What to keep a 4' cat in?

[toehead11183]

I'm trying to get ideas for a large 1000g+/- indoor pond. I've seen some people use those cheap inflatable walmart pools and galvanized stock tanks with livers but i'l looking for something rectantular. There is no way my wife will let me have some big ol ugly round pool in the house. I'm looking for something 8'Lx4'w"4't. 3'tall would be just fine, i'll just filter and waterchange more often. With it being rectangulat i can build a wooden case to hide it in and make it look nice instead of a big plactic or fiberglass tank in the house.
The petshop i used to work at had 70+ tanks that ran off three system which overflowed into 3 different vats. These fiberglass vats were 4'wx10'l and 18" deep. they would have been perfect if they were deeper. they are now closed so i cannot find out where they got them.
Any additional ideas or if you can point me in the direction of a website or company or even point me in the direction of business that may use something like this so that i can watch for closings or going out of business ads.

Thanks

[Bas Pels]

I would think, a 4 feet cat will not be restraind in a childrens swimmingpool, It's far too powerfull

As you intend to do some carpentry anyway, would it be too absurd to suggest making a nice pond wich you line with something waterproof, PVC sheets, polyethylene whatever?

It might save you a lot of money, and you get the size you want

You only neet to build very strong, say tiger proof

[Richard B]

I think that if you are thinking of keeping a cat that will be 4 foot long, the minimum size to consider is 16'x8'x8' which about 6,300 uk gallons, considerably bigger than what you are suggesting.

For the sizes you are considering i would look at smaller species - as a general rule of thumb, big fish should be kept in something that is 4 times longer, twice as wide & twice as high as the fishes total adult length

[toehead11183]

As a general rule, you may be right with an 8x8x16 but who really has the room for something like that.. i think a 4x4x8 would do just fine for a redtail catfish that would otherwise be cramped in a 100g tank or die. I may not be able to proving the best environment for a monster fish but i can do better than most fishkeepers who buy tank busters.
I run a backyard rescue for tank busters that are bought by people who dont know what they are buying. So far i have rescured a 14.5" pacu from a 75g, a 20" pacu from a 75 tall, 3 12" channel cats all from the same 55g, a 9" clown knife and 8" red oscar both from the same 29g and more. I do not buy or sell these fish, i just make sure they go to people with MORE suitable tanks. I have seen how cramped some fish can be but i think a 4x4x8 would be a playground considering the 4 redtails i have seen in tiny little tanks. It will be a solo RTC with maybe a few oscars and/or other cichlids if they come my way.

[slakey]

what about a tank that is 8long x 8wide x 4 tall?

[sidguppy]

As a general rule, you may be right with an 8x8x16 but who really has the room for something like that..

wich is THE best reason and bottom line why we shouldn't keep fish like that at all in our tank

cramping a fish in a tank as long and as wide as the length of the fish still is cruelty to animals
not just the restriction of movement, but also the constant stress and the lack of oxygen and the pollution.

it's like keeping a human in a cage like on Gitmo

oops, they already do that

well, WE shouldn't do that with our fish, nor advise it

if you can't house it properly, don't house it at all. all you do is prolong the suffering.
it might be for the best id that huge thing is killed in an animalfriendly way and eaten. that way it's not a total loss.

keeping a 4 feet fish in a 4 feet tank is simply not done. period. end of story.

[taksan]

What you really need is available is something like the tanks available here http://www.aquaculturetanks.com/

Otherwise these tanks are A-173G 8' x 4' x 3' and are pretty good too http://www.aquaticeco.com/subcategories ... ith-Window

But I'm afraid a square tank just isn't as good as a round tank due to round tanks providing better swimming room for fish for their size.

I keep my RTC's in a 16' dia 4 ' high round pond and they are pushing 4' each and I think a RTC needs at LEAST 2000G each even with big WC's and filtration. Would you keep a 4' long dog in a 8x4x3 foot room for its whole life? No !!!! Therefore why keep a fish like that?


Check out a video of my RTC pond below and you will see what I mean.


http://gallery.me.com/drpopper#100027