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Hi I just got tree raphael 2 of them are 6-7 cm I got those two weeks ago and feed them cuclid parrot food those round pellets are rich in carotenoids and make parrots turn red and one of the cats has got pink color on the stripes could he be sick or the food is makin effect? Also I bought today a huge one 15 cm or so what are the minimum requiremnts for them?

Have you read the cat-elog page - ?

There is also a catfish of the month article on them here.

Also try forum searches for "Platydoras", "costatus", "armatulus", "raphael", humbug", "striped talking catfish" etc.

I would imagine the coloured foods are indeed causing the fish to become more red.

They are not fussy as far as water conditions are concerned, but avoid extremes. They will eat most foods, but do need a decent sized tank though. Try to provide many hiding places and keep the lighting dim - you will see more of them this way. Sand substrate will also be appreciated.

Let us know if you need any other information.

HI herer are the pics, I dont seem to understand the diferences so I took photos of them the only main diference I have found is a white belly in the one with "pink"
The huge g uy


the pink guy



the other guy

I have a 300 liter tank, I had 4 chamaleon whiptail there but they died, I can wass it and add some bleach to sterilize that tank how many adults could live there? I have a single trouble, temperature there is 18-23C, by the way , are they the same species?

racoll wrote:Have you read the cat-elog page -

Platydoras armatulus

?

There is also a catfish of the month article on them here.

Also try forum searches for "Platydoras", "costatus", "armatulus", "raphael", humbug", "striped talking catfish" etc.

I would imagine the coloured foods are indeed causing the fish to become more red.

They are not fussy as far as water conditions are concerned, but avoid extremes. They will eat most foods, but do need a decent sized tank though. Try to provide many hiding places and keep the lighting dim - you will see more of them this way. Sand substrate will also be appreciated.

Let us know if you need any other information.

18-23'C is a bit low, really. P. armatulus like 23-30'C, so no lower than that.

--
Mats

What about filtration and water quality are they delicate fish?

taheton wrote:What about filtration and water quality are they delicate fish?

They are certainly not a 'delicate' fish so any appropriate filtration for the tank volume & water-change regime should suffice

Couls someone tell me what species are they? are they all same species ?

I believe they are all the common Raphael cat. The pinkish skin is not a sign of a different species - it may be a sign of it being injured or having an infection.

--
Mats

That would mean they are armatulus?

taheton what do yah feed your rapheals.

I am feeding them otto red parrot pellets

racoll wrote:"Platydoras", "costatus", "armatulus", "raphael", humbug", "striped talking catfish"

taheton wrote:That would mean they are armatulus?

Yes, 99.9% of fish sold under these names are Platydoras armatulus, as are your fish.

We used to think the fish in the trade were P. costatus, but recently the doradid expert re-identified "our" fish as P. armatulus.

sorry this may seem like a silly question...but why are you feeding catfish parrot pellets? I thought there are a myriad of fish food brands that are readily available from aquariums, if not most petstores...? maybe if you just used normal pellets, the redness may disappear?

Cory_lover wrote:sorry this may seem like a silly question...but why are you feeding catfish parrot pellets?

taheton wrote:and feed them cuclid parrot food those round pellets are rich in carotenoids and make parrots turn red

Red parrot cichlid pellets

Cory_lover wrote:maybe if you just used normal pellets, the redness may disappear?

MatsP wrote:it may be a sign of it being injured or having an infection.

I don't think the redness is from the color enhancing food.

Colour enhancing food would make it look more orange than pink, I'd say.

--
Mats

Younger fish tend to have more translucent skin, so maybe its just that.

It doesn't look ill from the photos.

Is it behaving naturally and normally?

Well he moves normal, and the other one is fine too I wonder what makes him get redish