Looking for medium-sized thorny doradid. C. brachiatus?

[knifegill]

Any specific requirements for this species other than space? I have a 125g which will house my Oscar and I'm looking for one doradid to accompany him. I know megalodoras uranoscopus gets too big, but are there others that get to around a foot? I went through the cat-e-log and found only C. brachiatus.

[MatsP]

Here is a list of Doaridae that grow between 200mm (about 8") to 400mm (about 16").

How easiy any of these are to find in your LFS is a completely different matter - aside from a few Doradidae species, they are generaly quite hard to find.

--
Mats

[knifegill]

Thanks. Those were the cats I had come across in my stroll down the list, but many of them are moderately long-nosed and smooth. Pretty by some standards, but certainly not my idea of an awesome catfish. Do you know of any specific care concerns for C. brachiatus? Any common names to get it ordered by?

[MatsP]

I have no idea. There are two keepers of C. brachiatus, but I only think "Corybreed" is a regular of this forum. May be a good idea to use the PM faciltity to catch Corybreed's attention to this thread.

As I said earlier, many of the Dordidae are fairly rare in the trade, so it may not be that easy to get hold of one.

--
Mats

[Richard B]

This is a very unusual species we are discussing & i'm afraid to say chances of obtaining them are probably less than "slim" - i've never seen one in my fishkeeping time although i do know they have been available in the UK on a couple of occasions.

From the list Mats supplied, they are all pretty difficult/impossible to get hold of with the exceptions of Orincodoras, Platydoras & Rhinodoras which are resonably available here in the UK dependant upon species.

The idea to PM the registered keepers is probably the best source of intel on where to obtain this particular species

[worton[pl]]

Hey,

recently there was a topic with photos of BIG

Platydoras armatulus

.

Here it is. So some time, big tank and good feeding will make Platydoras a proper choice I guess. And they are easy to obtain .

Regards.

[knifegill]

I have a striped raphael of some sort. What are some good distinguishing characteristics? I know I saw at least three striped cats that loosely resembled my own in that list.

[MatsP]

Most likely, P. aramtulus is what you've got. They are by far the most common in the shops [they used to be called P. costatus until someone figured out that all along the fish called P. costatus are not what we have been calling P. costatus, but a slightly duller and less distinctive fish, which is very rarely seen in the hobby].

The less common, but still occurring from time to time is

Orinocodoras eigenmanni

.

If we look a the registered keepers in the Cat-eLog, then you'll notice that P. armatulus has 138 keepers, O. eigenmanni has 9.

Not sure which is the third species you think it may be - I only found two stripey ones on the list I posted. Perhaps you were looking at a smaller species?

--
Mats

[knifegill]

That could very well be. Thanks for all of your help. I think I might just try putting my raphael in with my Oscar when I change tanks. He's six inches, so the O should be okay with him as long as he has a place to hide.

[knifegill]

Actually, my raphael is only five inches long. Is it okay to keep his belly distended like the big one in that public tank? I was always afraid he would suffer if fed too much. Maybe he'll grow better if he looks more like a football than a fish. Opinions?

[knifegill]

What about Orinocodoras eigenmanni? Do they grow as slowly as other doradids?

[MatsP]

I believe all Doradids grow fairly slowly. The other problem with Orinocadoras eigenmanni, as I hinted in the other post, is that they are really not easy to find.

--
Mats

[knifegill]

I have a very resourceful LFS.

[Dave Rinaldo]

Here's a pic of my 7.25" SL

Orinocodoras eigenmanni

.

Just sitting there after feeding tonight.

[knifegill]

You're making me drool! Nice cat, there. How old is he?

[MatsP]

I have a very resourceful LFS.

Sure, but these fish are nearly always a "bycatch" fish - meaning that they are nearly never sold under correct name. They are simply shipped together with the P. armatulus, and if you are lucky, you can spot one. As the numbers state, there are 139 P. armatulus and 9 O. eigenmanni registered keepers. That's about 15 P. armatulus to every O. eigenmanni, and we probably have more O. eigenmanni keepers than you'd expect, because the number of P. armatulus sold to novice keepers is probably quite large [and they are less likely to register with Planet Catfish].

--
Mats

[arcsb]

Actually, my raphael is only five inches long. Is it okay to keep his belly distended like the big one in that public tank? I was always afraid he would suffer if fed too much. Maybe he'll grow better if he looks more like a football than a fish. Opinions?

My P.armatulus spend's most of his time lying on his side in his bogwood cave,but is such a graceful fish when out in the evening's looking for food.

He has a very large healthy belly as ths pic will show.

[knifegill]

Sheesh. That belly worries me. Glad he's healthy. I don't know if I could stand to see my raphael that plumped.

I understand what you are saying about the Eigenmanni. I'd rather have a Megalodoras Uranoscopus anyway. I'll hunt one down locally with any luck.