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Striped Raphael catfish
Striped Raphael catfish, Platydoras costatus, is a catfish of the family Doradidae. It may also be called talking catfish, chocolate doradid, chocolate catfish or thorny catfish. This peaceful, nocturnal species is a popular aquarium fish due to its pleasant temperament and curious nature.
Origin and distribution
The striped Raphael catfish are commonly found in the Amazon, Tocantins, Parnaiba, Orinoco, Essequibo Rivers in French Guiana and Suriname of South America. They have been introduced into the contiguous states of the United States.
Description and behavior
These fish burrow in the soft river bottoms and frequently occurs on sandy bottoms. These fish feed on mollusks, crustaceans, and organic debris.
They have rigid pectoral fin spines. The striped Raphael catfish also has tiny and curved protective spines running along its body. The striped Raphael catfish can grow up to 9 inches .
Juvenile raphael catfish have been recorded cleaning piscivorous fish such as Hoplias cf. malabaricus. The stripe pattern in the young may serve as a signal that allows for its recognition as a cleaner. It is noted that the striping pattern is not as strong in adults, and so the cleaning behavior is probably only seen in juveniles.
In the aquarium
Striped Raphael catfishes are top, middle and bottom dwellers but normally swims in the bottom of the aquarium. They thrive in water conditions with pH 5.8–7.5, with 2–20 dGH water hardness, and temperature ranging from 75–86F . They are bottom-feeding carnivores that need foods rich in protein such as live bloodworms, earthworms, and Tubifex worms. They may also eat frozen foods, flakes or tablets.
The striped Raphael catfish is a fine and sociable community fish that are peaceful to fellow catfishes and other fish species. However, they are nocturnal, and are usually not visible during the day.
It is best not to catch the striped Raphael catfish with a fish net because they are prone to sticking out their pectoral fin spines in a very rigid manner, especially if stressed. Untangling these spines from a net is difficult and dangerous to both handler and fish. Alternative methods should be used, such as enticing the fish into a PVC pipe or glass.
Although known as a spawning fish, sexual differences are unknown and there have been no reports of being successfully bred in captivity. Because of this, these fish must be wild-caught, and therefore contaminants sometime occur in the hobby, such as Orinocodoras eigenmanni, which differs in a longer snout.
See also
List of freshwater aquarium fish species
Although not many of these fish don't breed in aquariums, there is a small chance of the actually breeding. If there is breeding done we recommend separating the eggs from the mother because of the mother or other fish eating the eggs. Also keep the fish away from the larger fish until they are big enough to not be eaten.
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Striped Raphael catfish
