• Common Name: Pictus catfish, Pictus cat.
• Scientific name: Pimelodus pictus.
• Adult Size: 5 to 6 inches tall.
• Life expectancy: 4 to 8 years.

Pictus catfish is a nocturnal fish native to South America. They are found in the basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers but have been kept in aquariums for several generations.

Pictus catfish has a smooth silver body with black spots. Like other catfish species, they do not have any external scales. They have common thorns, used to scoop food deep into the substrate, and sharp spines on the pectoral and dorsal fin.

Take care when handling these fish to avoid pricking the spines. These fish are often stuck in nets, so an open container is recommended for handling these fish.

If your hand is pierced by a catfish spine, clean it carefully and do not return your hand to the tank water. Fish healer disease can occur if these wounds are not treated carefully.

If you have any family members with weak immune systems, including young children and the elderly, there is also a risk of fungi spp. Infection, known as “fish tuberculosis”, is associated with fish-related infections.

Being a calm and nocturnal fish, Pictus catfish can be kept with many different species, provided they are not very aggressive during the day while Pictus catfish are hiding. You can keep more than one Pictus catfish in a tank, just keep in mind the large tank size requirements.

When choosing suitable tank mates for peaceful community aquariums, make sure of their water quality parameters, specifically pH, kH, and temperature, everyone agrees.

The most important part of the Pictus catfish habitat is its quiet place to rest during the day. Don’t expect to see Pictus catfish much during the day unless you use dim and mute lighting on your tank.

During the day, make sure you have a cave or log of Pictus catfish to hide in. If you have Pictus catfish, nocturnal species, or bottom feeders, such as Plecostomous spp. Make sure you have enough hiding places for everyone.

Pictus catfish is a carnivore and will easily adapt to a grain diet. Since they are nocturnal fish, be sure to leave some food for them when the tank lighting is off.

In dimly lit tanks, you may see your fish go out to eat with the rest of the tank’s inhabitants. You are welcome to supplement your Pictus catfish with both meat and vegetables.

Don’t expect these species to be cleaned up after the other fish. Although they are bottom-feeding and most likely eating some hangovers, they are not their primary diet and will often require separate feeding due to their nocturnal nature.

In the wild, you’ll find that Pictus Catfish are scavengers and will eat pretty much anything they can find. They are carnivores by nature, so they eat meat and plant matter.

In the warm waters of South America, they will be found eating insects (dragonfly larvae), snails, small fish, and algae.

This makes keeping and feeding catfish extremely easy. They’ll pretty much wear out everything you put in the tub.

As always, the core of your catfish diet should be high-quality pellets. You’ll remember in the behavior section that we said that catfish spend long periods of their time in hidden areas near the bottom of the tank. For this reason, be sure to use soaked pellets. To provide them with some variety, you can always use food such as:

• Fresh foods (brine shrimp and heart-shaped beef).
• Frozen foods (bloodworms and black worms).
• Vegetables.

They will also spend periods of time searching for food in the substrate of your aquarium, so you can let any algae grow because your Pictus will eat them.

As a general rule, they will ignore most of the live foods that live at the top of the dwelling because they don’t want to get away from the bottom of the tank.

Finally, it must be repeated that they have a great appetite. You must make sure to keep it full to prevent the aggressive behavior of small fish in the tank. Additionally, since it produces a lot of waste, you must ensure that water changes are made at least every two weeks (25%).

Unfortunately, the Pictus catfish does not have any external sexual characteristics. With individuals of the same age and care, females may be larger than males.

Breeding the Pictus catfish is not easy. Many advanced amateurs struggle to provide a suitable habitat for these fish to lay their eggs. A very large aquarium is recommended and using a group of fish will definitely increase your chances. Always ensure that all new breeding fish are properly isolated, especially if they come from different sources.

As with any indoor aquarium, it is recommended to provide a breeding or spawning tank separate from the home tank in order to manipulate the chemistry of the water and provide a safe environment for any offspring.

The post Pictus Catfish 101 : Size,Food, breeding & more appeared first on Cory Cat Fish.

Kuhli loach is a special kind of small freshwater fish, which is famous for its long lifetime, easy feeding, and amazing look.

