Striped Raphael catfish
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Striped Raphael catfish | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg/250px-Platydoras_costatus_2_(Piotr_Kuczynski).jpg) |
||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Platydoras costatus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
||||||||||||||
| Synonyms | ||||||||||||||
|
Striped Raphael catfish, Platydoras costatus, is a catfish of the family Doradidae. It may also be called talking catfish, chocolate doradid, chocolate catfish or thorny catfish.[1] This peaceful, nocturnal species is a popular aquarium fish due to its pleasant temperament and curious nature.[2][3]
Contents |
[edit] Origin and distribution
The striped Raphael catfish are commonly found in the Amazon, Tocantins, Parnaíba, Orinoco, Essequibo Rivers in French Guiana and Suriname of South America.[2] They have been introduced into the contiguous states of the United States.[citation needed]
[edit] Description and behavior
These fish burrow in the soft river bottoms and frequently occurs on sandy bottoms.[2] These fish feed on mollusks, crustaceans, and organic debris.[2]
They have rigid pectoral fin spines. The striped Raphael catfish also has tiny and curved protective spines running along its body. The striped Raphael catfish can grow up to 9½ inches (24 cm).[2]
Juvenile raphael catfish have been recorded cleaning piscivorous fish such as Hoplias cf. malabaricus. The stripe pattern in the young may serve as a signal that allows for its recognition as a cleaner. It is noted that the striping pattern is not as strong in adults, and so the cleaning behavior is probably only seen in juveniles.[4]
[edit] In the aquarium
.jpg/180px-Platydoras_costatus_5_(Piotr_Kuczynski).jpg)
Striped Raphael catfishes are top, middle and bottom dwellers but normally swims in the bottom of the aquarium.[citation needed] They thrive in water conditions with pH 5.8–7.5, with 2–20° dGH water hardness, and temperature ranging from 75–86°F (23–30°C).[3] They are bottom-feeding carnivores that need foods rich in protein such as live bloodworms, earthworms, and Tubifex worms. They may also eat frozen foods, flakes or tablets.[3]
The striped Raphael catfish is a fine and sociable community fish that are peaceful to fellow catfishes and other fish species.[3] However, they are nocturnal, and are usually not visible during the day.[3]
It is best not to catch the striped Raphael catfish with a fish net because they are prone to sticking out their pectoral fin spines in a very rigid manner, especially if stressed. Untangling these spines from a net is difficult and dangerous to both handler and fish. Alternative methods should be used, such as enticing the fish into a PVC pipe or glass.[3]
Although known as a spawning fish, sexual differences are unknown and there have been no reports of being successfully bred in captivity.[3] Because of this, these fish must be wild-caught, and therefore contaminants sometime occur in the hobby, such as Orinocodoras eigenmanni, which differs in a longer snout.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Agbayani, Eli (2004-12-10). Common Names List. FishBase. Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
- ^ a b c d e "Platydoras costatus". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
- ^ a b c d e f g h PlanetCatfish::Catfish of the Month::July 1999. Planetcatfish.com (2007-02-10). Retrieved on 2007-06-19.
- ^ Carvalho, Lucélia Nobre; Arruda, Rafael; Zuanon, Jansen Zuanon (2003). "Record of cleaning behavior by Platydoras costatus (Siluriformes: Doradidae) in the Amazon Basin, Brazil" (PDF). Neotropical Ichthyology 1: 137–139. doi:.
 |
This catfish-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
