PlanetCatfish.com

So, Right now I have a Striped Raphael in my 70g tank with my Pictus but I love the idea of having some larger catfish and hand feeding them like I've seen videos of people doing it. My question was this:

I know Striped Raphael are somewhat territorial while Jaguar catfish are known to be territorial. If I wanted to say... have 2 of each in a tank how large would it need to be? I know they wont get anywhere near their full size even in the first year so if I had to upgrade I always could down the road. Also in order to liven up the tank a little what kind of fish could I add with them that they couldn't eat? The largest fish I have right now are Rainbowfish and I know they will grow to be bigger in time when they mature.

Also my other question is for a catfish tank, how much hiding places would they ideally need? Would I have to adjust it as they grow or would they be ok with larger "caves" from wood until they grow into them. My pictus have no problem sharing their space with the Raphael, but the pictus will stay in their 70 gallon while this catfish tank will be something entirely different

I have Platydoras for 20+ years, and they are some 20 cm. The biggest fishes they ate were ~4 cm.

Lisomadoras, however, is said to be a different matter, but I never kept these.

The reason? Actually there are 2 arguments: 1 I rather give them company of their own, 2 I'm afraid the rough Platydoras might harm the Lisomadoras which looks kind of fragile to me.

However, providing them a lot of caves, both of the stone kind for the Platydoras and of the woody kind for the Lisomadoras (a lot means 3 or 4 for each fish) wil most probably solve that argument

A 70G should be big enough for two of each - that said Bas makes a good point that they'd be better with more of their own kind. Not essential as with some other cats like corys, glass cats, etc but far more preferable.

Neither species is an out & out fish hunter, more an opportunist so scissortails, bigger rainbows, bigger danios, peaceful medium sized barbs, etc should be ok but keep the cats well fed to minimise the risk.

In terms of hiding places, you will need more of them than fish to use them so they have a choice depending on hierarcy and a choice of type as well. Both will cram themselves into crevices of any description but wood seems favoured, even artificial hollow logs perform well.

A 4 foot 70g tank will really be big enough for 4 fish that get ~8-9 inches each? Figured I would have needed more then that. Its just an idea I wanted to try I only have the one Platydora in with my Pictus but I wanted to try a larger fish tank. I haven't read anything about the Platydoras being a rough fish but I'll look into the matter more. I'll do some more research and see if I would rather want to go with 4 Platy, or 4 Lios

If anyone has experience with Jaguar/Lios ( real ones, they have the spots and all as compared to the pictures I've seen of false ) I'd appreciate the feedback

Platydoras are not rough with other fish, but when you have got multiple fish sharing the same hiding spot, damage can occur due to the platydoras' body scutes. Liosomadoras have no body armour & can be susceptible to damage from anything sharp.

A four foot should suffice for 4 of either of these, presuming the tank is 15" wide. Neither fish is particularly fussy as to water conditions or feeding. If you are going for lio's you need to check how they are after import / at the dealers as they can be in pretty poor condition.

Is there anything you particularly want to know about either species?

I forgot about their spiky sides, but I was just looking for info like if I should adjust their hiding spots as they get older or keep them large when they're small so they grow into them. I know they take a long time to grow so I have probably 8 months if I have them in a "temp" tank to worry about putting them in a larger tank. Any idea since they hold their own for territory if I put some in a 50 gallon with a Red Tail Black Shark for a few months until they're bigger if that will be fine? Will give me time to save for a larger tank