Diet: Flake, Frozen, Freeze-dried Maximum size: 8" Water temperature: 72-82 degree F Swimming level: Bottom Experience level: Intermediate Tank Setup: 29+ gallons Note: Pet availability is seasonal. State and local regulations may vary. Pricing may vary by store location. PetSmart stores cannot match the price above for this pet. Ask a store associate for details.

Overall rating:

4.1

(18 reviews) 18

15 of 18(83%)customers recommend this product.

Reviews for Striped Raphael Catfish

Review 1 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

My fav fish

June 16, 2013

by jimmoj

fromKingsport, TN

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

I love these guys, I had 2 and gave them to my sister for her 55 g. And I really missed them. So I bought myself 3 more for my 55G. were they live happily with my bloodparrot , a 12" Plecostomus, Black Convict Cichlid, Spotted African Leaf Fish and a redtail shark.
I also have the tank full of caves, rocks, and plants for all the fish to explore and hide.

0points

0of 0voted this as helpful.

Review 2 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

My Favorite Catfish Species

May 30, 2013

by Lydah

fromLittleton, CO

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

I've always had raphael catfish in my aquariums. While these fish are very nocturnal for the first year, or even first several years, once they feel settled they will be very active fish, zooming about and exploring the aquarium. My raphaels took about 2 years to fully settle, and will now come up to the top of the tank to feed eagerly with the other fish.

They are gentle giants, and will only eat very small fish smaller than 2". They will do well in almost any community. I've kept them with everything from angels to oscars, they don't bother anything, and nothing will bother them. My raphaels have always been more active in groups, and I typically keep them in trios.

They eagerly gorge themselves on any food you add, so be careful not to overfeed. I let my raphaels do plenty of scavenging without giving them a specific food. They get a mixture of algae wafers, cichlid pellets, and tropical flakes which are added to the tank to feed the other fish, as well as plenty of frozen foods.

0points

0of 0voted this as helpful.

Review 3 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

Nice Cat

May 28, 2013

by EatingLeg

fromWestminster, MD

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year

I've had Beeker (because he was a squeeker when little) for about 3 years now. First year and a half I never saw it and had several times assumed it dead. Nope, just hid all the time. Once it got to about 4" and fat, he came out alot more, it now chills on the bottom in the open despite several available caves (does go in there when sleeping. BTW Beeker is now about 6 1/2-7 inches long and shares his home with a 9" Texas Cichlid, 8" Female Jack Dempsey Cichlid (they are paired), a 12" Brown Bullhead Catfish, 7" African Featherfin Catfish and a 10" Bichir. Interacts quite a bit with the other cats and it chills beside them both at times.

0points

0of 0voted this as helpful.

Review 4 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

Great Raphael

March 28, 2013

by Cubfan

fromSan Diego, CA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?1

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

I have had my Striped Raphael for over two years. He is nocternal and comes out at night and is very active then. I love all the swimming he does at night up and down the sides of the tank. He keeps my tank very clean also. I have him with Platys, Daino's and his tank cleaning helpers a Corydora and Corycatfish. Everyone tells me how clean my tank stays.

+2points

2of 2voted this as helpful.

Review 5 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

2 / 5 18 reviews

Beware of the Raphael

March 26, 2013

by Viktor

fromVA

These creatures are blind. They would just hide somewhere where light don't hurt them. Also, they tend to like to be in bunch, so make sure you buy plenty, not like me who got only one. They have nice colors yes, but what good would that be if you can't see them. Mine didn't eat, didn't get out his hiding spot, didn't move across the tank... so I didn't keep him.

-6points

3of 12voted this as helpful.

Review 6 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

Great, hardy fish

January 17, 2013

by CBrodeur

fromSaskatoon, SK

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

I purchased my catfish from Petsmart over four years ago. Since then it has gone through some rough times (got stuck in a plant tube, inadequate cleaning of tank) and I was sure I was going to lose it more than once but it has stuck through. This fish tends to spend most of its time hidden in rock decorations, but will come out and show off at feeding. It has grown to about double its initial size in a 15G tank. I expect that this fish will be with me for many years yet :)

+5points

5of 5voted this as helpful.

Review 7 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

3 / 5 18 reviews

In search of

August 6, 2012

by fishlore

fromArlington, VA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

This is actually a very cool fish that appears to be peaceful but it is very reclusive! Some days I'm reminded of its existence when it makes a surprise showing. There is nothing wrong with this and I really like the fish, but I also like to see it and know if it's alive, so it is hard for me to really recommend it.

+2points

4of 6voted this as helpful.

Review 8 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

1 / 5 18 reviews

Predatory Nocturnal Fish

June 26, 2012

by FishByMo

fromPennsylvania

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

Let me start by saying my review is not based on any dislike for this fish. Rather, most people don't realize what they're getting when they purchase one of these cute little devils at the 1.5" or 2" size, and the folks in the store often don't know to tell you. It will grow into a large, predatory, nocturnal animal. You will never see it come out of hiding in the tank. It's a fish for a very specialized aquarium enthusiast, not for a general community tank. Find something else!

-3points

2of 7voted this as helpful.

Review 9 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

4 / 5 18 reviews

Ghosty the fish

June 10, 2012

by Amanda14

fromEast Windsor, NJ

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?1

How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year

A few years ago, we bought one of these fish. We thought that he looked ghost-like, so we named him ghosty. We realized later that we couldn't have picked a better name! He would hide alot, but we were always able to find him. One day, we couldn't find him. We had no idea what happned. Months later, we were cleaning the fish tank and we found him behind a rock. We figured that he was dead, and took out a net to take him out of the tank. As soon as the net toutched him, he darted away at full speed! The only bad thing about him is that we could never see him. He was definetly a cool fish to have around.

