Irwini aka Giant raphael cat anything i should know? (cat newb)

[BuffaloPolypteridae]

From what ive learned about them they seem to be peaceful, albeit heavily armored, bottom feeders that would make a great clean up fish for the messy bichir and wolf fish. Anything specific i should do for this catfish? this will be my 1st cat so any input is greatly appreciated!!

thanks for the input in advance! i find this catfish so fascinating, even when small the thing has armor like a tank! Also about how large should the final tank be for it? i plan on keeping it with a possibly sp. Peru wolf fish (he is a very laid back wolf) , red tail barracuda (who he will be growing out with also), and a few bichirs (only one larger one, ornate) and eartheating cichlids (more cleanup and a bit of color to the tank). I will be building my own and i will have help from experienced builders so I can go up to 200 gallons, but would prefer to keep it around 150 if that is large enough. kind of going for an ancient amazon motif

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Hey former neighbor! I lived in Rochester, NY 2000-2011 and ran a large-fish rescue as a hobby.

IMHO, I am afraid, 150-200 gal is way too small for an adult irwini, if talking FOR LIFE housing. They are slow growers though. It will get to 1' rather quickly, in ~1 year but then it will take another 3-5 years to get to 2'. In the wild, they appear to reach 3'+ total length.

Anyhow, the rule of thumb I follow is that the tank's minimal length should be 4 times the length of the fish and the minimal width should be 2 times the length of the fish.

Lithodoras dorsalis is significantly more better armored than irwini.

Yes, it is quite unfussy and will take to any reasonable foods and leftovers. It is markedly non-predatory but as usual, if a tank mate can easily fit in their (rather small) mouth, it is a risk.

None of my predatory cats, gars messed with any doradidae in my 4000 gal pond.

 

[BuffaloPolypteridae]

hmm I may go for a spotted raphael then instead, the site I initially read info about them on is pretty far off what they actually need haha, that's why I like to check on here w/ experienced people. a spotted and a striped should do good with my bichirs, wolf fish, and barracuda as long as they are full grown

that's awesome though I have family out in roch in the monroe ave area (the nice part by the big park and the armory museum) so I'm out there a few times a year

Sent from my DROID4 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Yeah, just balance the sizes so no one gets eaten. A predator may sometimes attempt to get their hind side in their mouth but usually never tries again after feeling the spikes on that violently wagging tail.

What website were you reading at about the irwinies? I am surprised. It could be a case of mis-ID on your part or on theirs.

We were not hip town people We lived in the suburb (Greece) all this time, in blue collar sleeping quarters...