Jaguar/Raphael questions...

[martyrx]

Hi,
I'm somewhat new to aquariums in general, but very new to catfish. I've had one spotted and one striped raphael for a couple weeks now. They seem to be thriving and come out right away everytime I put food in after dark. I still have just a couple questions after reading through this site and several fish books.

1. I have provided ample hiding spaces, but the spotted and striped raphael have decided to live in the same one. Will this become a problem as they get bigger or can they tolerate to live in such close quarters with one another?

2. While reading through information online, I came across the Jaguar Catfish and really like the way it looks. Would it be compatible with my raphaels? I would like to get one if it wouldn't require setting up another aquarium. In case it matters the other fish in my tank are a school of zebra danios, a school of tiger barbs, a few Gold/Blue Gouramis, and a rainbow shark.

3. I've read that the Jaguars prefer to be kept in pairs, but I only have one of each type of raphael. Would it be okay if I kept 2 Jaguars anyways? or 1 Jaguar along with the other 2 raphaels? or do I need to have 2 of each species for them to be happy?0

If the Jaguar Catfish can't live in this community aquarium, I'm open to suggestions for other similar-size catfish. I'm willing to spend a little bit of money but not a whole ton ($30-40).

Thanks in advance for any help
--Jeremy Miller

[Silurus]

If you have ample hiding places and the raphaels decide to stick together, that's OK for now. Even when they outgrow each other's welcome, the one getting kicked out will still have plenty of hiding spaces to choose from.
The jaguar cats (and raphaels for that matter) will end up snacking on your danios.
You don't really need to keep more than one jaguar cat together. They will do just as well by themselves.

[martyrx]

Thanks for your response. I can just move the danios later on. The catfish are way cooler anyways. The raphaels are real small now so I have time to find someplace else for the danios to be. So I'm assuming the jaguars and raphaels are okay in the same tank yes?

Now just one more question. Where is a good place to buy the jaguar catfish online? My local selection sucks. Some place I looked at called Zang's had a good price on one. Anyone know if that's a good place to get one from?

Thanks again
--Jeremy Miller

[Silurus]

The jaguars and raphaels should do OK together. Can't really say anything about Zang, since I've never bought from them. But I guess $22 sounds about OK for one.