Raphael catfish Q's

marinkafuschia

marinkafuschia

AC Members
Oct 21, 2008
427
0
0
Olympia, WA
just got a new new Raphael catfish and he is quite active, swims around the tank all day and even rests where I can see him:D! besides this cool fact, he talks almost non stop at night. hes constantly buzzing and chirping. I don't mind it but I'm worried it's a sign of stress.
right now the tank is experiencing ich :swear: but I think I have it under control. I have some salt in there, turned the heat up and am using Mardel.
basically I'm wondering if hes chattering because hes upset.
 
i've read that they only make noise when annoyed, stressed, bothered, etc.
i got one a few days ago and the only time i've heard him make noise was when i moved him from my boyfriends tank to mine. i don't think he wanted to move..
 
I have an adult rapheal and he only make noise if I catch him. He stays in his cave all day and only comes out at night to find food. I wish I saw him more :-(

but yeah he never makes noises, but I don't know if that's normal. Everything I read before I got him said they're a "screaming catfish".

Funny sidenote, one day my friend was helping me catch fish to move them, and she caught him with her hands cause he gets caught in a net. She didn't know that they do that, he SCREAMED at her and she freaked out and jumped and threw him, luckily into the water. It was hilarious, and he was fine. But that kinda indicates to me the noise is not really a positive thing.
 
hmmm, alright well I hope he settles down when the ich goes away. I wonder if his high activity level is anything to worry about either?
 
I'd say the daytime activity is also an indication of stress (along with all the noise.) Normally they're tucked up somewhere out-of-sight until dark, though they may come out for food. The only time I've seen raphael cats active by day was at the lfs the one time they had a tankful of juvies someone had spawned and swapped off. I don't know whether they eventually outgrew the daytime activity, or if it was a permanamt result of being tank-bred.
 
have you made a cave for him to hide in? If you haven't already, stick a pvc/abs pipe in there somewhere and he'll probably disappear and quiet down. I think the reason they'r so active in fish stores is usually because there's simply no where to hide!
 
he already has some favorite spots. I have a bunch of nice pieces of driftwood in there and lots of plants for cover too. maybe he just needs to get used to the tank or something.
 
that could be it. =]
 
mine tries to hide during the day when the light is on but if i put food in the tank he will come out in the daylight to eat, he is very big, probably around 6 inches but most nights when the light goes out he makes some noises but i also have a spotted cat which may comunicate with each other.

I dont think its a sign of stress more a communication method or terrotorial space to warn other fish off when dark.
 
I have had a spotted raphael for almost a year and honestly I've only seen him out swimming one time in the hole time I've had him and that was the day I put him in the tank. I have a piece of mopani driftwood in the 29 gallon that has a black area/curved area that he/she has always attached himself to. The only way I know that he's alive is when he wags his tall or turns around when I turn on the lights.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom