I dont think my Striped raphael catfish is eating?

Lolcat

I got my baby Striped Raphael Catfish(hes 1.5 inches long) on sunday, and although he still may be adjusting, i havent seen him eat. Hes currently in a 10 gallon tank which i know is too small, but i have a 30 gallon which i will put him in when he gets bigger, he shares the tank with 4 giant danios,(each are about 2 inches long) 3 albino corys and 1 mystery snail. I have some elodea and Amazon Sword, and alot of hiding caves. water temps are between 75 and 78 degrees fahrenheit, and i have an aquaclear 20 running on the tank, so right now the water is exceptionally clear. as far as ammonia and nitrite and nitrate, its always at 0ppm for all except nitrate, which is sometimes around 3ppm, but just to make sure, i add ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate remover after each water change. So anyway, i see the raphael swimming around at night, and sometimes he comes out in the day when i have my fluorescent light on, but i havent seen him eating. i feed my corys omega one shrimp pellets(they will not touch hikari algae wafers), 2 pellets each cory, and i put extra just for the raphael. So i guess its a good sign that hes still alive, but how can i make sure hes eating?

1077

Raphael catfish are largely nocturnal and dropping a tiny amount of pellet food or shrimp pellets in the tank after dark can help both the Cory's and the Raphael.
Don't know that I would consider keeping the fish you have in ten gallon tank if I had a thirty gallon tank available.
Certainly would not keep adding fish to the ten gallon which is more difficult to maintain than a larger tank.
Danios require lot's of swimming room and I would expect them to become stressed over the lack of room for swimming and to jump from the tank at their first opportunity.

Lolcat

i mean i ALWAYS see the corys eating, ive had them for about 4 weeks, as well as the danios, but i havent seen the raphael eat, and i stay up pretty late every night!

rtbob

I bought mine on 8/14/10 so I have had him four and a half months. I don't think I have ever seen it eat. I hardly see it at all. He spends all day under my holy rock. He must be eating as he has almost doubled in size.

Lolcat

What food do you put in your tank that your raphael presumably eats?

rtbob

He gets what ever flake food that floats to the bottom. Nightly sinking algae wafers for him, my pleco and my featherfin. Two times a week shrimp pellets. I turn the lights off and wait at least a half hour before feeding.

Lolcat

alright i have all of those foods ill try them, but ive noticed that my corys never touch algae wafers, so it breaks down and i have that green mush all over the gravel, but ill put half.

jeaninel

I bought my Raphael cat in June at about the same size as yours, about 1.5". He hid under the driftwood all the time and I very rarely saw him. Once in awhile I would see him make a lap around the tank after lights out. I did notice his belly was pretty fat so i was sure he was finding food. He's now 5" and out and about much more, even when the lights are on. He has learned when it is feeding time as the tiger barbs he is in with get very hyper when I drop food in and he will come out and hoover around for pellets. I also think they have a keen sense of smell and so know when there is food in the tank. Mine loves the sinking shrimp pellets. He also gets fresh market shrimp, algae wafers and frozen foods a couple times a week. I'm sure yours is finding food but if you're worried he isn't getting enough maybe drop a few pellets right near his hiding spot.

ElectricBlueJackDempsey

My first fish was a Raphael catfish and is now 7in and lives in the show tank at my lfs because he has outgrow my tank. They get less shy as they get larger but rarely come out during the day