Pimelodus pictus-"Spotted catfish"

[sbanana]

Are these catfish predatory fish??

I've never dealt with one-had one, my sister has one in her tanks and her fancy tailed guppies keep 'Disappearing'.
She had two Loaches, the guppies, a 'Bala' shark, and this catfish in the tank.
She thought it was the Loaches eating the guppies, so she removed them.
She had no idea what she had, besides the guppies.

Looked up info but not sure its the catfish.

Its been told the bala will eat smaller fish, but its still small itself, so the guppies aren't very much smaller.....

[Northernguy]

They will eat smaller easy to catch fish.
Here is some info on them.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=276

[sbanana]

Thanks for the info....makes sense with the guppies....especially the fry.

[VoidParadigm]

Fry are easy targets for ALL fish, including other guppies.
So far as I know, if that catfish catches someone napping and can fit them in their mouths, heh, mealtime.

[Lab_Rat]

If it fits in it's mouth, the pictus will eat it. I have 4 in my 75g, and the smallest fish in there are my rosy barbs and EBJDs, all of which are about 2" and have deeper bodies.

[Pleco380]

Pictus like to school. They will be happier with friends. When mine attack a fish, they always go for the eyes then leave the fish there dead. Then the plecos scavenge off the dead fish.

[Sasquatch]

Spotted Pimelodus would definatly fall in the predatory catfish category, especially when they get bigger. They won't go out and actively hunt down the fish like a snakehead would do, but at night if one ventures too close ...