After searching back through about fifteen pages of old threads and also other webpages, I'm more confused then when I started.
I've been dying to get one of these forever, and the local store finally has babies (about 2 inches long!) for only 7 dollars - exactly what I've been waiting for.
However, my largest tank is also home to my black kuhli loaches - who always always come first! I've got nine - some who have been with me for four years now. That tank is kuhli heaven - they never hide, even during the day. If they're comfortable enough in that tank (since everything I've read about black kuhlis said they're never seen) then I would think a raphael would do just as well. There are also white clouds in the tank, but I'm not attached to them like I am the kuhlis and so would certainly choose the raphael over them.
My biggest concern is about whether the raphael would eat the khuli's. I've read either that they eat anything they can fit in their mouths, or they are completely peaceful communuity fish. So are kuhli loaches large and fast enough to not be bothered by a raphael? (At four inches, they would be a mouthful, but they're so skinny would it be like sucking down a spagetti noodle?) Or is it nothing to worry about.
And to top off that confusion, I'm not even sure what full-grown size I should be taking into account when figuring out "anything small enough to fit in their mouths". I've read they get everywhere from 5 inches to 12! A 5 inch fish should be a worry, but a 12 inch one could eat anything!
Any thoughts whatsoever are appreciated. I think I may be having one of those "impulse buy" moments, and I want to make sure that I'm thinking clearly before getting this fish!
I've been dying to get one of these forever, and the local store finally has babies (about 2 inches long!) for only 7 dollars - exactly what I've been waiting for.
However, my largest tank is also home to my black kuhli loaches - who always always come first! I've got nine - some who have been with me for four years now. That tank is kuhli heaven - they never hide, even during the day. If they're comfortable enough in that tank (since everything I've read about black kuhlis said they're never seen) then I would think a raphael would do just as well. There are also white clouds in the tank, but I'm not attached to them like I am the kuhlis and so would certainly choose the raphael over them.
My biggest concern is about whether the raphael would eat the khuli's. I've read either that they eat anything they can fit in their mouths, or they are completely peaceful communuity fish. So are kuhli loaches large and fast enough to not be bothered by a raphael? (At four inches, they would be a mouthful, but they're so skinny would it be like sucking down a spagetti noodle?) Or is it nothing to worry about.
And to top off that confusion, I'm not even sure what full-grown size I should be taking into account when figuring out "anything small enough to fit in their mouths". I've read they get everywhere from 5 inches to 12! A 5 inch fish should be a worry, but a 12 inch one could eat anything!
Any thoughts whatsoever are appreciated. I think I may be having one of those "impulse buy" moments, and I want to make sure that I'm thinking clearly before getting this fish!
