My RTC has a problem with one barbel

[turbovr6]

Hello all,

My juvi RTC ( about 4-5 inches) has a problem with one of his top barbels. It points straight up and it appears he can not move it.

Water params are perfect, he eats fine and is very active. I assume this is a problem from birth but I am concerned if this will become a problem later on.

Yes, I know how big he will get. He is in a 50 gal right now, but I have a 1100 gallon pond in my basement cycling for him!

Thanks

[crazx86]

Hi there,


Firstly, He is definately eating well from the looks of his belly. Secondly (Bad News), from the looks of the barbel, its seems to be genericlly to be that way. mayb its a birth defect. generally over the long run it might pose a problem if you are feeding it live foods as they use it for hunting n navigation. But i cant be too sure as well. I would suggest you give it a few days to heal up. BTW, does he have any tank mates..??


Regards
Crazx

[turbovr6]

I got him 6 weeks ago, he was maybe 2". Noticed the barbel problem about a week or two later. I feed him a variety of foods. Frozen blood worm and beefheat cubes, as well as cut up shrimp and fish fillets. No live foods.
No tankmates ether.

Thanks

[crazx86]

i guess it is genetic problem den. you should toggle around with a variety of foods for it den. so it will not grow bored. maybe a night crawler once in a while will be nice. i do feed it to my RTC as well. Hope he does well. he will be happy when he gets to swim in his 1100 G pond !!

[MatsP]

And do you have concrete plans for what you are going to do when the 1100g pond is too small in a few years time, or are you going to try to figure that out when the time comes? Ultimately, you will need something in the order of 5000 gallons - about 16 feet long, 8 feet wide and 5-6 feet deep, to keep a fish that is 4 feet long. It will take a few years to get there, but building a large indoor pond will also take a little while - unless of course you have so much money that you can just hire all the people needed to build it for you - then it will only take a few weeks to build a suitable foundation, put up the tank itself, and get the heating/filtration system working.

Sorry to be pessimistic, but these fish are so beautiful, they deserve a good life. Which is unlikely in MOST aquarists hands.

--
Mats