Pictus Ate A Tetra!

I can think of no other reason that my pictus catfish would be so bloated. One of the first times I've had smaller fish in with a pictus, it's usually my baby.

Obvious clue would be count the tetras, but there's 19/20 and they are too quick.

 

I wouldn't be surprised. Pictus get quite large and they will eat smaller fish. My sister had one in a 20gal years ago and it ate all but one of the cardinal tetras before she gave it away.

 

They have been known to eat smaller fish. So I wouldn't be surprised either.

 

Come on, man! You're a fisherman. You should know better. But seriously, I need to look these guys up if they stay relatively small.

 

Judging by your second picture, I feel like the tetras are too big for the pictus to eat. Sorry for the loss if that's the case though! Do you have another tank to move him to?

Come on, man! You're a fisherman. You should know better. But seriously, I need to look these guys up if they stay relatively small.

Pictus cats are awesome. I used to have 2 in a 20 long, and I just added 1 to my 75. They max out around 6 inches, give or take, in the aquarium.

 

Sounds cruel but I have no problem with him eating some of the tetras, cleaner than feeder fish

I just figured the tetras were too large already!

I've always had a pictus somewhere in my tanks, it's the only fish to survive living with a largemouth bass and chain pickerel

Probably the second toughest fish we have ever had behind a common pleco

We hard some hardheads in a tank once it was just disgusting

 

I had my room mates try and count all of them and we only counted 19!

 

Pictus can eat anything half their size, the tetras are narrow enough top to bottom to fit in their mouth sideways, I always have to watch the ones at work to avoid them eating CAE (which sometimes jump into the pictus tank) or small other species of catfish, i've had them do it several times before I could move the fish away from being lunch/dinner.

 

Alrighty.....would a pictus eat a snail?

My larger of the 2 nerite snails is missing out of it's shell.....