Animal Stories - People Talking About Catfish



Select Pet Atlas	Select A Family	Species / Breed

Aquarium Tropical Fish Articles

Latest Animal Stories on Catfish (725)

Karen - 2012-11-28
I just got two Raphaels and one has a huge belly. The other one stays with this one constantly. I have read that they are hard to breed. If they are going to spawn, is there anything that I need to do:separate the two from the other fish, etc.? Thanx!

Click For Replies (1)

Jerry Cloutier - 2012-12-30
I have two striped Raphaels, one of whom is going on 15 yrs old and the other whos is 7 yrs old. Both have huge bellies as you describe. They are both healthy and from what I have seen, the huge belly is simply a characteristic of this fish once it becomes an adult. I doubt your Raphies are spawning.....I'd guess they are simply being the fish that they are.

Tawny Ross - 2012-12-15
Can anyone tell me if the Raphael will help control algae at all? I have lost yet another Pleco and don't want to spend another $50 to get the size I need for one to survive my Oscars. I stumbled upon the Raphael as a good tank mate for Oscars. I have very aggressive Oscars so I need a fish that can clean my tank that they can't harm. I have started feeding live fish and that has helped a ton. They didn't kill my last Pleco, I lost him to low water temps. Winter hit and my heater had trouble keeping up, so I have added a second heater to my tank.

Click For Replies (1)

Jeremy Roche - 2012-12-15
Unfortunatly they will not do the job of a pleco. An algae magnet on the tank will do a nice job leaving the algae to be easily vacuumed.

lindsey brown - 2008-06-18
I have 3 plecoosomus and I have recently seen 7 babies, they are so cute. Didn't even know I had them til I saw a little line. I thought "what's that" but when I got close it was a baby pleco. So people they do breed in a house tank. I'm so pleased the fish feel comfortable in their tank to breed. I think I have done a good job, and my tank is only 18" so it's a small one, but they still had young. I have to upgrade now to a larger tank when they get a bit bigger. I never saw any eggs just babbies. I won't sell them, they are my grandkids. If you like, I made it possible, so give it a go.

Click For Replies (1)

Meob57 - 2012-11-28
Hi, I'm new to this site.Your message was from 2008, can you let me know how your pleco's are all doing?

sharon - 2012-04-11
Hi I just bought a tank and it had a big plec in but it's spotted skin is dark and other parts very faded please help me

Click For Replies (3)

Jeremy Roche - 2012-04-12
Some times it is just there natural camo. How is your amonia levels? This will some time wash out a fish's color if it is too high.
Meob57 - 2012-11-28
Hi, just read your note,my pleco was 3' a year ago now 11'. It will cost a small fortune to get a tank big enough for him/her? What do other fish lovers recommend. Another reader stated that if they don't have a big enough tank the inside keeps growing and the upside stops because of the tank size and they can explode. Please say this is'nt true.
Meob57 - 2012-11-28
Hi, just read you note, my pleco was 3' a year ago now 11'.It will cost a small fortune to get a tank big enough for him/her? What do other fish lovers recommend. Another reader stated that if they don't have a big enough tank the inside keeps growing and the outside stops because of the tank size and they can explode. Please say this is'nt true.

Jason - 2009-06-19
My four line cat fish is 15 inches long. In the wild four line cat fish grow up to 7 feet.

Click For Replies (2)

jason - 2011-03-10
I messed up I don't mean 7 seven feet I mean they can get 17 inches.
David Brough - 2012-01-26
Im wondering if you have a different catfish with the same common name. I have found no references to Pimolodus blochii getting over 12 inches.

Soumaya findlay - 2012-11-24
Hi can anyone help I brought a Catshark two weeks ago its seems to do most of it's swimming once the light is off when light is on it mostly sits lays in the same corner moving every now and them, Is this normal

Click For Replies (1)

Clarice Brough - 2012-11-24
These fish don't tend to settle down until their environment is right. As in your example, if they are uncomfortable they will tend to stay in a corner, often near a filter. This fish is quite lively when young, and can be kept in freshwater for awhile, but as it ages it will need an increasingly more brackish, even marine environment.

They are not difficult to keep as long as they have the proper tank setup. They are nocturnal, predatory, and migratory fish. This makes them very active, especially at night. They need a good sized tank with a large filter that creates a good current. Provide them with some caves for hiding, a dark substrate, and subdued lighting. They grow rather large, reaching at least 8' (20 cm) in length, and are a schooling fish, so its best to keep at least three.

