Striped Raphael Catfish

General information

The average adult in captivity ranges between 6 and 8 inches with a life span of about 10 years. They are peaceful and can be kept in a community aquarium of larger fish, keeping them with smaller fish or fry is not advisable since they may eat them.  They are a nocturnal species so plenty of cover and hiding places should be provided and the aquarium should be dimly lit, also, because they are nocturnal, feeding time should be at lights outs which is when they are most active, once they get older, they will become more active during the day and can be fed during the day.

They are brown with vanilla-colored stripes.  One of their common names is “Striped Talking Fish” because of their ability to produce sounds when communicating with their own or when they feel threatened. They produce this sound by grinding their pectoral fin bone in its socket and then amplifying it through the swim bladder.

They are omnivorous. In an aquarium they can be fed with sinking pellets and flakes and with live or frozen foods. It is advisable to give them both prepared foods and live/frozen foods.

When looking from above, females appear wider than males.

This species can be found in the Paraná River basin, South America. It prefers lentic waters.

If there isn’t enough cover and hiding spaces in the aquarium it may hide behind an exposed heater and get burnt.

The spines on the body and fins can become entangled in aquarium nets so it is better to handle them with something else like a plastic container. These spines can also cause a painful wound.