Red tail Catfish

Cajuncat18 · Post by **Cajuncat18** » 15 Sep 2013, 00:12

I just got a red tail catfish and I would like to know somethings about him.. he is about 14 inch long and I have him in a 90 gallon tank that I use to have goldfish in and it has gravel in it I should I take the gravel out and he has just been sitting at the bottom of the take is he ok or what is going on so if you could let me know that would be great! thank you!!

really need help

Viktor Jarikov · Post by **Viktor Jarikov** » 15 Sep 2013, 02:08

Welcome to the Planet!

Any substrate, that can be swallowed by an RTC, is recommended to be either removed or replaced with either sand or large rocks and such.

If you just got him, he is adjusting to your tank and is a bit stressed, on top of being mostly nocturnal and a bottom dweller. So, nothing unusual. Make sure your water parameters are good and that the tank only receives dim light, like room light, I'd not use a tank light at all. At 14", he does not really need a place to hide.

I hope you know what you are getting into:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... 1-Viewing)

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... nformation

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... rtc+record

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forum ... t=RTC+pics

Cajuncat18 · Post by **Cajuncat18** » 15 Sep 2013, 05:52

Thank you! what should I feed him and when do I feed him

Cajuncat18 · Post by **Cajuncat18** » 15 Sep 2013, 06:17

should I get live sand or just sand for my catfish??

Cajuncat18 · Post by **Cajuncat18** » 15 Sep 2013, 06:25

what should I feed my red tail catfish just got him yesterday and got him some goldfish and he ate them all.... what should I feed him?? and should I buy live sand or just sand for his tank??

rob rensen · Post by **rob rensen** » 15 Sep 2013, 08:41

I hope you realise that these redtail get very big, they eat a lot, they produce a lot of waste so you have to refresh you're tankwater often. To my opinion it's nota suitable fish for a home tank

soon it gets as big as the one on the pic....and they grow on

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 15 Sep 2013, 10:28

Merged these two threads as they're going to introduce duplication...

Viktor Jarikov · Post by **Viktor Jarikov** » 15 Sep 2013, 15:35

Cajuncat18 wrote:what should I feed my red tail catfish just got him yesterday and got him some goldfish and he ate them all.... what should I feed him?? and should I buy live sand or just sand for his tank??

It's an excellent sign that he ate but, please, don't feed him goldfish. It is a poor diet because goldfish is too fatty. Also, you risk transferring harmful parasites and bacteria to your RTC. Also, it is considered inhumane by most keepers and professionals. He does not need live foods at all. He will be fine with dry foods, pellets, and frozen-thawed foods of aquatic origin - fish, whole and pieces (whole is better), crustaceans, sea foods, etc. Pick a few staples and then add diversification for best health and growth.

IDK what's live sand - is it a term from saltwater fish-keeping? Like live rock? Just ordinary aquarium sand is fine. Actually, washed play sand from Lowe's and Home Depots is fine too.

Please read the links I provided - they answer most of your questions. Doing research after purchasing a pet is a bad practice but not doing research is incomparably worse.

May I ask you for you to introduce yourself, please, and post pics of your tank and fish?

You are touching on a dangerous, hot topic here because only ~0.1% of ordinary fish hobbyists are able to provide even a questionably adequate housing and care for such a monster fish that can (not always does) grow to 5.5' and 200 lbs and even more and should live for 20-50 years. Most of those house them in large ponds as tanks or ponds with windows of the proper size are out of financial reach for a vast majority. Both constructing and running.

You are risking being sharply criticized ("flamed" they came to call it) by those less tolerant... People are also wary of trolling - one of the most hideous ways of entertainment chosen by some to have a "good" time...

.Plecomania. · Post by **.Plecomania.** » 15 Sep 2013, 19:53

Where are you located? if you're closer to the equator and don't have winter then maybe could make an outdoor pond for this guy. he would truly be happier in a large pond outside with tons of gallons of water and good filtration. more than 5000 gallons should be ok lol.
If this fish is in an apartment tank, then it should have no business there.
You should grow him out to some extent in an indoor tank and the release him into your outdoor pond.

Cajuncat18 · Post by **Cajuncat18** » 16 Sep 2013, 21:17

what if I make a in door pond

.Plecomania. · Post by **.Plecomania.** » 16 Sep 2013, 22:25

well the bare minimum would have to be around 1300gallons so i doubt an indoor heated pond is an option financially for most.
I'd say move on to another catfish species if you cannot provide the sapce and care for an adult red tail. you should always plan for the adult.
just my opinion.

Viktor Jarikov · Post by **Viktor Jarikov** » 17 Sep 2013, 01:08

If you are talking "for life" housing, then perhaps the biggest your RTC will grow to will be ~4'. Absolute minimum dictates around 4 times the fish's length = 16' pond length and 2 times the fish's length = 8' pond width and likely at least 4' deep as the fish will be ~2' tall. That's 514 cubic feet = 14.3 cubic meters = 14,250 liters = 3,800 US gallons.

The same volume of water would be held by a round intex pool (will need to put a rubber liner in it) of 13' diameter and 4' depth and that could be more or less adequate.

Now this is minimum. Needless to say, minimum is not good enough for most keepers of this fish that take it really seriously.

On the up side, you can house a collection of large fish in such a pond.

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If you read the links I provided, you'd find 1000 times more helpful info from many keepers of the SA RTC and the wanna-bees.

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If you live in northern US, the heating will be needed. If you insulate real well, it's a huge saving. But in any event, in the, say, 25 years of the life span of this fish, be prepared to absorb the cost of from perhaps $15,000 if you set up everything close to perfect, to the likes of $50,000 and may be even up to $100,000.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 18 Sep 2013, 06:51

Viktor,
Good job of providing another hapless RTC owner information needed to take proper care of these "too big to be kept in aquaria" catfish.
Live crayfish and night crawler worms are good foods. In most places it is lawful to collect the former and collect or culture the latter.

Panquetalk · Post by **Panquetalk** » 17 Feb 2014, 03:02

Please do yoursef and the fish a favor and take it back. I'm not harping on this matter but RTCs are large massive catfish that are better left wild in the Amazon.. caring for them is a job best left to public aqurea or not at all. As others have told you an outdoor pond is needed, this catfish gets big enough to eat a cat or small dog. There are alot of fish you can house in a 90 gallon system that dont get to be a child size, or teenager size fish!!!

Red tail Catfish

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what should my red tail catfish eat?? :)

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