Pictus Cat - Lone cat was ok for 6 months... now not eating?

[akb42]

We took in a pictus cat from a neighbor where it had outgrown her tank.

He is about 4" & was doing fine for about 6 months - swimming around a lot, staking out his favorite cave, going nuts at feeding time, no matter what was fed - flake, shrimp pellets, blood worms, brine shrimp, etc. He would hog the food & his belly would get huge! He seemed perfectly happy.

We didn't add more pictus to give him a school because we don't have that much room either (it's a 55 gallon) & we didn't want to overcrowd the tank (he seemed to need a ton of swimming room).

But now, he's much quieter - he hangs out in his one cave, and almost never comes out during the day - he will swim around at night, but seems to ignore feeding time all together. He doesn't appear skinny - but I really am not sure what he is eating at this point. It has been about 3 weeks now.

What is happening? He was fine for a long time - the tank mates really haven't changed much (burmese loaches, cory cats, tetras, cherry barbs, bushy nose plecos) & the water chemistry has remained consistent.

Does he need more pictus to feel comfortable? Would he actually starve himself? He was doing great for a long time. If he needs friends, he might have to find a new home, because I can't quite picture 3 of them in there together, let alone 4-6...

Any suggestions? Something I'm missing? Everyone else is eating/acting fine.

Sorry - forgot to add:
-ammonia: 0ppm
-nitrate: 10-20 ppm
-nitrite: 0 ppm
-pH: 6.8-6.9
-GH/KH -- unknown
-temp: 78-80 F
-lots of plants
-40% water change weekly
-fed every other day - flake, blood worms, brine shrimp, shrimp pellets (not all each feeding!)

[MatsP]

These fish certainly do best in a group. But it is also a fact that these fish are carnivores, and as such will not eat every day, but starving for three weeks seems a bit excessive in the opposite direction.

Are you sure your nitrate test kit is actually correct? These fish live in the main river channels, and even in dry season, the nitrate levels will be low to moderate, as opposed to fish that gets trapped in puddles where all sort of levels go through the roof. Nitrate tests have been reported to "go off" and show much lower than the actual values.

What other fish are in the tank, and have you added any new fish since the pictus cat was addded?
Edit: Forget that bit: I already noticed that the info is already there - too early in the morning, I think ... ;)

--
Mats

[Richard B]

Are all the cherry barbs still there?

[akb42]

Thank you so much for your replies!

Mats: I actually just purchased a new testing kit - the drops kind - since the strips can be a gigantic waste of time. I don't think it's off (unless it started that way?) since it's only a few weeks old.

Richard: I think you may have a point... I don't think he's going after other fish -- the only time I've seem him remotely pay attention to them is if they get too near his hiding place - then he'll chase them a few inches, then ignore them. We have only lost a few fish over the past couple months, and we've found the bodies, which wouldn't really implicate him... Could he really manage to eat something like a pristella tetra (2") or a cory cat (about 1-1.5")? Could he have developed a taste for fresh fish -- I know he was eating other things prior...

Makes me feel incredibly guilty - I know he isn't in the best situation, but the silly neighbor was saying she would flush the poor thing since we were her last option - now THAT wasn't playing fair!

[MatsP]

Richard: I think you may have a point... I don't think he's going after other fish -- the only time I've seem him remotely pay attention to them is if they get too near his hiding place - then he'll chase them a few inches, then ignore them. We have only lost a few fish over the past couple months, and we've found the bodies, which wouldn't really implicate him... Could he really manage to eat something like a pristella tetra (2") or a cory cat (about 1-1.5")? Could he have developed a taste for fresh fish -- I know he was eating other things prior...

No, I don't think corys are at risk (once they are more than 3/4" or so, at least), and 2" tetras would be safe too. Cherry barbs, however, stay very small, and will be in the risk-zone to a larger pictus cat.

Fish can certainly "develop a taste for something", but it's more like part of their natural behaviour to eat small fish.

Flushing fish in the toilet should NEVER be a choice...

--
Mats

[akb42]

Mats,

I really hope you know WE weren't going to flush the Pictus - our neighbor was going to... The same neighbor who leaves her poor dog outside in the middle of blizzards

I am pretty sure we all the cherry barbs accounted for -- we'll keep track of them more carefully from now on.

Is there some special food I can offer him to try to tempt him?

Also, if we were to find him new friends -- would he pay any attention to smaller pictus cats (say 1.5-2")? I've never seen larger ones for sale -- the ones at the pet shop near us are tiny! I realize they grow quickly, so maybe that wouldn't be a problem for long.

Thanks again for the help!

Amanda

[Richard B]

Pictus really love chopped earthworms (nightcrawlers) try them if you can.

Pictus are strange fish in that people see a tank full at a dealer & then wonder why they don't act the same when they take a few home - in huge shoals they are confident & active, in small groups they behave quite differently, but they certainly do fare bettere when there are more than one, (but not two!)

[Shane]

The behavior described, especially since there are no ill effects, sounds normal to me. I think it is a combination of 1) the fish is just finally "settled in" and 2) it is growing up and no longer showing juvenile behavior.
I would still keep an eye on him/her but I would not be overly worried.
-Shane