You will feel so happy and busy if you let this fish live with you because it can’t live alone, it must be with a small group of the same species, so you will never feel alone and so as the fish too.

We will tell you everything you want to know about this amazing fish in our guide today.

We can’t say that this fish can live with you for around 10 years unless you take care of it correctly.

This fish is famous for its long life term, and you can make it live with you for a long time if you treat it right, and make some small things for it.

Such as looking after the water quality, making its tank clean all the time, offering good and healthy foods for it

If you don’t do one of these small things, then you will make its lifespan very short.

You will notice that kuhli loach can’t be more than 5 inches, here is when it reaches the full-grown stage of its life.

When you make it live with you in the aquarium, you will find that it can only grow to between 3-4 inches, which is perfect.

First, you need to know that the Kuhli Loach is one of the most famous omnivorous fishes in the world.

Therefore, you will find that it can only eat small crustaceans, larvae, besides some plant material found on the river bed.

You can also offer some vegetables, fish flakes, pellets, frozen or live food for this fish, and you will notice that it will love it so much.

You have to know that Kuhli loach prefers a meat-based diet, so make sure that you give it a balanced diet.

If you decide to feed these fishes some flakes and pellets, then you make the right choice because they are perfect for them.

You will notice that the flakes can easily sink down to the substrate, which makes it easy for the fishes to eat them.

You have to know that Kuhli loach can’t search for its food correctly, it will wait until the food sinks from the water above, then search for it to eat.

Therefore, you need to make the food reachable for them as much as you can and make sure that they eat all of it.

If you want to treat this fish perfectly, then you need to feed it several times per day.

You can feed it only as much as it can eat in 2-3 minutes, so feel free to put the foods you want.

When it comes to Kuhli loach breeding, you will find that this is a very hard challenge for you, but it is not impossible at all.

You can make it done if you set up a breeding tank with some specific parameters.

We will tell you the most important parameters in the following points in order to make it easy for you.

• You must keep the water levels low as much as you can with very dim light.
• You have to provide dense vegetation for the females because this is where they will lay their eggs.
• The dense vegetation will always help the females to promote spawning.
• You should make the water hardness low with a pH of 6.5.
• Once your fish feels comfortable in your aquarium, you will find that its breeding is so easy.
• If you want to increase the chances of spawning occurring, then you need to keep the fishes in a community of their own species.
• You must offer plenty of food because it will encourage spawning, always look for live foods, they are the best for this stage.
• You have to know that this fish will reach sexual maturity at 2 years old, so you should be patient with your fish as much as you can.
• You will notice that the eggs hatch approximately 24 hours later, so you have to know what to feed the fry, it can only eat infusoria or brine shrimp, you can also present some commercially prepared fry food, which can be suitable as its first food.

It might be hard for beginners to take care of this fish because it always needs special care in order to prevent it from suffering from some serious diseases and parasitic infection.

The reason why this fish needs special care is that it doesn’t have hard scales, which can protect it from the effects of bacteria and fungi.

Therefore, it is easy to see that the diseases can easily get into its body.

Before having this fish, you have to know that this fish is very sensitive even to the changes in the water, so be careful about this point.

Thus, in order to introduce a new Kuhli loach into your aquarium, you must be very careful about water quality and temperature.

As we mentioned before, the water conditions must be perfect for this fish all the time because this is how you can make your fish feel comfortable and away from diseases.

If you want to make the water suitable for this fish, you must know that it lives in tropical slow-moving rivers, so you have to make the water in your aquarium just like the rivers.

It is highly recommended to make the temperature warm, it is perfect to be between 73 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit.

You need to know that the pH balance has to be between 5.5 and 6.5, and the water should have a hardness rating of no more than 5.0 dGH.

If you want to make your tank perfect for your new fish, then you need to choose the one that sizes only 15 gallons.

This tank will suit only one fish, but if you want to have more than one, then you need to add 3 to 5 gallons for each additional fish.

For example, if you want to have 2 fishes, then you will need a tank that sizes from18 to 20 gallons.

Now you know almost everything related to Kuhli loach fish, so we can say that you are ready to have your own.

