My pictus catfish not eating i think and freaks out at night and brothers my rainbow

GoldenTree

Hey guys i have a prob i need to know how to feed my pictus i just drop sinking shrim pellets andhe does not notice and he ate a little when i fed him at night and im not sure if im doing this right he is in a 10gal wint 3 baby corys and 1 Rainbow Shark they like it when the pellets break up and they nibble on it all day so i would love some help

sidluckman

Oye. Rainbow sharks can be brutal, Pictus are happy but speedy greedy feeders and ready eaters of anything they can fit in their big old whiskery maw, and the poor little cory cats: kiddo, you barely have room for the three of them!

My advice is to rehome the pictus and the shark: there is nowhere near enough space for either of these fish to mature and to expend their boisterous (and that's putting it nicely) energy. These fish are sort of impossible in tanks less than 55 gallons or more, mostly owing to their attitude, rather than their size.

You have also selected five substrate-oriented fish and locked them in a ten gallon glass box. They will necessarily be all the more belligerent because they can't get out of each others' way! This is like extreme cage fighting: five may go in, but I'll bet only one will come out.

Edit: A Pictus Cat that won't eat piggishly is already gorged or ill. These fish should be fed, and then allowed to fast a couple days a week like many predatory species. Sometimes that silver tummy looks like an old silk throw pillow ready to burst at the seams. And this is another reason they are not good community fish: you cannot fast them in a tank containing cories and sharks, which must eat daily. Pictus eat everything in sight. I am surprised the rest of your fish haven't starved. In any case, it needs to come out of there for good. Isolate it and let it fast for a day or so and see if it will eat then. Do not put it back in this tank. If it still refuses food, there may be something more sinister than gluttony at work, but you should assess that issue as it arises. Cats are tough to treat with medications and at this point I have no clue what disease (or medication) we may be talking about.

GoldenTree

Thanks for the info I will not feed as much now at the moment i have to keep it in this tanks and i have moved some things but not much because i heard they get shocked easy and they barly see each other or borther each other also the corys are the the ones that eat WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to much the finished the food i put in for my cat fish that he did not eat and the rainbow helped a little. The rainbow can do well in small spaces i had a 1.5 gallon when i was just starting and he was fine in it for a year then i got a bigger one. I knew nothing and my mom does not listen to me at all so he and anouther rainbow lived in it and one died the week before i got the tank. and the corys are fine they just cuddle anywhere. I know it is not right to keep them in this but i have no where elce to put them and i do not want to return them because at the store the corys had a bigger tanks than the pictus in a small 5 gal with 3 more and a bunch of angle fish

sidluckman

Never use the holding tanks at a fish store as an indication of how to stock your own tank. The fish sold there are generally juveniles with much growing to do. Also, the ideal situation is for all the fish at the store to get sold quickly and placed in tanks of adequate size. An inch of fish per gallon. If your cory cats are each two inches long and the other two are three or four inches long, you have overstocked your tank already. But even if the fish are small now, the cory cats should each get to be 3 inches and the Pictus can get to be 9 inches long. The shark can get upward of six inches, but its aggression means it needs more SPACE than it's size would indicate. You already need a 55 gallon tank, just to be sure these guys can reach their potential.

The size of the Redtail Shark and the Pictus are not the issue. It is their level of aggression. The Pictus cat's extreme competition for food makes it almost impossible to make sure others will eat enough. I suspect you are feeding way too much if there is flake food lying around on the substrate.

I am at a loss. I strongly feel that this pictus cat will soon be dead and then the Redtail shark will turn its attention on your cory cats. If you take these fish back, they can be sold to someone with adequate space. They won't be living in the small tanks you described. If you leave them where they are, they will not grow as they should. At least they would have a chance if you took them back.

My suspicion is that the water quality is poor, owing to over feeding and too many fish for this tank. Pictus cats need very clean water low in nitrates, so you must do partial water changes once or twice a week to siphon out the uneaten food. I would take some water in to your Fish store and ask them to run a nitrate test.

jaysee

I agree that the tank is poorly stocked. None of those fish belong in such a small aquarium. I like the cage fighting analogy.

I fast all my fish regularly - fish do not need to eat everyday. Also, it takes a long time for a fish to starve to death, and that's without ANY food being fed. It takes even longer to die of malnutrition, which would be the case for a fish not getting enough to eat.

GoldenTree

I got the feeding under control now, and I am thinking I will return them when they get bigger. They really stoped chasing each other, and are fine being beside each other but there is the odd time where the pictus gets hyper and anoys the rainbow. I think I heard the pictus growl but im not sure I really got scared that someone was going to kill me. From were I look at it they really seem happy.

GoldenTree

Also they all eat way to much and i have the food alound under control

sidluckman

Aggression will get increasingly intense and may end in death of one or both. I would rehome them asap. They will not grow appreciably in this tank, so there is no point in waiting.

Feeding less food is good in part, but can the cory cats really get all they need, or is the pictus taking it all? I am still not in agreement with your plan, sorry to say.

GoldenTree

Thanks. I have saw more agression today,that concerned me, but the pictus is to smart for the rainbow. He envades him by when the rainbow chases him he turns at the right time and the rainbow hits his head due to poor reaction time and gives up. Then the pictus will go back to the same rutine and anoy him again. There is also a time when the pictus rules the tank, and that is at night when the lights go out. He swims without a care in the world and loves it also if there is any leftover food he will eat it.I have tryed the fasting idea and it worked well sort of, it is what you think a success is.Is it being just hungry enough or is it starving. Well the whole tank was starving, and I mean starving. Even the corys came out looking for food.When I feed them they looked happy and the pictus went crazy swimming around a prop and nibbling on some food. the corys were chowing down and still are as we speak (or as im typing away) and the rainbow did nothing while they ate I guess he will eat in the early morring. Everything is looking ok, but i'm really considering selling it back to the fish store i just do not want to I will never give up my rainbow my first pet and I have had him for a year. I really just do not want to give him away.Thanks for you help.