The Striped Raphael Catfish or Chocolate Catfish has been a favorite of aquarium enthusiasts for a long time. They are very peaceful and thought to be the nicest of the Thorny Catfish!
Mylena Aranda - 2011-09-20 My two striped raphael are awesome ! I have had them for nearly a year now and I love them. They have probably more than tripled their size since I brought them home and added them to my catfish family (I have 9 corydoras with them) they just relax and cruise through my tank... they seem to enjoy hanging upside down from ornaments or balancing on the leaves of plants. It's fun to watch my corys pile up on top of them as they all rest together. I find that there are several things to take into consideration when owning them...first make the tank catfish safe! Many catfish will wedge themselves into ornaments and not be able to get out so be sure to provide hiding places that are large enough, and as far as striped raphaels are concerned if you want to see them be active make the tank light a bit dimmer (with a floating plant or something like that) they are nocturnal and with the light dim they happily come out and join the action. I hope to keep my striped raphaels around for a long time (their average life span is around 7-8 years) and would recommend them for any catfish lover.
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Charlie Roche - 2011-09-21 Hey thnaks - good to hear when all is going well and people are happy --- sounds like you have some solid experience there so stick with us. Many have some questions and only the experiences really know. OK?
Vannah - 2011-07-11 All right, So I was wondering the lifespan of the catfish? I know I've had mine for over 2 yrs. Is that fairly common? Or do they live longer? I have no idea. but then again I've always had great luck with fish. I won a goldfish at a carnival and he lived for 6 yrs.
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Charlie Roche - 2011-07-11 Consensus seems to say between 9 and 13 years. Plenty of time.
Pat Ryan - 2009-11-12 I just read that these catfish have never been bred in captivity? I was given a pair of them a few weeks ago and lo and behold, there are now 3 Striped Raphael Catfish! The little one hides itself in 2 spots in my tank and I have only seen it's face once. Has this happened for anyone else?
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Dan Powell - 2011-01-12 Pat, You said your Striped Raphael Catfish had bred successfully in your aquarium. What was the setup (aquarium, basic decor strategy, pH if you keep track, etc), if you don't mind me asking?
Dan
candlechick - 2011-03-25 When I first got my tank It had 2 striped and one spotted Raphael in it. About 6 months later I noticed that I had the 2 striped and 2 spotted, one being significantly smaller than the other. I have no idea which the parents were. I never saw any eggs or fry.
joe - 2011-01-22 I need help my raphael catfish is sick! He has been in the same tank for months, and has been doing just fine. One day I came home and his white stripes have turned a redish pink color and he has stopped floating. I don't know what to do, any advice to provide me would be appreciated. Thank you.
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Editor's Note - 2011-01-22 Red streaks could indicate fin rot or red pest diseases. See here and here for those.
Swimming problems could be due to swim bladder problems, which usually indicates other problems. See here for swim bladder disease.
Andrew Kreklow - 2010-09-04 I just got 2 of them today and when I'm watching them the hardly move, but once I would turn off the lights and walk out of the room and come back, they are swimming all around. But now a couple hours later one of them won't even move and I'm really concerned.
Brian - 2010-07-08 I have 2 in my tank. They were about 2 inches long when I bought them about 9 month ago. Now they are 3.5 and 4 inches long. I feed them shrimp pellets and Hikari algae wafers. They like the shrimp pellets the best. I love watching them swim and snagging up food. The curled spines on their body make them an interesting conversation piece. Great non-aggressive fish.
kayley - 2010-07-08 Hi I have two striped raphael catfish they are both active but one has red marks on its body and it looks like it has a cut too could this be that its injuring itself on the ornaments or is it something which I should be worried about ?
Stasey - 2010-07-05 We have a raphael cat fish that lived under a rock for two years and then one morning I noticed that Our Large Parrot had collapsed the rocks from digging I didn't have a net at the time and I actually forgot about him then 5 months later we were draining the tank and I remember him I was like omg. He is gonna look nasty when my Bf lifted the rock he was still alive I never felt sooo bad but he's still going strong now lol.
Alexa - 2010-05-23 Hi I just got mine 5-23-10 I love him to pieces I have 5 neon tetras with him and they all live together the beta I had to move out because he was aggressive to the catfish but otherwise they're doing great I probably will get more fish so he has more friends and tank mate any suggestion on what else I should put with him?