The post Kuhli loach feeding, breeding & more appeared first on Cory Cat Fish.

You can also search for this fish by many different names, such as Bushynose Catfish, Common Bristlenose Catfish, the , and Bristlenose Catfish.

We are here with you today to make you have a quick look at this amazing fish and know more about it.

First, you have to know that this fish spends almost all its time in the bottom of the stream, so it survives mostly on plant-based materials.

Sometimes, you will find it eats algae or tiny insect larvae, so all these foods will suit this amazing fish.

In case you don’t have a lot of natural algae in your tank, then you can give this fish some algae wafers.

It is also important to feed this fish protein-based food, such as bloodworms including herbivores.

You can also give this fish some natural foods, such as vegetables like peas, cucumbers, zucchini, and carrots.

If you decided to give the fish these natural foods, then you have to feed it slowly beside the other recommended foods.

Once you put some vegetables for your fishes, you must remove the remaining tiny pieces of this food after a few hours in order to prevent your tank from becoming a mess.

It is important to make sure that you feed this fish once or twice a day, and if you find it starts to eat the plants, it means that you don’t feed it enough.

You can also know if your fish eats well or not by its color, if it has a good coloration, it means that you gave it all the nutritional needs.

This fish is one of the easiest fishes to breed at home because you will find that its breeding cycle goes so easy and quickly.

You won’t need anything to do to breed this fish, you will find that the male and female fishes go to their hiding place, and they will generally breed there.

That is why you must make sure that this place is clean and has plenty of space for them to do their thing.

You will notice that this fish thinks that the rainy season is their perfect time to start breeding, so you need to make their place the way they want to encourage them.

You will be so lucky if you have this amazing fish in your tank because it can live for more than 5 years, which is perfect for almost all the fish keepers.

Although some fish species are susceptible to unique diseases, you will be surprised when you know that this case is not right with the Bristlenose.

This fish isn’t known to suffer from major health issues, so it is rare to see this fish suffers from any common fish diseases, which is something really great for fish keepers.

You will always find that it is easy to care for this peaceful fish, which can live with you for a very long time without making any problems for you.

Therefore, we can say that providing good care for this fish will be relatively easy for you even if you are a beginner in the fish world.

This fish needs a special water temperature, which must be between 60 and 80 degrees F, and the pH should be in the 6.5 – 7.5 range, and the water hardness has to be 6 to 10 KH.

It is popular that the adult bristlenose pleco fish can handle fluctuations in water quality very well, so it will be good for you to have this adult fish if you don’t have experience in fishes.

If you have young fishes, then you have to know that they will likely face some health problems when the pH balance gets off.

The tank size depends on the number of fishes in your place, so we can say that the minimum tank size, which will be good for you almost all the time, is 25 gallons.

You can change the tank and bring one bigger if you will get more fishes.

You have to make sure that the bottom of the tank is big enough for fishes because they spend most of their time there.

It is important to pay attention to the tank for this fish because it is usually living in streams and rivers in South America, so it will always need freshwater with a well-aerated current.

Therefore, it is better to make sure that the tank water is well oxygenated, and it has a moderate water flow.

You should also know that this is a nocturnal fish, so it will always need a dark place to hide and rest during the day, you have to make this places very comfortable in the tank.

You can make these dark places perfect for this fish by adding some plants, driftwood, and build caves.

You have to pay attention to the under-gravel water system because it can help you to ensure that the tank remains highly oxygenated, it will also maintain water conditions.

It is also remarkable to have a filter in your tank, and it is preferable to be a canister filter.

This fish can live under any condition; all it needs is a clean place with enough water, so you will find that the aquarium doesn’t need much care.

All you need to do is to make it clean, and you will find that it needs relatively low maintenance.

You will also find that this fish will help you reduce the amount of algae in your tank, so it will be a perfect fish for you.

It will be good for this fish to add some driftwood and plants into its tank because they are excellent for algae growth

They will also be perfect for the fish in its hidden places, where it can go when it is morning time.

The best live plants for this fish will be hornwort and java moss, so if you want to choose some perfect plants for this fish, you can choose the past live plants.

