Growing up a baby redtail?

[Bigcatsrus(the bf!)]

Hi All

I have a half decent 450l set up at the moment. I want to get a redtail cat. I intend to grow it up from an infant. I have a 120l tank to start he process off in, I then intend to move him/her to the 450l tank and I'm currently having priced up a 6' x 4' x 5' tank for the cat to eventually go in to.

My question really is about the pace the redtail would grow at. If I start off with a 4" - 6" baby what would be the time scale before it out grew the big tank I currently have (which is a 5' bow fronted tank).

I would imagine the big tank would be ok for a cat of up to about 24".

Obviously the reason I'm asking is the time involved to get the money together to pay for an extention to the house to house the custom tank in plus the cost of the tank itself and I can't afford to start the process off until I know finanically it will be possible to look after the cat properly.

Many Thanks for any help.

Dave

[MatsP]

Yet another one falls for this beautiful fish - I love them too, but I'd personally rather see them banned from import, because there are fairly few people IN THE WORLD that have the resources to look after them.
6 x 4 x 5 ft is by far too small for this fish. You posted the photo of a 10y.o. fish, and that is far from fully grown - given good conditions, this fish will reach over 4ft in length. Sure, it may take 15-20 years reaching that size (most owners loose interest before then and actively or passively take the life of the fish in some manner, or gives it up to the LFS to take acre of), but eventually, you WILL need a small indoor pond of about 15-20 ft length and 8-10 ft width, and at least 5 ft deep.

You will also need to consider that the life-span of these fishes are 50 years and up. What will you be doing in 50 years time?

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Mats

[Bigcatsrus(the bf!)]

Now you see this is why I was asking! lol

I make good money so the resources aren't too much of an issue. I'm looking in to this carefully cause as far as I'm concerned if I were to get a redtail I would be looking to let it live out it's life with us. I was asking intially cause getting the roughly £20K I reckon it's gonna cost to put the (what now sounds like interim) custom tank in is going to take 12-18 months to save up for and I've heard horror stories of how quick these gorgeous beasts grow.

To answer your question Mats I have no idea where I will be when I'm 78 (OH MY GOD!) years old but I might out live the cat, you never know!!!!!!!

The extention I intend to build on the back of the house for what would now have to be the first of 2 custom tanks if I do this would still leave plenty of room on the side of the house (we are fortunate enough to have a big plot, we can get 6 cars on our drive as it stands) to build an aquarium room big enough to house the size of pond you are talking about.

So positives, I'm committed and have the room even if we don't up size in property at some point. I'm sure over the course of 15-20 years I would easily be able to get the money together to put said pond in (even in the current climate I'm able to save £1500-£2000 per month to spend on the bigger things in life) and I have become slowly more obsessed with redtails over the course of nearly 10 years (I knew the big guy my other half has posted pics of when he/she was about 12" and that's what started me off!)

The down sides.... well the amount I smoke I suppose the cat could out live me unless I get one soon! lol

[MatsP]

It does indeed sound like you have both the motivation and finance to deal with the situation - at least for now.

I would get the big tank first, then go find a rescue fish - there should be no big problem finding one - they appear on e-bay every now and again. Or PM the forum member "dorad" (Chris Ralph, PFK writer amongst other things), as he works with a group that does "big catfish rescue". He'd probably be very happy to find one to home for you.

There is (or at least was last weekend) a 15" [guestimate] specimen at Maidenhead Aquatics St Albans, which didn't have any sign saying "on holiday", so I expect it's a rescue fish that they took in to look after until better space can be found.

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Mats

[Bigcatsrus(the bf!)]

Hmmm, rescuing is probably not a bad idea.

I do agree with you that certain fish should not be availible for general public sale. I can remember seeing a tank in one of my LFS's a while back with about 20 1" giant giraffe cats in it for sale. Infact I had to rescue the Giraffe I currently have as the poor sod was in a 100 litre tank!!!!!

Ok, lets look at this another way - If I were to rescue a 10"-15" redtail I could house it in the 450 for now but what would be the time scale before it needed moving on or is it that short I should get the extention put up an the 1st custom tank on the way before I even think about it?

Thanks for all the advice, most appreciated, I wouldn't want any of the animals we own to suffer.

[Martin S]

[EDIT]Pretty much as Mats says above...[/EDIT]
It's great to see someone who has the space and commitment to keep a RTC, but as I understand it, the growth rate on these is usually pretty fast and a 6" fish will be at least 15" in the first year, and can double this again in the next. You might be OK if your timescale sticks, but if you have any problems with the building work, then it could be difficult trying to keep it happy and healthy in a tank that has become too small too quickly.
My suggestion - if you are still really committed, then build the large tank first. Then, if you still feel you have the time and commitment to extend that at a (not much) later date, then go find an RTC. If though, at this point, the building work has frayed your nerve, then stick with fish that will not outgrow the large tank - there's lots of fish suitable for your 6x4x5 tank that will live a long and healthy life in a tank this size.
HTH
Martin

[Bigcatsrus(the bf!)]

