Feeding RTC

[mitch]

I have an 20" RTC, as long as he's feed well he leaves all my other fish alone.
But cos of his size of him he eats loads!!! I mainly feeding him spratts, muscles, prawns, white bait etc. Although my filter system is coping with the waste, i am having to do water changes every 2 days cos the water is always misty.

I am a bit caught in the middle at the moment, if i feed him i i get a clowdy tank, if i dont, i loose a fish. The last victim was my oscilaris (peacock bass).

Is there anything I can feed him that is'nt as greasy that will keep him full????
And what tank mates could i possibly get away with keeping with him when fully grown????

Cheers

Mitch

[Rusty]

First of all, how large is your tank? Second, how often are you feeding it? A fish that size only needs to be fed once every 5-10 days to stay full.

Rusty

[mitch]

At the moment is is homed in a 300g tank which mesures 8'x2.5'x2.5'.

I used to feed once or twice a week but more frequently now so that he leaves the others alone.
You can tell when he is ready for food by the shape of his stomach. He seems to digest his food a lot quicker lately

[coelacanth]

Although my filter system is coping with the waste, i am having to do water changes every 2 days cos the water is always misty

If the water is always misty it can't really be said that the filter system is coping. You may find that your water is carrying a heavy load of heterotrophic bacteria, some of which are potentially pathogenic to the fish.

I am a bit caught in the middle at the moment, if i feed him i i get a clowdy tank, if i dont, i loose a fish. The last victim was my oscilaris (peacock bass).

In that case you need to take a decision, and soon, regarding the welfare of all the fish you have. If you have room for a much larger aquarium you could keep the RTC, but you will be very restricted in the choice of tankmates. If the only way to prevent predation is to keep the fish in a constant state of satiation you are going to have a disaster at some point.

[mitch]

I think i sorted the problem, for now anyway. I noticed that i had left my pump on maximum speed whilst doing a previous water change, which ment the water was being pushed through the filters to quick, hence not filtering properly.

Still, any suggestions on ungreasy food????

As for the other fish, i know i'll have to seperate the soon.

[jim2y]

I feed my RTC once in a week. I have ever feed my RTC too much so my RTC vomited, yeaaak my tank became dirty and oily. To prevent this i use 2 pump for my tank and i use undergravel system filter.
I think my RTC is not too greedy he only eats 2 walking catfishes 8 inches in a week. However my tiger catfish can eat 5 walking catfish.