PlanetCatfish.com

Hey everybody my lfs has a cute tiny what I would consider a baby spotted raphael cat and I was just wondering how fast they grow and how shy they are and if they would be a good addition to my aquarium! Which is all catfish!

I never kept the spotted raphael, but the stripoed raphael, Platydoras amatulus, did grow from 6 cm to 15 cm in approximately 3 years

Now, 24 years later, they measure 20 cm. Obviously, the longelivety might be the main problem with keeping these fish, not the speed of growth

Because, you will have to take care of them for quite a while

You seem to have an unusual mix of cats in your tank & you'll need to ensure more hiding places than you have fish to avoid crowding and potential damage. The spotted doras is IMHO more secretive than any species you currently have & given adequate space there will be unsuitable size differences between some species before too long

I've had one of these for almost 2 years now and I frequently forget she is even in there. She rarely ever leaves the hollow african root wood she calls home and the only way I can lure her out is to drop a few pellets in an hour or two after the lights go out.

In my experience, they are very seclusive fish. As Substance posted, it is not uncommon for them to remain hidden from their keeper(s) for long periods of time.

A few months ago I found two spotted and two striped raphaels at pet co they were marked as misc.cats 2/5$ I now keep all four .they love to hide and feed at nite ,so I use my coon hunting lite with a red lens to watch them. Some time I will put my hand in the tank and they will swim into my hand and seem to cuddle. This seems strange of a fish that is so secretive. They were 1/2 inch long to start and are 2 1/2 inches now fat and happy what neat fish.