Johan767 Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Hi ive been given two Platydoras Costatus catfish to put in my 5 foot tank and i would just like to get some info from people who have kept them. Eg Special water parametres, care etc. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Striped Raphael or Humbug catfish are pretty widespread thoughout Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Brazil so they are quite adaptable. Soft to moderately hard water with a pH of 6 to about 7.5, temp in the mid to high 20'sC. They are mainly nocternal so appreciate a cave or pipe tucked away in the background some where to hold up in during the day. Feed good quality high protien (sinking) food at night. Even though they grow to 6 inches or more they are not over predatory and are safe with tetras and small cichlids. You might even get lucky and hear them talking at night !!! Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fisy66 Posted November 24, 2004 Share Posted November 24, 2004 Hi! just joined the forum! I've had my 2 Platydorus for 7 years. Word of advise-they grow LARGE! Mine are 11 inches. Eat anything! Are super tough and love to talk to you when you take them out of the water! Only had a problem once years ago, when one got a bacterial infection, but responded beautifully to tetracyclin. Suggest you eventually keep them with large cichlids and red hook sort of fish as they make short work of anything that fits in their gob. By the way, they adore burrowing snails! Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddie Salita Posted January 13, 2005 Share Posted January 13, 2005 Hope its OK to revive an old post. I am interested in how they eat the snails. ie: crushers or suckers. Mine seem to love knocking off salvini fry. Long shot but I have also read one or two reports of these guys breeding in heavily planted tanks. They seem to have built bubblenests on the underside of leaves. In the wild fry are found amongst thick grass/reeds in large numbers. The water is shallow, 12" with a silty bottom. Females are said to have a pale creamy belly, and males a darker grey belly. Has anyone ever read or heard anything on the breeding side of things. Perhaps its only a matter of time before they are being bred, like some pleco's used to be before someone cracked it. I dont pretend to be a guru, but perhaps its worth a try in a tank with lots of plants, kinda like hoplo's really with lots of well chosen plants. EG: softish water, half full tank, muddy riverbank aquascape, falling water. Does anyone want to speculate or am I just Dreamin. Cheers, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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