Pictus Catfish Tank Mates

• Banjo Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 15 cm · Medium care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Bearded Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–24 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
  • Keep Bearded Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Black Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 23–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Bolivian Ram✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Bristlenose Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Easy care · 23–30 °C (73–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Burmese Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Clown Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Denison Barb✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 15 cm · Medium care · 18–25 °C (64–77 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–25 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Denison Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Giant Glass Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 15 cm · Medium care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
• Giant Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 24–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Leopard Frog Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 25–27 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Marbled Hoplo✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 14 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Medusa Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 26–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Moonlight Gourami✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 15 cm · Easy care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 25–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
• Porthole Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Rubber Lip Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Easy care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Snowball Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 16 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Spotted Rubbernose Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Spotted Talking Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 15 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Striped Eel Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–27 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Upside-down Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Zebra Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 23–26 °C (73–79 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Zebra Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Hard care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Both favour the bottom of the tank — offer enough cover so they aren't always in each other's space.
• Banded Gourami⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 12 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Blue Gourami⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 13 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Boesemani Rainbowfish⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 11 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Expect Pictus Catfish to harass Boesemani Rainbowfish at times; give dense cover and watch them at feeding.
  • Keep Boesemani Rainbowfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Calvus Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 14 cm · Medium care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
  • Different pH ranges (6–7.5 vs 7.8–9); doable if you sit in the shared band, but not ideal long-term.
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Cupid Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 12 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Cupid Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Giant Betta⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Giant Betta are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add giant betta in a group to spread the pressure.
• Golden Vampire Pleco⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 11 cm · Medium care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Golden Vampire Pleco can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Mascara Barb⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 20–25 °C (68–77 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Mascara Barb — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Keep Mascara Barb in a shoal of 8+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Murray River Rainbowfish⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 11 cm · Easy care · 15–26 °C (59–79 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Murray River Rainbowfish — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Keep Murray River Rainbowfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Pearl Gourami⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Pearl Gourami — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
• Polka-dot Loach⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 13 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Powder Blue Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 12 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Keep Powder Blue Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Rainbow Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 14 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Swordtail⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 14 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• T-bar Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 12 cm · Medium care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
• Tiger Betta⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 11 cm · Hard care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Tiger Betta can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
• Alligator Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 250 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Pictus Catfish and Alligator Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Alligator Gar may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~3785 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Clown Knifefish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Clown Knifefish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Clown Knifefish may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Mbu Puffer⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 67 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Mbu Puffer are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Mbu Puffer may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~757 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Ocellaris Peacock Bass⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 70 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Ocellaris Peacock Bass are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Ocellaris Peacock Bass may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Redtail Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 120 cm · Hard care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Pictus Catfish and Redtail Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Redtail Catfish may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~5700 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Spotted Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Pictus Catfish and Spotted Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Spotted Gar may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~600 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Wels Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 300 cm · Hard care · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Pictus Catfish and Wels Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Wels Catfish may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~20000 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
• Wolf Cichlid⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 72 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Pictus Catfish and Wolf Cichlid are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Wolf Cichlid may bully the smaller Pictus Catfish, though its armour makes it a hard meal — give it caves and driftwood to retreat into.
  • Your 210 L tank is below the ~760 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.

Compatibility is computed from each species' care data — a strong starting point, not a guarantee. Individual temperament varies, so always introduce new fish slowly and watch them.