Can I squeeze in a Rafael?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I have some pvc, maybe if I can’t make the rock cave the way I want, I’ll have to see what I have, I have a bucket of old decor laying around, good ide tho
Even seen some ppl go the extra mile, dremel the out side of the pvc and paint it to look like logs in the tank with a nice bark pattern. This is the one I watched.

 
I just picked him up today, he’s not as big as I thought but is about 6” and thick. I just saw a YouTube vid saying they’re venomous and they have venom glands at the base of there pectoral fins, is that true? I’ve never heard that before
 
  • Like
Reactions: Magnus_Bane
I just picked him up today, he’s not as big as I thought but is about 6” and thick. I just saw a YouTube vid saying they’re venomous and they have venom glands at the base of there pectoral fins, is that true? I’ve never heard that before
Lol pretty well all catfish that have barbed spines are somewhat venomous, just some more so then others. They secrete a mild neurotoxin that just causes nerves to flair in pain. Ever get stabbed by a catfish? Remember how long that painful throbbing lasted? That was the venom's doing. Lol ik cory cats tend to hurt like a mother f@#$_&. With rapheal cats I'd worry more about the double edged, razor blade fins rather then the venom they contain lol. But yes I can attest to rapheal's having a pretty painful venom as well, experienced it once when one of mine refused to let go of my thumb and then started flailing wildly. I was moving him to a warmer tank from the garage tank, heater failed during the beginning of winter, and he didn't like that too much lol.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joshuakahan
Lol pretty well all catfish that have barbed spines are somewhat venomous, just some more so then others. They secrete a mild neurotoxin that just causes nerves to flair in pain. Ever get stabbed by a catfish? Remember how long that painful throbbing lasted? That was the venom's doing. Lol ik cory cats tend to hurt like a mother f@#$_&. With rapheal cats I'd worry more about the double edged, razor blade fins rather then the venom they contain lol. But yes I can attest to rapheal's having a pretty painful venom as well, experienced it once when one of mine refused to let go of my thumb and then started flailing wildly. I was moving him to a warmer tank from the garage tank, heater failed during the beginning of winter, and he didn't like that too much lol.
Thanks for the info, that makes sense, I’ve been pricked by a syno and a pictus and remember thinking it hurt more than it should’ve lol
 
  • Like
Reactions: Magnus_Bane
Lol pretty well all catfish that have barbed spines are somewhat venomous, just some more so then others. They secrete a mild neurotoxin that just causes nerves to flair in pain. Ever get stabbed by a catfish? Remember how long that painful throbbing lasted? That was the venom's doing. Lol ik cory cats tend to hurt like a mother f@#$_&. With rapheal cats I'd worry more about the double edged, razor blade fins rather then the venom they contain lol. But yes I can attest to rapheal's having a pretty painful venom as well, experienced it once when one of mine refused to let go of my thumb and then started flailing wildly. I was moving him to a warmer tank from the garage tank, heater failed during the beginning of winter, and he didn't like that too much lol.
That vid wasn’t mine tho, it was the one I was referencing. Do Rafaels eat other fish? Here’s a pic of mine, it looks really fat like it ate another fish, he had it in a holding tank with some mbuna and peacocks

994CD9D5-561B-4A28-AD7F-E21B540A53DD.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Magnus_Bane
They are fat after feeding, but I’ve never really heard of them eating fish. Only thing I could think of would be fry under 3/4 inch.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joshuakahan
MonsterFishKeepers.com