Should I transfer my catfish?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Thanks for your help, going to move them tomorrow so I'll fatten them both up tonight. They are both in peak physical shape other than the obeisity on my raphael cat but that may just be eggs. My aeration in the 75 isn't that great so I'll get a 20 or 30 dollar powerhead tomorrow at my LFS as well as some more hiding spots. Again, thanks for all your help.
 
BuffaloPolypteridae said:
My raph is the opposite, I've had it for a few months and I've only seen it eat twice

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mine WAS the same way. For the first 2 months it hid behind the thermometer part of my heater (luckily not the hot part) even though there were plenty of hiding spots. I never saw him eat once for the first three months yet his belly continued to get bigger so I wasn't worried. Just have patience,if yours are anything like mine they'll eventually get used to lights on feeding and then you can watch them.
 
The easiest way to see your raphs get active for feeding is to litter the bottom of your tank with wood, caves and a network of hideys that they will feel safe running between. And use dim lights or feed after dark with room light only. They will dart from cave to cave while vacuuming up every morsel along the way. It's adorable!

When I had my 125, I actually made a false elevated bottom out of huge, thin pieces of slate supported by coconut halves, pipes, driftwood, etc. All my cats would freely move around down there and pop out in full daylight, too!
 
Lol thanks for the tips! I dont run lights on any of my tanks other then ambient room light, it must just be that the majority of my tanks bottom is bare, other then his one hole and a few big rocks

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knifegill said:
The easiest way to see your raphs get active for feeding is to litter the bottom of your tank with wood, caves and a network of hideys that they will feel safe running between. And use dim lights or feed after dark with room light only. They will dart from cave to cave while vacuuming up every morsel along the way. It's adorable!

When I had my 125, I actually made a false elevated bottom out of huge, thin pieces of slate supported by coconut halves, pipes, driftwood, etc. All my cats would freely move around down there and pop out in full daylight, too!
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you have any pictures of that "elevated bottom" might be something worth attempting if it makes my cats more active. So the just of it is t prop up slate with pvc pipe? I could easily do that so long as it doesn't fall on and crush my cats. Did you silicon the skate to the pvc or just prop it up?
 
BuffaloPolypteridae said:
Lol thanks for the tips! I dont run lights on any of my tanks other then ambient room light, it must just be that the majority of my tanks bottom is bare, other then his one hole and a few big rocks

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Click to expand...

If I had a tank of all cats I wouldn't use light either, but unfortunately I don't have any all cat tanks. My 30 is planted so it needs light and my 75 will have cichlids which I think look better in light.
 
you have any pictures of that "elevated bottom" might be something worth attempting if it makes my cats more active. So the just of it is t prop up slate with pvc pipe? I could easily do that so long as it doesn't fall on and crush my cats. Did you silicon the skate to the pvc or just prop it up?
Click to expand...

I can dig through my pics, I think youtube still has a video of my 125, too. But, no, I didn't anchor them with anything. I cut and broke them to be about the same width as my tank, and then sanded the edges and propped them up in such a way that they didn't have enough play to slide off the pipes, wood, and (I just remembered) I also used granite cubes as major anchors for the slate.

No, none of my youtube videos show my slate bottom. Maybe in photos...

It looked like this from below: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/album.php?albumid=3551&attachmentid=661218
 
I moved them a few hours ago when I got back from my LFS with new stuff. It was a huge pain but I managed to catch my raphael with a cup (eventually) and got the pleco with a net. I then filled a bag up with some tank water and put them in it. I floated the bag in my 75 for fifteen minutes then slowly poured some water in from my 75. I dumped them both out and immediately my pleco started eating at my driftwood so I knew he would be fine. My raphael had a caniption, swam all around, and sat out in the open for a while. He then swam next to the heater so I had to scare him out so he didn't get burned. He went into my small driftwood cave a few times but for the past hour has just been sitting in a different random spot out in the open. Nobody bothers him, my rainbow shark just follows him around and lays next to him until he moves then follows again. I fed the other fish with lights off and the lights wre never on tonight. The only ambient light present tonight will be a dim lamp and tv away (but still I the same room) as the tank. Overall I think they adjusted fine though I do worry my raphael may be over stressed. There are ample hiding spots for him including a driftwood cave, a slate leaned on a rock, and his bridge from the other tank (which will be coming out if he doesn't take to it again). Hopefully he will be in a hiding spot by tomorrow other wise I will consult you guys. I will post pictures in an hour or so. PS I got an asian bumblebee catfish to fill the gap he left in my 30 (impulse buy sort of but, I did research it prior though and know it will be fine, probably make another thread because he is the most active catfish I have ever owned)!
 
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