Important note: if you notice that this fish tries to reach the surface, it means that it can’t find enough oxygen in the bottom or there are too much ammonia and nitrates in the water.

The post Bristlenose pleco(Ancistrus): care ,breeding & more appeared first on Cory Cat Fish.

Therefore, if you are looking for a small and peaceful fish, which always tries to stay out of the way, then this fish will be your perfect choice, and we will tell you why in our article today.

First, you have to understand what this fish is; it is one of the most famous herbivores fishes, which can restrict what you can give them.

The best food for it all the time is algae because it is the main food for it even in the wild, so it will be good to add one of them daily in mid quantities.

Besides the algae, you can still add some other food to this fish, such as green vegetables like lettuce, spinach, and zucchini.

You can drop a small piece or two for the fish a couple of times a week, but you have to make sure that the foods sink to the bottom of the aquarium.

It is very important to go back to the tank after 24 hours in order to remove any uneaten pieces from it.

Be careful not to overfeed your fishes whether with vegetables or algae because it could make them die or suffer from many diseases.

At the beginning of time, you will feel that it is difficult for this fish to breed in the home aquarium, but by the time you will find that it can live and breed easily.

You will find that the male and female fish keep smell each other like dogs, then the female will find her way on the surface, and once the male sees her doing this, he will intertwine his body with hers.

Now the male will fertilize her eggs, then she will be able to lay her eggs all around the tank.

You will easily know which eggs are good when you see them all are transparent with a bit of dark inside.

You will know the bad eggs when you find them are fluffy white, and you must get rid of these bad eggs.

If you decided to have this fish in your place, then you need to know that it can only live for 3 or 5 years only.

This will happen if you offer them a good living condition, a clean tank, and healthy foods.

You have to know that this fish doesn’t need many things because it is a peaceful and calm fish, which can tolerate a range of conditions.

You will feel so lucky if you have this fish because it isn’t prone to any particular diseases, it only suffers from some parasitic and fungal problems, which ate popular and common among freshwater fish, such as Ich.

There are some symptoms that can show on your fish, which will tell you that it doesn’t feel so well, such as loss of appetite, an increased respiration rate, and inactivity.

All the past symptoms are popular signs of disease, which probably happen because of an unclean tank or poor diet.

Once you find out that there is a sick fish in the tank, you must separate it from the rest of the fishes to protect them all.

Otocinclus catfish needs special care because it is a sensitive type, which can die if you don’t take good care of it.

Therefore, if you want to keep this fish with you for a long time, then you need to clean its aquarium daily and feed it healthy foods.

As we said before, this fish eats algae almost all the time, and it can leave some dirt in the tank, so you must clean it well because changing water won’t completely clean all the algae you see.

It is important to provide warm water, which can slowly moving in the tank and will be well-oxygenated.

The suitable water temperature for this fish is 70°F – 78°F (21°C – 26°C), and the water hardness must be 6° to 15° dH.

This fish doesn’t need a very large tank like other freshwater species, it will only need a tank that sizes 20 gallons or larger.

It will be larger than 20 gallons if you will have a group of fishes.

If you want to create a suitable aquarium for this fish, then you need to make sure that there is a soft and sandy substrate below the water.

You must make sure that the water is clean all the time by changing it daily, and make sure that there are no foods in the tank after 24 hours of feeding the fishes.

You can add some plants to the aquarium, but don’t add a lot of them because they could prevent the light from getting to the fishes.

The best plants for this fish will be Staurogyne repens, which can be used to provide more shelter for the fishes especially if they are more than 3 fishes in one place.

You can also try to add some plants at the bottom of the tank because fishes spent almost all their time there.

This fish is famous for its peaceful behavior, it is simply a small little fish, which loves to stay out of the way.

You will also notice that it is easy for larger fishes to eat these fishes because of their peaceful behavior.

You will also find that they are afraid all the time, and when they get scared, they always dart across the tank, and this will be a problem for you when you try to catch them in a net.

We wish you could reach all the information you wanted to know about Otocinclus catfish, and we hope that we could help you know more about this amazing fish.

