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i have access to some, and i think i know alittle about them, i know that they will outgrow some public aquariums and are a sport fish in S.A, now would it be ok to hold a 4 inch one for three months in with a pair of flower horns.

i heard stories that they can eat large fish like clown knives, but would this be ok for 3 months.

No it'd be just plain irresponsible to get one even for just awhile.

Not only are you keeping it in a tank that it will out grow you are also supporting the fish store and making them think it's okay for them to sell them.

You should instead inform the manager of the store how cruel it is for them to be stocking such fish.

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its not a lfs, and at first i thought of that, i was too surprised to see them in a 10 or 12 gallon. i will probably just get high fin loaches, my favorite.

They get really huge & i don't recommend them in home aquariums.



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Last edited by jasonpisani at 13-Dec-2005 02:44

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Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
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Oh no, not the Red Tailed Catfish.

Phractocepahlus hemioliopterus shares with the majority of Pims one overriding attribute - enormous size. Forget what anyone tells you about them only reaching 44 inches - Richard Hardwick, the oddball specialst from Practical Fishkeeping magazine, visited the Brazilian Amazon and saw one that was just shy of six feet in length. This is a fish that needs a fork lift truck to move it when it's fully grown. An aquarium capable of maintaining that monster is, to use that well-worn phrase of mine, a civil engineering project - got room in your house for a 10,000 gallon setup? If you think I'm kidding, then bear in mind that this fish has an appetite bigger than that of a Labrador Retriever, and a similarly epic capacity to foul the aquarium water at the other end. The filtration system needed to keep an adult Red Tail's aquarium in a reasonably hygienic condition is a piece of industrial plant. The capital outlay for a long term home capable of housing this behemoth is so vast in comparison to the typical household budget (unless you're part of Bill Gates' household of course) that you'd wonder why you didn't buy yourself a holiday home in the Bahamas with the money once you've spent it all. Then of course there's the matter of the food bill - no way on Earth are you going to keep that leviathan happy with TetraMin. You'll be looking at feeding it whole Mackerel - about fifteen of them a week. Hell, I couldn't eat that many in a week!

If you live in a part of the world where the winter temperatures remain in the 60's Fahrenheit, you could put it in an outdoor pond, but it would be a big pond - about fifteen feet square and five feet deep. You wouldn't be able to stock the pond with any other fish because the vast majority of them would end up as lunch - remember that in the wild, this is a fish that is capable of squaring up to a Spectacled Cayman and stealing part of its dinner.

Please, don't do it. Bankruptcy will be the least of your worries once that thing starts growing.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

It really is unfortunate that such a beautiful fish is so unfeasible for any kind o fhome aquaria. They grow fast, and in a year you'd need at least 300 gallons to house it, and in two years you'd need the civil engineering project. They are amazing creatures, but they do not make good pets.

Hoping that there must be a word for everything I mean...

To directly answer your question, if you purchased a 4" specimen and fed it well, in 3 months it could potentially be nearly a foot in length at least. In this species, 1-2" per month growth rate is not unheard of, especially in smaller specimens.

With High-Fin Loaches, remember that they too have a large potential size. If kept for only 3 months a large aquarium should be fine for this species, but eventually a larger aquarium will definitely be necessary.

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