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Two weeks... 3"--->1' YIKES! That's got to be the fastest growing fish I've ever heard of. That's incredible. I might be more inclined to believe it if it was two months

Yes, redtail cats get extremely large. I've seen them at Kew Gardens in a large pond in a greenhouse and they had enough room, and I've seen them at the National Zoo in a tank that was several thousand gallons in size. Those catfish should never be stocked in a fish shop regularly. They're only for people who have facilities for a 6' fish or two. I'm not saying they shouldn't be sold - they're a really cool fish. But they should be limited to aquarists who can keep them in appropriate conditions by special order and possibly a restrictively high price (if you've got a 2000 gallon tank, a $150 fish is just a drop in the bucket)

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"People always bring in their full-grown oscars that they don't want to take care of anymore (and they are usually deformed or have severe HITH from improper care), and there's only so many we can take care of. If we don't have any room for them, then we just toss them into the catfish tank once the person who brings them in leaves. "

that makes a lot of sense. i'd probably do the same thing if i were in the same position.

the zoo would probably take them

Also, once they get about 10" take them back, you will probably get like $30 store credit

Also, my LFS had a 2.5' red tailed catfish, but it died when we had massive flooding

This is a weird question, but the tail is probably not red because its stressed.

You can always cook them up and eat them when they get too big...

It's nearly impossible to find someone who will take them once they get large.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

The bigger RTCs are, the less demand there is for them...and by the time you have raised an RTC from 4" to 24", you will have spent far more on food than you could ever get for the fish.

i was wondering...if he get too big, if I return him, do i get profit from this? Because red-tail cost quite alot from where I'm from. About 40 dollars for a 8 inch one
hmm...8*9=72 inches=6 feet=40*9=$360

cha-ching
were in the money!
were in the money!
lala la

wow

Last edited by Trojan_man at 24-Oct-2004 00:49

I'm serious.

People always bring in their full-grown oscars that they don't want to take care of anymore (and they are usually deformed or have severe HITH from improper care), and there's only so many we can take care of. If we don't have any room for them, then we just toss them into the catfish tank once the person who brings them in leaves.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

"At the store I work at, we have one that's about 4' long and we feed her full-grown oscars. "

are you SERIOUS?

there is a 5' one at the zoo nearest me

I just recently bought a small 3 inch red-tail catfish from a lfs and his tail is dull and gray cement color. I was just wondering when is it gonna have the tail that give it its name?

Where I work, we got some free red tails in an order, and one died for unknown reasons, the other is doing GREAT!!! He is about a foot long now, and we only got him two weeks ago, when he was 3 inches. Now at a foot long, we think he is chowing down on our medium sized silver dollars.

Red tails get huge, fast. They are one fish that should not be sold. ]:|

toirtis - i live in interior bc - i've been to the vancouver aquarium many times (in fact, the red tailed catfish/arapiama tank is one of my favorite!!! second only to the shark tank) perhaps they've grown since i was there a year ago, but i don't remember them being 6' long...

I'd love to see a 6' Red Tail.

Erm, 200 gallons is like a minimum for many 2' fish. To even approach being able to keep an adult Red Tail your tank gallonage should be way larger (even to the extent of having at least four digits). Luckily, you have some time to save money, but the Red Tail does grow exceedingly fast. Good luck.

Last edited by Shinigami at 23-Oct-2004 10:55

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

but i've never seen anything say they get to 6'.

Go visit the Vancouver Aquarium...theirs is a hair under 6', and specimens of 5'-6' are commonly caught in the Amazon.

They do get HUGE. A 200 gallon is way too small for them.


At the store I work at, we have one that's about 4' long and we feed her full-grown oscars.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

everything i've ever read/seen shows they only get to 4' long... still gonna need a huge tank, but i've never seen anything say they get to 6'. i've always wanted one, but could never accomidate a fish that size

Last edited by bayara at 23-Oct-2004 00:17

200g wont last long these suckers get huge. bring him back unless you can get him at least a thousand gallon tank

Yep,Im aware of his huge size
He have plenty of space in the 200 gallons for him to play.
By the way...He eats until his belly look like its about to explode.His belly is bigger then his head when hes full
Hopefully I can make some $ when he get big.

Last edited by trojan_man at 22-Oct-2004 23:42