Rescued raphael catfish..Questions.

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Kaosu

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Oct 22, 2010
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ok so I traded 2 medium size anubia plants to save this fish..it came from a friend who pulled it out of his 75 gallon way over stocked under taken care of tank saying he was eating all of his pleco babies.
He had him stuffed in a 3 gallon bow front.. that never got the water changed the water was brown..and there is no logs in it!! ick..poor guy

he is said to be 5 years old?

Questions

does he look stunted?..he is about 4 inches long..and super round in the tummy and thin in the tail...he is being acclimated for my 10g QT tank at the moment.
what should i feed him?
will he eat snails?
tank mates?
any tips on keeping these guys would be great!

..his eyes look a bit cloudy?
(brown water ick)



 

mykidsmylife

Princess of Peons
Aug 26, 2005
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Oh wow! Excellent save he is gorgeous! He may be a bit stunted. I think they can get close to 6 inches but that body shape (fat in middle skinny tail) is normal. I wouldn't put him in anything much smaller than a 40 maybe 30 g.
Be really careful netting him. They are rather prickly and it can get stuck in the net.
He is gorgeous. Good for you and a great trade IMO.


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Kaosu

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Oct 22, 2010
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Oh wow! Excellent save he is gorgeous! He may be a bit stunted. I think they can get close to 6 inches but that body shape (fat in middle skinny tail) is normal. I wouldn't put him in anything much smaller than a 40 maybe 30 g.
Be really careful netting him. They are rather prickly and it can get stuck in the net.
He is gorgeous. Good for you and a great trade IMO.


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thank you.

i could not stand to see him in those conditions any more!!!..so he is now mine.
he is going to be staying in my 10g grow out for the time being..to make sure he is 100% healthy before i decide on what tank he will be living in.

thank you for the information.

here are a few shots of him in his new tank!.


 

unseenone00

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Sep 30, 2011
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...... FAT ...... lol he is extremely fat! Otherwise he looks healthy. He will eat sinking carnivore pellets, frozen foods, etc. Any live foods such as black worms, earth worms, etc would be nice as well. He shouldn't eat snails but im not 100% on that. As for tankmates, anything that doesnt pick on him or kick him out of his hole. So he works great with mid-top level swimmers.
 

Kaosu

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Oct 22, 2010
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...... FAT ...... lol he is extremely fat! Otherwise he looks healthy. He will eat sinking carnivore pellets, frozen foods, etc. Any live foods such as black worms, earth worms, etc would be nice as well. He shouldn't eat snails but im not 100% on that. As for tankmates, anything that doesnt pick on him or kick him out of his hole. So he works great with mid-top level swimmers.
lol yeah..he is a Fatty
 

H2Ogal

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Mar 16, 2010
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Great save!

I'm pretty sure he's smiling in that last photo. Considering the sudden improvement in his living conditions, no wonder. :)
 

MisaHasTheEyes

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I would keep lights off on him, and maybe get a large PVC tube for him to hide in. Spotted raphaels (A. pectinifromes) are really nocturnal catfish.
 

Mudfrog

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Jan 17, 2005
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Nice pick up. These guys stay short and fat. He does not look stunted at all. I've picked up a couple rescues in the past and they were in horrible shape compared to yours. Enjoy him and take lots of pictures, you could go months without seeing him.
 

stormywendyann

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Wendy Lubianetsky
What a beautiful save. I have saved a few in my time.... people throwing fish in baggies into the planter at Petco. Crazy. Glad your heart is in the right place.
 

Kaosu

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Oct 22, 2010
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Great save!

I'm pretty sure he's smiling in that last photo. Considering the sudden improvement in his living conditions, no wonder. :)
yeah it does look like a smile ^_^ he seems very happy!

I would keep lights off on him, and maybe get a large PVC tube for him to hide in. Spotted raphaels (A. pectinifromes) are really nocturnal catfish.
Lights were just on when I put him in the tank and snapped a few pics ^_^..they were off for the rest of the day

Nice pick up. These guys stay short and fat. He does not look stunted at all. I've picked up a couple rescues in the past and they were in horrible shape compared to yours. Enjoy him and take lots of pictures, you could go months without seeing him.
thank you ..he does have a bent front fin..but who knows where that came from..very interesting little guy.

What a beautiful save. I have saved a few in my time.... people throwing fish in baggies into the planter at Petco. Crazy. Glad your heart is in the right place.
thank you!! ^_^ i have saved allot of fish and found them great homes..he will stay with me a while ...Ill probably just be keeping him seeing as far as i have read they dont mess with anyone and will just stay in a hole (unless your a sleeping tetra ) ....Its horrible what people do to fish...
 
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