best food for pictus catfish?

[nemo1981]

I've read that pictus will accept commercially prepared foods, but they are primarily carnivorous.
What keeps them happy at meal time?

[africanman79]

Tetra bits will fill anything

Steve

The thing you need to watch with most catfish is whether they get enough food to build up good condition as sometimes their tankmates, particularly cichlids, don't let enough food get to the bottom for the catfish. As most catfish are nocturnal, it is a good idea to put some sinking pellets in the tank at night just as you turn off the tank lights so the catties can have a good feed while the other fish sleep.

Cheers, Doug

[Savage_roo]

I had a few over the years
I found sinking pellets to work best
Get the ones that siut the fishers size
a pellet with a protean Around 45 to 50% is good and blood worms they love them
A few squears will be fine they break up well and they tend to get their bit

[Ulysses048]

I have a large pictus in with two very large bala (silver) sharks and two large silver dollars.
I feed them all on a good quality flake - and (when I remember) throw in some algae pellets for the catfish after "lights out"
I have had my pictus for over a year - and he has grown considerably in that time.

[nemo1981]

do they clean up the algae wafer ok?
i might crack a couple up and drop some in to it to see how it handles it

[Ulysses048]

Yep - mine eats the wafers - and unlike most catfish he is active during the day - especially feed time ..... the only reason I put the wafers in at night is the other fish are so much bigger than him... and I am afraid he could be missing out on regular feeds.
I am sure you are going to enjoy your Pictus.

I also have in another tank a Black Lancer catfish - who "hides" all day and night inside a "castle" ornament - beautiful fish - but no-one ever sees him - that is why I love my pictus!!!!

[likesfish]

try using Sera catfish chips. They do very well on them.

[aquaholic99]

neon tetras

[likesfish]

neons have just got to be a bit of an expensive  feed?

[ashhhh]

[quote:aec4f20605]and unlike most catfish he is active during the day [/quote:aec4f20605]

hell yeah, I had a couple in my display and found them to be too skittish. They wouldnt sit still for one second and they did seem to quarrel between themselves a bit, but yeah back and forth, back and forth all day long...nice fish but they were freaking the other tankmates out abit so they gone now. They ate everything and anything that was offered.

[likesfish]

Freshwater prawns would be a good option.