PlanetCatfish.com

hi, i'm new here and i would like to have a go with catfishes. i've had 7 years of experiance with other fish, so i'd like to think that i know a good bit bout fish. i've decided to start out with spotted raphaels. i'v researched them, so i will be setting up the tank to mimic their their naturla habitat. it will be a 20g long tank (36"x12"x12"), it will ahve fine gravel so they can dig, and 2 different lights. a blakc light to simulate night, and a normal light to simulate day. 18 hours of night, and 6 hours of day.there will also be 3 medium sized pieces of natural driftwood (they are hollow and have twisted roots for hding places) i will also have a filter with a strong current to simulate a moving stream. so, what i really need is some advice on them, and peoples experiances that could help me in their care. the ones i will be getting are only 1" at the time. if they need a larger tank in the future i will upgrade so no problem there. thanx in advance for any help. and any links to soem good sites about these catfish is also welcome

Did you try looking up this site for info about these fish?

http://www.planetcatfish.com/cotm/1997_04.php

thank you. that was very helpful . but does any one have any experiances they can share about these fish? like odd little behaviours form individual fish?

I have a single spotted raphael that I have had for about a year. They don't get too big but they grow fast. Mine went from about an inch and a half to over 4 inches in about 6 months.

I have read several times how they like to dig, but mine has never shown the slightest interest in digging or rooting around (she is in a sand bottomed tank).

She is pretty nocturnal. She tends to only come out when the lights are on when there is food around. For most of the year she would come out every few days and binge eat and then go back and hide in her little cave. Towards the end of the summer, she seemed to become gravid and began eating vigorously everyday. Lately, she no longer appears gravid (unfortunately, I have no male) and show little interest in food, although she does still appear quit healthy when she does venture out.

She easily bosses the other tankmakes around when she ventures out (Polypterus senegalus, Brochis splendens, a few corys, dwarf gourami, and banjos) but only if they are in her way.

They seem to be really nice, sturdy, attractive fish. My sample size is small though.

One of David Sands's books says they can be tempted out of hiding for bits of shrimp or prawn.

lovely fish. very nocturnal in my experience. keep the lighting levels really low and you'll stand more of a chance of seeing them feed in the day. floating plants (eg pistia stratiodes) do this very well. the more bogwood (fill the tank with it) and cover they have, the more secure they feel, so they come out more. feed late in the evening with just the room lights on. i presume a "black" light is a UV tube? i don't feel this is really necessary. i just use a flashlight to see my nocturnal fish.

I have not kept the spotted but have kept the stripped for about 10 Years. I have 3 and they are huge and all somehow seem to fit in a cave that I have in their tank which you would not think would hold three large raphael's. Its amusing somtimes to watch them try to get out because they are so packed in their. They definently seem to like to hang out together alot. Mine typically only come out when I feed and at night. It took them awhile to come out during the day when I fed them but eventually caught on.

Not the best swimmers on the planet. Mine is also a glutton and will eat till he can't really move well. You may see him more if you have them in a group.