Hey,just wanna say that raphael catfishes are excellent fish (easy to keep) which do not grow to large(1ft max),and that there really robust so they can be kept with cichlids,oscars etc and do a good job of cleaning some they waste up .They also have a very attractive look(white-yellowy stripes and spikes).These fish are mostly nocturnal but will come out in the day if theres food(there pigs).There very active at night darting up and down the tank(i stay up sometimes to watch mine),they really do stur up the tanks contents(plants,gravel etc)so they shuld not be kept in well planted tanks IMHO.They need suitable hiding places such as under driftwood rocks caves etc.O yea watch out for ther top fin and pectoral fins ,the pectoral fins can clomp down on your fingers (very painful as they are serated)and the only way of releasing the fins is to put your hand back in the water and hope they swim of,if not u will have to try and slide them of? .The top fin is very spiky and if it goes into your skin it wil leave a saw mark ..so don't mess with these beasts..also they make a cool grunty noise when outa water ...imo these are the coolest cats ever

Thought i would just post this to any1 whose looking to buy a catfish suitable for cichlid tanks ..btw im new so hey

Thanks olly,AKA fish boy...AKA cheesy feet on fishforums.com

very true. i keep (i think i still have him) a spotted (agamyxis pectifrons). the clicking noise is cool. Mine was exclusively nocturnal. and i mean exclusively. i saw him in the daylight once. in fact i havent really seen mine for quite a while.

I have heard that they are more active in groups. They are also very slow growers. Ive heard that they require driftwood to rub on

The down side to using them with cichlids is that they come from South America, so may not be the best choice of catfish for a rift valley cichlid community. I doubt they would appreciate hard water with the pH around 8 when they come from soft acidic waters. They are fine with SA cichlids though.

Also, be careful with smaller fish as they are more than capable of chomping on small fish while cruising the tank at night (if it fits, it's eaten), though they have an extremely slow growth rate. 8" is the listed size in Baensch and from my experience that would take a good 10-20 years to be reached.

Scotcat believes having a shoal helps with seeing the cats more, though I have found with my 5 (and my 3 spotted doradids) that the only reason for this is due to a lack of hiding spaces forcing them out in daylight.

My ph is 8+ and even my discus live in it (well they used to but when i got new ones they couldn't tolerate the ph because they were kept with RO water of ph of 7).Also mine took 2 years to grow to 8 inch ,10-20 years,20 years is there max age(well nearly) .Also my raphael cat come sout whenever there is food ..he's such a pig! If yours don't come out much try putting algea wafflers(or whateva there called).Anyway IMO all fish can adapt my raphael cat loves high ph and low..such a hardy fish,like many freshwater fish.I havn't tried them with a lake malawi setup ,victoria or tanganika but i suspect that they would be fine.

ollie

yeah mines in a high ph because thats how the water is around here. it wouldnt even be worth getting RO because i would just have to acclimate it to a lower ph from the store.


andy is right that they'll take out smaller fish but i wouldnt classify these as predatory. i know that mine doesnt hunt very well at all so i couldnt imagine them relying on that in the wild.

Ya.My 3 1/2 inch one attaked my female guppie (1inch) and killed it at night (i suspect)..i think he got a bit pekish lol..not normal for this fish to attak others though..as u said not a predatory fish unlike my evil texas cichlid..hes cycho

ollie AKA cheesyfeet on fish forums.com

This post has been edited by fish boy: Jul 31 2006, 12:55 AM

Just in the process of setting up a SA cichlid tank and wasn't sure whether or not to transfer my raphael into this tank. Wasn't sure if they would bully it. after reading the posts it seems like it will be fine. I'm new to the forum, impressed with the good advice\suggestions and there's some great pics.

I currently have 1 striped and 2 spotted raphaels, they are all between 3-5" (the striped being the largest) and i have had them for about 3 years now. I have also noticed that since i have started feeding bloodworm pellets they have become really active at feeding times no matter what time of day it is.

gotta say they're the most adorable pigs ever ... gotta love em; they eat like pigs though ... chomping down any food that sinks to the bottom

I've had two for years now and they never come out. All I ever see is a fin hanging out of a log.

This post has been edited by darknirvana217: Jan 31 2008, 04:01 AM