''Pimelodus pictus'', also known as the pictus cat or pictus catfish, is a small ( TL) member of the catfish family

Pimelodidae The Pimelodidae, commonly known as the long-whiskered catfishes, are a family of catfishes ( order Siluriformes). Taxonomy The family Pimelodidae has undergone much revision. Currently, it contains about 30 genera and about 90 recognized and kn ...

, native to the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...

and Orinoco river basins and commonly kept as a pet in

freshwater aquarium A freshwater aquarium is a receptacle that holds one or more freshwater aquatic organisms for decorative, pet-keeping, or research purposes. Modern aquariums are most often made from transparent glass or acrylic glass. Typical inhabitants inclu ...

s. Pictus catfish are sometimes mislabeled as ''Angelicus cats'' in the aquarium trade, but the latter name actually refers to an unrelated African catfish, the mochokid '' Synodontis angelica''. ''Pimelodus pictus'' should not be confused with ''

Leiarius ''Leiarius'' is a genus of long-whiskered catfishes native to South America. Most of the genus' species are found in the aquarium hobby as ornamental fish. Species There are currently four recognized species in this genus: * '' Leiarius arekaim ...

pictus'', a much larger (60 cm) pimelodid.

Details

''Pimelodus pictus'', like other members of the Pimelodidae, are known for having extremely long barbels. These can extend all the way to the caudal fin. The fish are silver-colored with black spots and stripes. They have sharp spines on their dorsal and pectoral fins, which makes shipping a difficult task, since the spines can pierce plastic bags and get caught in nets. There is relatively little

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

, with females being slightly larger than males. Like many catfish, ''P. pictus'' has a downturned mouth and a forked tail. These fish are active swimmers and, like many catfish, nocturnal

bottom feeder A bottom feeder is an aquatic animal that feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water. Biologists often use the terms ''benthos''—particularly for invertebrates such as shellfish, crabs, crayfish, sea anemones, starfish, snails, bristlewo ...

s. Two forms are known; a large-spotted form and a small-spotted form. Of the two, only the large-spotted form is commonly seen in the aquarium trade; it does not grow as large as the small-spotted form. In captivity, these fish prefer soft water and are

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

; pictus cats eat bloodworms,

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

heart,

insects Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of j ...

vegetables Vegetables are parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. The original meaning is still commonly used and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including the flowers, fruits, stems ...

, and prepared fish foods. They will also eat very small fish such as

neon tetra The neon tetra (''Paracheirodon innesi'') is a Freshwater fish of the characin family (family Characidae) of order Characiformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to blackwater and clearwater streams in the Amazon basin of Sout ...

s, depending on the size of the catfish. Despite this, they are generally non-aggressive and will not harm fish too large for them to eat. A larger tank is required as these fish are agile and fast swimmers. They are also non-territorial and can be kept with other ''P. pictus''. Besides the mildly venomous sting imparted by the dorsal spine, they are generally harmless to humans. In the wild, ''Pimelodus pictus'' has an estimated average

trophic level The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food web. A food chain is a succession of organisms that eat other organisms and may, in turn, be eaten themselves. The trophic level of an organism is the number of steps it ...

of 3.19.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2635031 Pimelodidae Freshwater fish of Brazil Freshwater fish of Colombia Freshwater fish of Peru Fish of Venezuela Fish of the Amazon basin Fish described in 1876 Taxa named by Franz Steindachner