Pictus Catfish (Pimelodus pictus)

Pictus Catfish is a catfish variety that belongs to the Pimelodidae family. This fish variety hails from the Orinoco and Amazon River basins and is mostly developed as a pet in aquariums with freshwater. These fish varieties are energetic swimmers and, similar to many catfish, they are nighttime bottom feeders. These fish breeds come in two forms, such as a big-dotted form and a small-dotted form. Between the two forms, only the big-dotted form fish is usually seen in the aquarium business and it does not develop as big as the small-dotted form fish. These fish breeds are one among the most attractive and striking catfish in the freshwater fish pastime. In captivity, these Pictus Catfish breeds prefer a soft water environment.

Features

The Pictus Catfish is small size fish, with an elongated body and has a maximum body length of 4.3 inches. The fish is recognized for having very long barbells, which can extend up to the tail fin. This fish variety has a silver-colored body, with black-colored marks and lines. Due to the markings, the Pictus Catfish breed is also called as Polka Dot Pictus or Polka Dot Catfish. They boast pointed spines on their pectoral and dorsal fins, which makes distribution a complicated task, as the spines can penetrate plastic bags and get trapped in nets. There is comparatively modest sexual dimorphism, with female breeds being somewhat larger than male breeds. Similar to several catfish, The Pictus Catfish has a forked tail and a downturned mouth.

Diet

The Pictus Catfish breeds are omnivorous, and they feed on beef heart, bloodworms, insects, prepared fish foods and vegetables. These fish will also feed on extremely small fish like Neon Tetras, according to their body size. In spite of this, these fish breeds are usually non-violent and will not hurt the other fish excessively large for them to consume.

The average lifespan of the Pictus Catfish breed ranges from 4 years to 8 years.