Should I buy it?
Pictus catfish
Pimelodus pictus
Also known as: pictus cat
A long-whiskered predatory catfish at 14 cm that eats any fish small enough to fit in its mouth. Often sold alongside tetras it will consume overnight.
Pictus catfish tank mates · 250L tank size hub
peaceful · intermediate care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: caution
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Large community tanks 250L or more with fish all over 10 cm, territory structure, and a group of two or three.
Avoid if: You keep nano tetras, shrimp, or any fish under 8 cm.
Common mistakeAdding pictus catfish to a neon or ember community because they look peaceful by day is how keepers invent vanishing tetras. Pictus hunt at night; small fish disappear with no daytime chase to blame. Keep them with robust, similar-sized company in a large tank — not as “active cories” for a nano school.
Top things that go wrong
- Mouth gap vs tiny tank mates. May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
- Shrimp & snails. Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Myth: pictus catfish stay small and peaceful forever in planted community tanks. Reality: they are fast nocturnal hunters that grow large, need soft sand, and will eat tiny fish at night — size and predation risk matter more than the cute juvenile look at the shop.
- 2.Kept as a 5 cm 'scavenger' in a 60L until the adult eats the neons and embers.
- 3.A solo pictus in a small tank. They hide all day without three or more of their own kind.
- 4.Barbels and scaleless skin react badly to copper and most strong meds. Use smooth substrate. Cover at night. Pictus startle and jump from open-topped tanks.
About this species
Pictus catfish are nocturnally active pimelodids that grow to 14 cm in a year and outpace the 100L starter tanks they get sold into. Need a group of three or more in a long well-aerated 250L. Adults will eat any bite-sized neon, ember, or shrimp in the tank.
- Cuckoo / petricola catfish200L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Twig / whiptail catfish150L min · same fish family
- Emerald catfish (Brochis)120L min · same fish family
- Bronze corydoras100L min · same fish family
- Sterba's Corydoras100L min · same fish family
- Upside-down Catfish100L min · same fish family
- Adolfoi cory80L min · same fish family
- Glass Catfish80L min · same fish family
- African freshwater butterflyfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Boesemani Rainbowfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Congo Tetraalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Cuckoo / petricola catfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Denison's / red-line torpedo barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Dojo / weather loachalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Ropefish / reed fish tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease22
- Peacefulness58
- Community fit30
- Small-tank fit83
- Hardiness54
- Energy86
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Match temperature and pH overlap with every tank mate, then verify adult size and group rules on pair pages — Fishori is biased toward boring, survivable plans.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Pictus catfish
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Bala / silver shark, Congo Tetra, Giant danio. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Boesemani Rainbowfish, Corydoras Catfish. Avoid (RISKY): Chili Rasbora, Ember Tetra, Guppy, Neon Tetra. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Pictus catfish + Bala / silver shark
Behaviour and temperament
Pictus catfish are peaceful toward fish they cannot eat and dangerous toward nano dither after dark. They want a group of their own and a long footprint with soft substrate. Stress shows as frantic glass swimming when kept alone in a bright, bare tank without cover.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: May eat tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth — plan adult sizes, not shop sizes.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Groups rest under cover by day and patrol the bottom after lights soften.
- Whisker contact and midwater dashes are normal Synodontis-style energy.
- A lone pictus pacing all day usually needs more of its own kind and more cover.
- Missing tags after lights-out means predation, not a filter intake mystery.
- Not midwater bullies by day; night predation is the real risk to small fish.
- In-group competition at sinking food is normal in a proper school.
- Remove nano tetras and shrimp the first week counts drop overnight.
- Rehome pictus if the tank cannot give ~250L-class room and robust neighbours.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
soft
Diet
carnivore
Pictus catfish are nocturnal carnivores that work the bottom after lights soften. Sinking carnivore pellets and frozen foods matter; wafers dumped for algae eaters will not feed them if midwater fish clear everything first. Feed after lights-out so the group actually reaches the food.
Shrimp & snails
Not shrimp-safe — adults, fry, or both get eaten.
Schooling species — buy 5+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 22 to 28 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 3 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 250L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 5 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 22–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No known fin-nippers paired with long-finned fish unless you accept documented risk.
- No tank mates small enough to fit the adult mouth gap for this species.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 250L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 1000L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 22–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Pictus catfish does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 22–28°C and pH 6–7.5:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Pimelodus pictus
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Pimelodus pictus
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Pimelodus pictus
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Common questions about Pictus catfish
- How big do Pictus catfish get?
- Pictus catfish adults run about 12–15 cm. In home tanks they usually land near 14 cm — plan space and filtration for that, not the juvenile in the shop bag.
- What size tank does Pictus catfish need?
- 250L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 300L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Pictus catfish aggressive?
- Pictus catfish are peaceful toward fish they cannot eat and dangerous toward nano dither after dark. They want a group of their own and a long footprint with soft substrate. Stress shows as frantic glass swimming when kept alone in a bright, bare tank without cover.
- Do Pictus catfish need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 5+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Pictus catfish?
- Adding pictus catfish to a neon or ember community because they look peaceful by day is how keepers invent vanishing tetras. Pictus hunt at night; small fish disappear with no daytime chase to blame. Keep them with robust, similar-sized company in a large tank — not as “active cories” for a nano school.
- What fish can live with Pictus catfish?
- The Pictus catfish profile lists Bala / silver shark, Congo Tetra, Giant danio among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Boesemani Rainbowfish, Corydoras Catfish are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid Chili Rasbora, Ember Tetra, Guppy, Neon Tetra (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.