Related Articles:
Striped raphael catfish: Feeding, diseases & more

The post Otocinclus catfish: Breeding, Feeding & more appeared first on Cory Cat Fish.

They also have many amazing facts about them, which make them one of the best corydoras fishes in the world, and we are here for you today to tell you everything you want to know about them.

There are some important things you have to know about salt before buying them, and you will know how to take care of them and treat them right.

• They are well-adapted to aquarium life.
• They have great social behavior because you will find that they are very peaceful, and they only require a school of 6 or more to thrive.
• You need also to know that their average adult size is 1.4 inches (3.5 cm), but the average purchase size is 1/2 inch (1.3 cm).
• You will also find that you can take care of them in a similar way to many other Corydoras species.

You will never face any problem with feeding salt and pepper corydoras at all because they are actually eat everything, whether dry or frozen foods such as bloodworms and Tubifex.

They can also eat adult dwarf shrimp fry, but the only adult, and you will also find that they can eat their food on the aquarium floor, so you have to make sure that this floor is comprised of sand or smooth gravel.

You have to know that you can’t use a coarse substrate because it can damage their delicate barbells and underbelly.

This type of fish is also famous for its capability to live in most tropical freshwater conditions, but you have to make sure that you perform all the standard regular maintenance.

Salt and pepper catfish (Corydoras habrosus)  are one of the most peaceful schooling fish in the world, and they don’t need a guarder, and they are famous because they are brood hider.

They are generally safe to keep, and you will find that they deposit eggs in plants, which are near to the substrate, specifically on the underside of the leaves, and they rarely placed them on top.

The spawning male does his best to keep the female safe from other males attempting to spawn with her, that is the way he can protect her.

You will also notice that Salt and pepper corydoras are compatible with almost all the nano aquarium animals.

The reproduction of salt and pepper corydoras needs special care like all the other fishes,  first of all, you have to know that it is better to have two or more males for every single female.

Once you notice that the females are visibly full of eggs, now you have to perform a large (50-70%) water change with soft and cool water.

You will also need to increase oxygenation and flow in the tank, then you will need to repeat all the past steps daily until the fish spawn.

You have to be ready to see the eggs when they are deposited on the aquarium glass, within sunken spawning mops, or among fine-leaved vegetation.

Now you will have to remove all the eggs when the spawning is complete, and you can gently remove them with a finger.

It is recommended to add a few drops of methylene blue, or you can use an alder cone or two to prevent the eggs from developing fungus.

Salt and pepper corydoras can live for 2 to 3 years, and that is one of the best things about them because many fishes can’t live for more than 2 years.

Although salt and pepper cory can live in many conditions, it will always need specific water temperature, which has to be 77°F – 80°F (25°C – 27°C), and the water hardness is 2° to 25° dH.

Therefore, you have to make sure that you can control the water temperature for this fish in order to create a suitable environment for it.

There is a minimum tank size that you should know in order to make a suitable size for the fish, and the best tank size will be 8 gallons for a group of 6 fishes.

It is better to manage the tank size correctly and make sure that it is not so small or so large for the fishes because it won’t be comfortable for them at all.

The aquarium size for salt and pepper corydoras must have special dimensions, which are 60 ∗ 30 cm, this is the best-recommended dimensions for this fish because it is unsuitable for modern ‘nano’ aquaria.

When you search for an aquarium, it is better to think about a filter because it has a water flow between 4-5 times the volume of the aquarium.

If you want to find the best filter for your aquarium, then we recommend a volume of 54 liters, and you will find that it is perfect for these species.

• You have to be very careful when you are handling these fishes because they have dangerous stiffened pectoral-fin spines, which are capable of piercing human skin, and their sting is very painful.
• The color pattern of these fishes is variable, and you will notice that they are different in terms of the number and distribution of dark markings on their body.
• You may not know that the genus Corydoras considered one of the largest catfish groups, and it currently contains more than 150 valid and different species.

We hope that we gave you all the information you want to know about salt and pepper cory, and we would like to hear your opinion about these amazing species and tell us what is the best thing you like about them and tell us why.

The post Salt and pepper corydoras: Care, breeding, Lifespan, Feeding & More appeared first on Cory Cat Fish.