Right ok. I'm guessing Mats's is going to say the same! lol

Time to get the plans for the extention submitted methinks. This thread is going to go for ages till conclusion but if this is where I need to start then so be it. I'm going to need a bigger tank than the 450 for both of my existing cats anyway so it's a good place to start.

Must be patient.................... well I've waited nearly 10 years so another year or so wouldn't hurt.

[MatsP]

Stuff happens, right? It's much less difficult to "sort out what we do with the (empty) pond" than it is to deal with "We've had this fish for two years, and we can't get building permission for the fish-room-extension" or "the builder got hurt when he fell down when building the roof, and the next builder isn't available for another half a year", or "we had to re-think the fish-room, because we'll need the space for our (human) baby".

There are many things that happen to us during our life. Some of those things are planned, but many things are unplanned. If you'd asked me what I'd be doing in 15 years time, 15 years ago, I would certainly not have answered very well what I am doing today (although I'm now working for a competitor of who I worked at as a contractor/consultant 15 years ago - and I wouldn't have predicted that 2 years ago).

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Mats

[Bigcatsrus(the bf!)]

I know what your saying Mats but at the same time if you make a commitment to something then in my book it's made. If I thought like this I would not have taken on the dog, 3 cats and the fish we already have.

Not being funny my friend but it is a slightly pessemistic attitude, if I was some fly by night 16 year old with ideas of grandure then I would agree but if as I do I plan to give a good home to a fish that needs rescuing then I hope to be doing more good than harm.

The extention to the side of the house that could contain the pond (an 18' x 13' room) is on the same plans as the extention to the rear (an 18' x 12' room). I believe once planning permission has been granted as long as we start building soon after we have 5 years (I think) to complete the second extention. I have checked and the previous owners had planning permission for a double storey extention to the side of the house so I don't imagine it being an issue getting the planning permission through.

The property is already 3 beds and we have plans passed building regs to convert the loft. Three main reasons we brought the house were that we have fantasic fields and woods to walk the dog in which is MOD land and will not be built on, the road is very quiet so the cats can go out and not be at risk and the area is being re-generated and we have no intention of moving. This place was in a right state when we brought it 2 years ago but had loads of potential.

The Second extention is to be used as a games room but if I get a red tail then that will be removed or condensed to make room for the pond as and when required.

Having spoken to you guys I do not intend to get an RTC until I have the rear extention done and the 6x4x5 tank. Then according to predictions I have probably 15 years before the pond is required. Of course the plan IF this happens is to make a final choice as to wheather we stay here permenantly or move before we build the pond.

On top of all this I am still not saying 100% I would get an RTC but as long as I believe there is a 90% plus chance of being able to offer an RTC a long and happy life I will. If I don't think I can do that then I won't.

Sorry for rambling on, I know you must get unsuitable people trying to take on RTC's all the time, I just wanted to make the point that if I did, I wouldn't be one of them.

[Bas Pels]

What I read above does sound goed

However, let's start looking at the matter from another point of view:

TRC eat every now and then a lot, and then very little. This means, they pollute the water not regularly, but also with a similar pattern. This makes it hard to obtain a good filtration, as any bacteria needed to turn nitrite into nitrates would starve in the maeger times.

Personally I would think of solving this by havin not 1, but say 3 RTCs in the tank (which will have to be much bigger) and feeding 1 of them every other day - resulting a a more even pollution, and the individual fish eating almost once a week. However, this requires a way bigger tank

A last point of view - personally, if I could spend that much money on a tank, I would put other fish in the tank, as I like other fish, and the possibility to keep more than one fish in the tank, better

RTC will life a very long time, I"m thinking more than 50 years. With that life expectancy, one should think about caring for them after ones own deadth, I think

Obviously, I would not take the RTC, but I hope to assist you in deciding whether you want them

[Bigcatsrus(the bf!)]

Thank you for your input regarding tthe filtration, it's an interesting point I will have to look in to.

Fortunately I am only 28 at the moment so I do stand some chance of out living an RTC but I appreciate it would literally be a life time commitment.

Lastly, as with most things in life it's a case of each to their own. I was in ore of the RTC in my LFS when I last saw it probably 5 years ago. We went for a trek across the county to another branch of the same FS to see him/her again. I spent a long time again in ore of the beauty of the RTC last Saturday when we went and would be ultimately proud to own such a stunning creature.

[Bas Pels]

We don't have to share the same taste, luckely

As I'm 42, I expect to be gone in 50 years, but yes, at the tender age of 28 you may hope to outlife the RTC

I hope you manage

[Bigcatsrus(the bf!)]

Right guys just to close this one off for now. Thanks for all the advice. I have decided it is best to wait until I have my indoor pond build before looking to home an RTC. More urgently my 2 existing cat's are getting to the limit of my existing tank so an interim tank needs to be ordered pretty much straight away!

Anyone want to buy a RIO450?!?!?! lol

[taksan]

A rio 450 is going to last 6 months to 9 months.....
www.aquosis.co.uk is your friend.