+5points

7of 9voted this as helpful.

Review 10 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

Good snail eaters

April 24, 2012

by Skyy007

fromMN

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?3

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

I got 2 of these fish 3 years ago. They were only an inch long now their a full 8! I love them, they cleaned up my infestation of snails within a week, and also all the baby fry from my breeding molly's who just wouldn't stop reproducing! Other than that they don't bother the other fish and are very peaceful fish. And very cool looking!

They are fairly timid. Once i up graded my tank to a 72 gallon bow front, I didn't see them for about 4 months. After they settled in they would come out and swim during the day and have even got on the feeding schedule of my day time fish. They both come scurrying to the corner of the tank waiting for their pellets when the light turns on.

+9points

10of 11voted this as helpful.

Review 11 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

3 / 5 18 reviews

Awesome Fish

March 1, 2012

by DJsMOM

frombrentwood, ca

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

LOVE my Raphaels!!! mine explore throughout the entire day...They don't hide as much as others are saying theirs do...

THESE GUYS ARE JUMPERS!!!!! I HAVE LOST 4 AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THEY ARE GETTING OUT OF MY FULLY COVERED TANK!!! when I lost the 4th, I took the top off, glued my lid down let it dry completely, then put it back on the tank and tried again... I'm feeding from a VERY small hole in the back of the tank lid to keep these guys in! so far my last one has not escaped...

Overall GORGEOUS fish and I love them... mine just needed some extra "jumping" precautions or modifications to keep them alive...

+3points

4of 5voted this as helpful.

Review 12 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

4 / 5 18 reviews

Good fish overall

February 19, 2012

by Anonymous

fromGrand Rapids, Mi

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year

Bought they fish when they were tiny and cute, since then they have grown over double that size. At first I found like most reviewers that I never seen them but it also made it better when I could see them. One thing I noticed was that as they got bigger they started to get a little ugly to be honest but seeing I never turn my fish tank light off they finally will come out in the light. I have found fish that I have had that were nocturnal will adapt to the light if they have no other choice. It sounds kind of mean but they take baby steps first they come out to eat then slowly they just get used to it. Both of my catfish swim around the bottom of tank throughout the entire day. They do sleep in the open alot and appear dead but dont worry they arent.

-2points

2of 6voted this as helpful.

Review 13 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

Striped raphael Catfish

February 12, 2012

by RetiredAF

fromNorth Carolina

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

This catfish was purchased when he was about 2-1/2 inches long. Now he is almost double that length and 3 times fatter (LOL). He does a great job helping keep the tank clean. He does tend to hide a lot, as is their nature, but comes out at feeding time. On occasion, it appears his stripes change colors when he sits on one of my red water lily leaves. Nice addition to any freshwater tank.

+5points

6of 7voted this as helpful.

Review 14 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

stripes

October 12, 2011

by alvarado123

fromGainesville, GA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

the easy and most lazy catfish anyone can own. ive had mine for about 2 years going to 3 and i just love this catfish. they get along with all fish that arent to small to fit in their mouths. ive seen people keep them as a group but i would perfer keeping only one per tank because these big guys need huge hideouts as they grow and to many would be a pain in my p.o.v...downsides to these great fish would probably be they cant live with little fish at all, they hate the light so rarely theyll be seen in the open

ps they are 1 of the few catfish that also eat plant based foods other then plecos

+5points

6of 7voted this as helpful.

Review 15 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

5 / 5 18 reviews

a fun catfish

July 31, 2011

by Ilovefish95

fromReading, PA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

A fun catfish for a Semi-Aggressive tank, But not for a small species tank. Also watch out for the spines all over there body, so don't catch one in a net.

0points

2of 4voted this as helpful.

Review 16 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

4 / 5 18 reviews

normal catfish

April 25, 2011

by justin1795

fromiowa

What is your gender?M

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

hides alot and wedges himself into spots.. dont see him unless i come down at night.

+1point

1of 1voted this as helpful.

Review 17 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

4 / 5 18 reviews

Oh where, oh where is Raphael?

March 9, 2011

by JudyD

fromLima, OH

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year

I agree with the other review.....I haven't seen my Raphael (named "Raphael" - not too original there -- smile) in months. I used to spot feed him with long tongs, but stopped doing that as I fear he may have passed away (no "wag of the tail" for quite a while). I need to remove the big driftwood to see what might have happened to him.

Before I buy another, I need to find a way to block access to the space under the log. Last time I saw him, he had scraped his head pretty bad getting in and out - so I raised it up more with a rock as that was easier at the time than taking the log out again. Maybe next time I will buy two - then at least he/she would have a friend under the log. My featherfin catfish used to hang out with him - but now the featherfin is much too big to get under the log. I see the cory cats go under the log so maybe the Raphael is still alive? I have two clown plecos who hang out under the log from time to time, too.

A very cool fish -- when you CAN see him.

0points

2of 4voted this as helpful.

Review 18 for Striped Raphael Catfish

Overall rating

4 / 5 18 reviews

Great fish, but not for a beginer.

June 19, 2010

by Hitchhiker

fromUSA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?2

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

Ralph, my Striped Raphael Catfish, is awesome he(?) is a lot of fun to watch WHEN he comes out. That is really the main reason that they are not good a s beginner fish, they will only come out when it is dark, or early morning just before the tank lights come on. If you want to be able to always see him, then you need to give him a cave that butts up against the glass. Sandy substrate is preferred as they will burrow to make their cave as spacious as possible.

A point of warning they will eat anything that will fit in their mouths. I lost 4 GloFish over 2 nights because they weren't quite big enough to escape him.

Pros: peaceful

Cons: doesn't come out during the day.

+9points

11of 13voted this as helpful.