn’t even straightforward to identify the sexes! Anecdotally the consensus is that females are marginally larger than males, but even experienced aquarists struggle to tell.
Although there must be some who have achieved breeding in captivity, it’s far from the norm. The reason is that very few possess the tank size that allows these fish to reach sexual maturity in size.
Secondly, you might not even know if you have the right gender ratio to allow it to happen, even if you do have the enormous tank size this would require.
As a result, little is known about their breeding behaviors. What we do know is that the females lay eggs, and the males fertilize them, which isn’t an abundance to work with.
Conclusion
Breeding aspirations aside, these sparkling, zippy, friendly, social shoaling fish make a wonderful addition to an experienced hobbyist or for a not-quite novice looking to broaden their experience with a more challenging fish.
Getting to know your Pictus personalities is part of the fun of observing them, and with their lifespan able to reach the 8+ mark, you can enjoy them for a very long time indeed.
These fish are well worth the time and effort that it takes to keep them happy, and in return, they will reward you with some of the most interesting actions in your tank.