The tank should have a turn over rate of about 8x's the water volume, and about 10-12 times a day. As they mature this species requires a high salinity brackish water. They will need a specific gravity of 1.010 or above to keep them healthy. Start with a bare minimum specific gravity of 1.005 and slowly raise it. Use a hydrometer to measure the salinity and use only marine aquarium salt, not aquarium salt.

Stewart - 2010-12-08
I have a 125 gallon with a 18 inch red tail, to me the most amazing catfish in the world! He lives with a 20 inch Pleco, so far so good. Someone said they were setting up an indoor pond, only 10 minutes before I read that, the same thing entered my mind. What other way in a home could I keep Bonnie&Clyde,the red tails name is Clyde? Thanks to all of you for your help, Stewart.

Click For Replies (2)

LoL - 2012-11-16
Well you would have to build or custom order a 2,000 plus gallon tank with incredible filtration.
Jeremy Roche - 2012-11-16
If you have the space an indoor pond would be a great way to keep this large fish. Filtration would be a very important concern for these guys..

LoL - 2012-11-16
Four line pims are great fish for a 75 gallon or larger tank with medium size tankmates as long as you have exclent filtration. Rember to feed them a balanced diet, they espicaly love shrimp!

ben - 2009-12-29
I bought my featherfin around 3cm and now its at full grown 15cm.
It tends to hide but will come out when feeding and I have found it swimming upside down near the surface of the water many times (thinking it has died!). Very hardy fish and cleans the bottom of the tank very well, but is territorial and doesn't like people looking at it (mine flinches and will try to hide even more when people look at it).

Word of advice, DO NOT keep with Neons, Cardinals or Rummynoses in the tank, it waits till they are asleep at night and gobbles them down. I have lost 15 cardinals over a few weeks and 7 rummynoses in one night to this eating machine. Unfortunately I had to separate my featherfin from my main tank due to these incidents...

Click For Replies (3)

denise - 2011-04-06
"Ben," I praise you for you comment. I have a large tank with a male betta, 15 neons a pleco,a few mollies and platys, 3 danios, 10 corys,1 frog. I recently added a featherfin. I started noticing my platys starting to act strangely, one looked real stressed and later died, another 2 are now poorly and I seperated them from the other fish. Then I noticed one of the teras was missing an eye, by that evening it was dead. Then another tetra was missing an eye. I couldnt understand what was going on, the tetras have been in the tank over 2 years now with no problems, the platys have been there about 18 months, again with no problems. I have spent hours looking for info on featherfins and tetras but to no avail, till I found your comment.... so thank you very much. i suppose I have no choice but to take the problem fish back. thanks again
Maddie - 2011-07-06
I brought a featherfin over a year ago (originally sold to me as an upside-down catfish). He/she has grown to about 13cm. It's kept in a 200L tank with 2 silver sharks, 3 angelfish, 3 kuhli loaches, 2 paki loaches, about 10 neon tetras, and several mollies, platies, guppies and swordtails. My featherfin has gotten along fine with ALL of my fish, even though he/she is the biggest in the tank. It always seems scared at any slight movement.
Only yesterday I brought another featherfin, this one however is about 18cm, and a lot fatter. Today I've noticed my smaller featherfin following the other. Once the new one notices its being followed, it chases my smaller one in circles. Can anyone tell me whether they're playing? Courting? Or bullying each other?
Jacki Wooge - 2012-11-12
I've been going crazy with trying to figure out why my fish keep dying one by one. I have neons they've all survived as of yet but I've had mollies and guppies just start acting weird and then die. Sometimes I see a red spot on them. Ive been wondering if it was the lace catfish.

linz - 2012-11-06
I recently got two albino corys just swims round top of tank never goes on for more than thirty seconds is that normal?

Click For Replies (1)

Jeremy Roche - 2012-11-06
All corys have the ability to breathe atmospheric air to a certain extent if necessary. This adaptation allows them to survive if their environment becomes oxygen-deprived for any reason. Darting to surface occassionaly, in the tank is perfectly natural and no cause for concern unless water conditions are deteriorating.

About Animal-World

Animal-World offers animal pictures, videos, and animal information on all different types of pets and animals. Included are animals that are commonly kept as pets, exotic pets and wild animals. Check us out for information, education, and fun. We strive to aid in responsible pet ownership and an understanding of the importance of preserving and honoring our world and its inhabitants. Animal-World members and contributors are from all over the world. You too are invited to be an active participant in this community. Post your own personal pet stories, contribute pictures of your pets, and join the forums for pet and animal discussions.

Visit Animal-World

Animal Stories - People Talking About Catfish

About Animal-World