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motasm - 2010-05-28 I know these cinds silver tiped sharks will do just no small fish with them but a pleco is the best thing with the shark and this is some thing as well remove tetras to other tank and put with him sharks
michelle - 2009-12-31 I got my striped catfish in '93 or '94, and he's thriving, still! He's very active at all times of the day and night. I want to get some tankmates for him, any suggestions? I want to stay in the amazon-region.
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Anonymous - 2010-04-05 Try bala sharks and other catfish.
The Striped Raphael Catfish or Chocolate Catfish has been a favorite of aquarium enthusiasts for a long time. They are very peaceful and thought to be the nicest of the Thorny Catfish!
My two striped raphael are awesome ! I have had them for nearly a year now and I love them. They have probably more than tripled their size since I brought them home and added them to my catfish family (I have 9 corydoras with them) they just relax and cruise through my tank... they seem to enjoy hanging upside down from ornaments or balancing on the leaves of plants. It's fun to watch my corys pile up on top of them as they all rest together. I find that there are several things to take into consideration when owning them...first make the tank catfish safe! Many catfish will wedge themselves into ornaments and not be able to get out so be sure to provide hiding places that are large enough, and as far as striped raphaels are concerned if you want to see them be active make the tank light a bit dimmer (with a floating plant or something like that) they are nocturnal and with the light dim they happily come out and join the action. I hope to keep my striped raphaels around for a long time (their average life span is around 7-8 years) and would recommend them for any catfish lover.
Hey thnaks - good to hear when all is going well and people are happy --- sounds like you have some solid experience there so stick with us. Many have some questions and only the experiences really know. OK?
All right, So I was wondering the lifespan of the catfish? I know I've had mine for over 2 yrs. Is that fairly common? Or do they live longer? I have no idea. but then again I've always had great luck with fish. I won a goldfish at a carnival and he lived for 6 yrs.
Consensus seems to say between 9 and 13 years. Plenty of time.
I just read that these catfish have never been bred in captivity? I was given a pair of them a few weeks ago and lo and behold, there are now 3 Striped Raphael Catfish! The little one hides itself in 2 spots in my tank and I have only seen it's face once. Has this happened for anyone else?
Pat,
You said your Striped Raphael Catfish had bred successfully in your aquarium. What was the setup (aquarium, basic decor strategy, pH if you keep track, etc), if you don't mind me asking?
Dan
When I first got my tank It had 2 striped and one spotted Raphael in it. About 6 months later I noticed that I had the 2 striped and 2 spotted, one being significantly smaller than the other. I have no idea which the parents were. I never saw any eggs or fry.
I need help my raphael catfish is sick! He has been in the same tank for months, and has been doing just fine. One day I came home and his white stripes have turned a redish pink color and he has stopped floating. I don't know what to do, any advice to provide me would be appreciated. Thank you.
Red streaks could indicate fin rot or red pest diseases. See here and here for those.
Swimming problems could be due to swim bladder problems, which usually indicates other problems. See here for swim bladder disease.
I just got 2 of them today and when I'm watching them the hardly move, but once I would turn off the lights and walk out of the room and come back, they are swimming all around. But now a couple hours later one of them won't even move and I'm really concerned.
I have 2 in my tank. They were about 2 inches long when I bought them about 9 month ago. Now they are 3.5 and 4 inches long. I feed them shrimp pellets and Hikari algae wafers. They like the shrimp pellets the best. I love watching them swim and snagging up food. The curled spines on their body make them an interesting conversation piece. Great non-aggressive fish.
Hi I have two striped raphael catfish they are both active but one has red marks on its body and it looks like it has a cut too could this be that its injuring itself on the ornaments or is it something which I should be worried about ?
We have a raphael cat fish that lived under a rock for two years and then one morning I noticed that Our Large Parrot had collapsed the rocks from digging I didn't have a net at the time and I actually forgot about him then 5 months later we were draining the tank and I remember him I was like omg. He is gonna look nasty when my Bf lifted the rock he was still alive I never felt sooo bad but he's still going strong now lol.
Hi I just got mine 5-23-10 I love him to pieces I have 5 neon tetras with him and they all live together the beta I had to move out because he was aggressive to the catfish but otherwise they're doing great I probably will get more fish so he has more friends and tank mate any suggestion on what else I should put with him?
I know these cinds silver tiped sharks will do just no small fish with them but a pleco is the best thing with the shark and this is some thing as well remove tetras to other tank and put with him sharks
I got my striped catfish in '93 or '94, and he's thriving, still! He's very active at all times of the day and night. I want to get some tankmates for him, any suggestions? I want to stay in the amazon-region.
Try bala sharks and other catfish.