Striped talking cats

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I've been trying to find out a little more about these lil fellas as I saw one in a local garden centre today and took a shine to him rather. The guy I spoke to told me they can get up to 8inches and can be predatorial towards fish up to 2 inches in size. This caught me offguard somewhat thinking it didn't sound quite right so searched info online. From what I can tell they're more like 6 inches as adults and as peaceful as my syno breeds.
Does anyone have any experience or knowledge that will assist me?
Hugs,
P.

 

[GuppyDude]

no experiance, but i know someone who keeps his with guppies and they are fine...

 

[andywg]

Catfish of the Doradid family are not out and out predators like the Pimeloid family, but they will snack on things they come accross. Baensch has them at a max size of 8" whereas a lot of people online seem to say 6" (Though that could be down to them using the size of the spotted raphael fish for comparison).

I certainly wouldn't want to keep anything less than 2 or 3 inches with them to be safe. However, be prepared to buy a fish you will almost never see. Even with my nightlights I still have only seen mine twice since putting him in 2 months ago.

They are best kept in shoals and this is reported to make them more visible.

 

[CFC]

Striped raphaels will indeed reach 8 inches but will take the best part of 10 years to reach that size. They don't so much prey on small fish than accidently hoover them up as they sleap. If you've ever walked into a room in the middle of the night and switched the lights on to see all your fish resting near the bottom you will see how this happens, while most fish are resting the raphaels become most active and just swim about with their mouths open inhaling anything that fits, if that happens to be a 2" tetra then so be it.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

Thanks for them guys. Much appreciated. I suspect I'll go see if the lil thing is still there Monday and get it if so. Really was a youngster, barely any bigger then a danio.
Hugs,
P.

 

[SirMinion]

Thanks for them guys. Much appreciated. I suspect I'll go see if the lil thing is still there Monday and get it if so. Really was a youngster, barely any bigger then a danio.
Hugs,
P.

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A couple of other things to be aware of, this species is much happier in small groups and is strictly nocturnal. You will see almost nothing of the fish once it finds a cave to hide in.

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

That's ok. My tanks all have hiding places these days. So many catfish. This one was all alone and looked not so happy and hiding a great deal as one would expect. But I shall go see if he's still there and pick him up if so. I can then look out for others to join him/her.
Hugs,
P.
P.S:I'm amazed how so many ppl don't keep synos in groups. Obviously some vary and aren't so keep but certainly my feathfin (eruptus) love their groups and are constantly interacting. Sometimes resting in a bundle so you can't tell where one ends and another begins.

 

[Barracuda518]

Thanks for them guys. Much appreciated. I suspect I'll go see if the lil thing is still there Monday and get it if so. Really was a youngster, barely any bigger then a danio.
Hugs,
P.

[snapback]917310[/snapback]​

A couple of other things to be aware of, this species is much happier in small groups and is strictly nocturnal. You will see almost nothing of the fish once it finds a cave to hide in.

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I had 4 of these at one time and SirMinion is right. They found some caves and never came out, unless the lights were off or I dropped pellots in there. They do grow very slowly. I had 2 stripped and 2 spotted for about 4 years and they were probably 4", maybe 4.5", when I moved them to a 100 gallon tank at my mom's school where they are still growing. They are very cool fish, fun to watch when they feed.

 

[Bloo]

Yep, I never ever ever saw mine. It's unfortunate like having a fish, producing waste and taking up "space" and you never EVER see them

So if you do get some, take a good look while they are still in the bag - that's the last time you'll probably ever see them

 

[Miss Dib Dabs]

I found him/her hiding in the tank today. Apparently someone was after them over the w.end but they never found him.
He's home and already disappeared. But that's ok.
I shall look out for others when I can. Sweet lil thing.
Hugs,
P.

 

[Barracuda518]

I found him/her hiding in the tank today. Apparently someone was after them over the w.end but they never found him.
He's home and already disappeared. But that's ok.
I shall look out for others when I can. Sweet lil thing.
Hugs,
P.

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Cool. They are quite common around here, at least the stripped ones are. The spotted ones a little bit more rare. Good Luck with them, they are great fish