# pictus cats ok in my 75g stock?



## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

Well i have a 75g that needs a clean up crew i was thinking 2 pictus cats with 1 pair of jack dempseys,4 yellow labs,1 firemouth,would that be ok i dont want any fish to die since these are prize fish the tank has 2 power heads and a 60 canister filter and measures 48Lx18Wx20H


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

Your tank sounds pretty well stocked. Pictus cats are preditors, not a clean up crew fish. They like blood worms, and small fish. They are best kept is schools, and get 6-8'' long. I have heard of them getting 10'' though. You might want to get a smaller growing pleco, but they create a lot of waste. I think having a "clean up fish" only makes things worse, because what goes in must come out, and that defeats the whole purpose.


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## madmax666 (Sep 11, 2008)

Most people use Amino shrimp, otos, chinese algea eaters, or some snails. I was looking for a clean up crew for my tank (55) but some of these dont work with the jds i have along with the fry. I thought the best suggestion was some malaysian trumpet snails, nerite snails(they do not breed in fresh water), and the olive snails.These snails are said not to harm plants. Pictus cat fish are said to get 12" but that also depends on there tank size. Personally i have a redtailed shark which inst really said to be a great cleaner but he is the best one for extra food. He doesnt like brown algea tho.. :roll: The pictus are not said to be the greatest because they creat just as much as they eat. I like the look of them. Are you looking for something showy?or just a cleaner crew?


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

well my tank needs some clean up crew?And no plecos i HATE them.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

pictus are to a good scavenger, and they most certainly do not get 10", 6 is MAX, but there four lined cousins will most certainly attain 9" or so.


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## LJ (Sep 12, 2007)

gage said:


> pictus are to a good scavenger, and they most certainly do not get 10", 6 is MAX, but there four lined cousins will most certainly attain 9" or so.


yup. You might try a raph cat alternatively, as long as it can't fit in the JDs mouth. Give it a hiding spot. If you go pictus go with a 4-line. MTS, shrimp, otos...all no-gos with JDs.

Ever think about moving the Africans out?


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

i wish i could i dont have any other tanks for them but other than that they all get allong great.It is ok i upgraded my filters and % of water changed


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

jack lover said:


> well my tank needs some clean up crew?And no plecos i HATE them.


Try not to over feed your fish, how about that? Your tank is over stocked. Info on pictus cats:

http://www.aqua-fish.net/show.php?h=pictuscatfish

http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/pimelodus_pictus.htm

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/pictus.htm

The size may vary, so you could end up w/ a 6'' species or a 10'' species. They all look very similar. They will not eat algae. Look at the suggested foods that are suggested on any site, and you will see most of their diet consist of meat. Also, they are VERY sensative to water conditions.


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

waaaaaaaaaaait a minute, are you looking for an algae eater or something to eat extra food?

for algae find a big CAE if you dont like plecos

for extra food, it depends if you want to see the fish or not, if you dont care to see them often, Raphael's would be my first choice

the tank doesnt sound to terribly over stocked, to me anyway, it isnt like the tank cant hold that much, and i think 2 pictus would be fine, if the JD's are 9" or so then find bigger pictus then the typical sized pictus found in stores (2-3")

the 4-line pictus are truely a great looking cat IMO, heres a pic of mine:


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

well i think i am going to go with a raphel catfish for the tank they are readily avalible to me so i will try to find the biggest one for the tank


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

gage said:


> waaaaaaaaaaait a minute, are you looking for an algae eater or something to eat extra food?
> 
> for algae find a big CAE if you dont like plecos
> 
> ...


CAE don't really eat algae and get really aggressive. If the JDs are a breeding pair, they may kill the other less aggressive fish.
Also, your cat fish isn't a pictus. This is what they look like:


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## jcushing (Apr 6, 2008)

it just looks like a washed out 4 line to me....


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

phishes said:


> gage said:
> 
> 
> > waaaaaaaaaaait a minute, are you looking for an algae eater or something to eat extra food?
> ...


you need to read my friend, i said 4 LINE pictus (Pimelodus blochii), 4 line pictus wash out all there patterning besides the faint stripes with age, if you guys look on the planetcatfish pictures you will see that..., and yes he is a 4 line, here is the planetcatfish link for you to read: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=653

and yes, chinese algae eaters DO eat algae, it is the Siamese algae eaters that dont eat any algae besides hair algae, *** been using Chinese algae eaters for algae since *** had fish tanks, and my parents have since they have had fish tanks, so yes, they 100% DO eat algae.

there is NO reason to worry about aggression from the CAE when you have them with cichlids, as long as they arent with platies and guppies and the like you will be fine.

btw, i know what a pictus cat is, *** had over 8 of them in my years of fish keeping...

phishes, i suggest 1) you read the post before trying to tell me i am the one that is wrong. and 2) quit giving false info, IE telling him that CAE dont eat algae... do your research, im only 16, but have been keeping fish tanks since i was 4 years old, which was when i got my 20g with goldfish... *** been in the hobby 12 years and have been doing research on the computer since i was 10


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

I see pictures of a 4 line pictus and a spotted pictus cat ... but then both are common names, so may be called differant things in differant areas ... maybe. 

*Gage* - wow, you've been lucky. IME, once CAE get about 5-6 inches they start to ignore algae, at least in my tanks. This happens to most people's CAE, as it's very common in print (ie various AFM and TFH articles, books, ect.). So while I certainly wouldn't generally say CAE don't eat algae overall, I would say juvies are pretty decent at it (though no where near as good as a bristlenose, again IME) but adults are lousy (don't seem interested in it anymore as they switch to a more carnivorous diet). But as we all know, it's not just cichlids that are individuals. While most have calm enough bristlenoses that they even recommend them with discus (and I have read such before), given my experience with my crazy one, I don't even keep them with convicts or pikes anymore!!


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

dwarfpike said:


> I see pictures of a 4 line pictus and a spotted pictus cat ... but then both are common names, so may be called differant things in differant areas ... maybe.
> 
> *Gage* - wow, you've been lucky. IME, once CAE get about 5-6 inches they start to ignore algae, at least in my tanks. This happens to most people's CAE, as it's very common in print (ie various AFM and TFH articles, books, ect.). So while I certainly wouldn't generally say CAE don't eat algae overall, I would say juvies are pretty decent at it (though no where near as good as a bristlenose, again IME) but adults are lousy (don't seem interested in it anymore as they switch to a more carnivorous diet). But as we all know, it's not just cichlids that are individuals. While most have calm enough bristlenoses that they even recommend them with discus (and I have read such before), given my experience with my crazy one, I don't even keep them with convicts or pikes anymore!!


you are right, but it takes them about 3-4 years IME for them to mature enough to stop eating algae, as IME they grow really darn slow, before mine got eaten (i know...) it was 4 years old and about 3" whereas common plecos usually stop at 6" and thats takes them what, 6 months, a year if your lucky? LOL, but to say CAE dont eat algae is BS, as i have had a looooot of CAE in my fish keeping times and all of them ate algae, and the one that did make it for a long life stopped eating large amount of algae at around 6", but this took him all of about 3years to attain.

Otocinclus are the best but would never survive in your tank.


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