Description and Behavior
These fish burrow in the soft river bottoms and frequently occurs on sandy bottoms. These fish feed on mollusks, crustaceans, and organic debris.
They have rigid pectoral fin spines. The striped Raphael catfish also has tiny and curved protective spines running along its body. The striped Raphael catfish can grow up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in) SL.
Juvenile raphael catfish have been recorded cleaning piscivorous fish such as Hoplias cf. malabaricus. The stripe pattern in the young may serve as a signal that allows for its recognition as a cleaner. It is noted that the striping pattern is not as strong in adults, and so the cleaning behavior is probably only seen in juveniles.
Read more about this topic: Striped Raphael Catfish
Famous quotes containing the words description and/or behavior:
“A sound mind in a sound body, is a short, but full description of a happy state in this World: he that has these two, has little more to wish for; and he that wants either of them, will be little the better for anything else.”
—John Locke (1632–1704)
“The psychological umbilical cord is more difficult to cut than the real one. We experience our children as extensions of ourselves, and we feel as though their behavior is an expression of something within us...instead of an expression of something in them. We see in our children our own reflection, and when we don’t like what we see, we feel angry at the reflection.”
—Elaine Heffner (20th century)