Spotted Raphael

[Dercola]

I recently got a spotted catfish about 3-4 weeks ago and he settled into his new surroundings fairly quickly. He seems quiet happy but I just want to know should I put a mate in there for company or do they prefer to be alone. Also, he is about 3 inches long, will he get much bigger? Sorry about the stupid questions but im only new to all this fishkeeping stuff. Any help is greatly appreciated, Cheers.

 

[three-fingers]

I've seen them around 5 inches than that at the lfs where they usually have a few of them in one tank-so i guess they probably should be kept in groups-but you should check the interent to see if its ok to have one on its own. If its happy as you say then it probably can be kept alone-but if you have room then you should probably get another. Remember if you have two thats at least 10 inches of fish, and remember the 'an inch of fish per gallon' rule, even if it should be more than a gallon for larger fish .

 

[§tudz]

they tend to become territorial towards their own kind when older... If I remember correctly I'll look it up for you

 

[andywg]

they tend to become territorial towards their own kind when older... If I remember correctly I'll look it up for you

Actually most things I have read (and experienced) suggests they do better in groups.

 

[§tudz]

hrm... yeah seems so... I thought wrong.

/me kicks brain

erm... it was late, lol, I was tired

/me stops digging himself a hole

 

[spilz]

i know this is a bit late, but i have two spotted raph's i know them as talking catifsh tho, so i hope we mean the same thing. ive had two in the same tank for 6 months, i would recommend them in pairs, as mine are never apart, they chill under a big clump of bogwood all day together.

 

[Fishy412]

Yeah ive heard they are more active in groups, I had one and it stayed under a log out of sight for about a year or so, It has since died and been eaten i believe