If anyone is looking for a catfish or a fish that eats off the bottom, then the Striped Raphael is the best catfish in my opinion. They are extremelly cute and peaceful. Best to have 2 of them in at least 20 gallons or bigger. The Raphaels are known to only come out at night, but thats not entirely true. They do come out at different time of day and night. It is best that you provide plenty of caves and plants for them to snuggle up on their favorite location to sleep. During feeding, they come out very quickly and they will rush everywhere to get the food. Depending on the correct water conditions and less stress, the catfish should be active within a day. When they eat, they will continue nonstop all over the gravels and at the top of the water until they can not find anymore food. I currently have two and they are excellent at eating. I highly suggest that you do not put too much food into the tank at once, because the fishies do the best they can to grab the food and the waterfall from the filter will push the food down toward the gravels. Remember, the catfish will continue eating and they can easily become fat, so I advise you to put tiny amount of food and add more when the food is gone at the top as the fishies are searching for more. Raphaels does not bother other fishies and the same for the other way around.
Its impossible to know the gender of these catfish and they are not bred by aquariumists. Striped Raphaels are captured in the wild and delivered to the customers. I've found one site that said the female are slightly larger, but no concrete evidence supports the claim.
PetsMart do sell Striped Raphaels and so does WalMart. However, at WalMart, it depends on the Pets Department Manager. Last night, when I was working, I found the sheet for ordering information. I wanted so badly to take it home with me to make copies. There is alot of information on it. I saw a long list of fishies that WalMart sells and the manager order the fishies of his choice. I wrote a note by the Striped Raphael name, "Very popular, please order." and I hope that helps. I advise that you tell your Pets Department Manager to order Striped Raphaels, if the manager has not chosen the catfish for sale. I forgot the cost and retail for the Striped Raphaels on the sheet. Ill give you an example of how cheap these fishies really cost. A small Black Moor costs 80 cents and WalMart sells for over 3 buxs. Sneaky? I know. WalMart's slogan - "We Sell For Less" ...
Overall, the catfish are very easy to care for and will survive many disasters. I do have a special warning. Please lessen the stress on the catfish when you buy them at the store and bringing them home. Put the bag into the water with the aquarium light off. After about 5 minutes, pour some of the water from the tank into the bag and wait for about another 5 minutes. When you are ready, gently take out the catfish with a small net, very carefully, because the catfish has spines on their sides and we do not want them to get tangled up in the net. Gently, place the net into the tank and allow it to swim away. Move the net back and forth to promote the catfish to swim out of the net. Keep the light off until the next day. Striped Raphaels can be very stressful at first and it will cause the Ich outbreak on them. I never have any problem with my two current Raphaels and one past Raphael. Now, a warning, the Malachite Green in Ich treatment, such as Quick Cure, is very dangerous for Striped Raphaels. It causes more stresses and they can easily die. Use half the dose or another Ich treatment. Usually, warm temperature and aquarium salt should prevent the Ich outbreak. The first day or two is very critical for Striped Raphaels and the solution, lessen the stress.
Anywayz, this thread is strictly for Striped Raphaels. Please share your experience with these catfish and ask any questions about them. If you have pictures, we would love to see. I have a video, a 3rd one with a crappy PC Cam. Its not crappy, but its crappy on recording my fish tank, because the cam seem to think the light is bright. You will see my two Raphaels rushing to get the food.
www.xthunderdome.net/fishtank3.html
Another thing, they are also known for Talking Catfish. They make sounds, kinda like croaks. You may be able to hear them. If you take them out of the water, you just might. Just kindly communicate to them. I am sure they would understand ya!
Thunder
Its impossible to know the gender of these catfish and they are not bred by aquariumists. Striped Raphaels are captured in the wild and delivered to the customers. I've found one site that said the female are slightly larger, but no concrete evidence supports the claim.
PetsMart do sell Striped Raphaels and so does WalMart. However, at WalMart, it depends on the Pets Department Manager. Last night, when I was working, I found the sheet for ordering information. I wanted so badly to take it home with me to make copies. There is alot of information on it. I saw a long list of fishies that WalMart sells and the manager order the fishies of his choice. I wrote a note by the Striped Raphael name, "Very popular, please order." and I hope that helps. I advise that you tell your Pets Department Manager to order Striped Raphaels, if the manager has not chosen the catfish for sale. I forgot the cost and retail for the Striped Raphaels on the sheet. Ill give you an example of how cheap these fishies really cost. A small Black Moor costs 80 cents and WalMart sells for over 3 buxs. Sneaky? I know. WalMart's slogan - "We Sell For Less" ...
Overall, the catfish are very easy to care for and will survive many disasters. I do have a special warning. Please lessen the stress on the catfish when you buy them at the store and bringing them home. Put the bag into the water with the aquarium light off. After about 5 minutes, pour some of the water from the tank into the bag and wait for about another 5 minutes. When you are ready, gently take out the catfish with a small net, very carefully, because the catfish has spines on their sides and we do not want them to get tangled up in the net. Gently, place the net into the tank and allow it to swim away. Move the net back and forth to promote the catfish to swim out of the net. Keep the light off until the next day. Striped Raphaels can be very stressful at first and it will cause the Ich outbreak on them. I never have any problem with my two current Raphaels and one past Raphael. Now, a warning, the Malachite Green in Ich treatment, such as Quick Cure, is very dangerous for Striped Raphaels. It causes more stresses and they can easily die. Use half the dose or another Ich treatment. Usually, warm temperature and aquarium salt should prevent the Ich outbreak. The first day or two is very critical for Striped Raphaels and the solution, lessen the stress.
Anywayz, this thread is strictly for Striped Raphaels. Please share your experience with these catfish and ask any questions about them. If you have pictures, we would love to see. I have a video, a 3rd one with a crappy PC Cam. Its not crappy, but its crappy on recording my fish tank, because the cam seem to think the light is bright. You will see my two Raphaels rushing to get the food.
www.xthunderdome.net/fishtank3.html
Another thing, they are also known for Talking Catfish. They make sounds, kinda like croaks. You may be able to hear them. If you take them out of the water, you just might. Just kindly communicate to them. I am sure they would understand ya!
Thunder
Last edited:
