Striped Raphael Catfish (Talking Catfish)

Geographic Origin and Biotope: Amazon and Paraná River basins, Orinoco. Frequents dark meanders, stagnant waters and submerged roots loaded with organic debris of the forest (Blackwater).

Taxonomy and Morphology: Striped Raphael Catfish (Platydoras armatulus). Historically confused with *P. costatus*. Armored like a tank: it has hooked bony shields (scutes) all along its side and back. Flat and solid skull.

Social Behavior: The Night Ghost. By day you will never see it; it will dig a perfect furrow under the deepest wood to sleep in a group with its peers. At dusk, it emerges clumsily in search of debris on the bottom.

Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Lethal contrast. Very dark horizontal black band enclosed in two strong cream-white (or yellowish) lines running from the snout to the spiny tail. The belly is smooth white. Males thinner.

Aquarium Setup: Catfish tank (120 cm / 48 inches). Fine sand. Hollow woods, hidden terracotta pipes and a dense forest of Echinodorus, to prevent the light from irritating its diurnal eyes. Filters that do not generate excessive water current.

Diet and Feeding: Detritivore and Carnivore scavenger. Literally sweeps away anything uneaten by others. Needs thick sinking pellets, ground snails, krill and bloodworms. Must be fed in the evening or with the lights off.

Water Quality: Indestructible armored fish. Does not get ich and is highly resistant to pollutants. Survives temperature jumps, but needs slightly acidic pH so as not to flake the carapace.

Compatibility and Tankmates: Gentle giant... for those who do not fit in its mouth. Will ignore all medium-large fish (Angelfish, Geophagus, Discus), but will systematically swallow Neons or dwarf Corydoras during the night. Never with Caridinas.

Aquarium Reproduction: Extremely rare. Only through hormonal induction in Southeast Asian farms. Mature females may seem about to explode with eggs (gravid), but without the hormones of the rainy season they will not lay them.

Risks and Diseases: The "Croaking" fish (Talking Catfish). If taken out of the water for tank cleaning (NEVER bare-handed nor with nets due to the lateral hooks lethal to whoever touches it), it will emit guttural squeaks (creaks) by rubbing the pectoral bones, scaring the aquarist to death.