Currently my 3" pbass are residing in my 60 gallon aquarium with a 4" oscar.I've been looking hard to find a larger tank for them that I can afford. I got lucky and found a 200 gallon aquarium 24x24x72 on Craigslist at the right price. BUT it came with a beautiful red tail catfish 14" long 6 months old.
Before someone states the obvious, I know a red tail catfish will quickly outgrow the 200 gallon tank, and so will my bass one day. I like the cat, but he'll need a new home one day. I'm working on a better filtration system.it currently has 2 -360 hang on filters along with two air bars.
I was a bit appalled at the conditions the fish were living in. The aquarium was half empty, the filters weren't running, nor the air bars. The tank had an oily haze on it, was covered in algae, and the gravel was more poop than gravel. The heater was unplugged, and the water felt like ice. The guy had been feeding the catfish hot dogs, hamburger. ..any lunch meat he had on hand and the 2 cichlids were fed goldfish pellets.
It took 4 men to get this aquarium moved and set up in my house. Before setting it up, I sifted all gravel and cleaned the tank out. The gravel was left moist during the cleaning process to try and preserve the good bacteria.
It took about 1.5 hours to fill the aquarium (well water)we also added boiling water to bring aquarium to room temperature. When it was full , the water was very murky.I added PRIME and turned the filters on........ nothing worked!
In a haste I ran to walmart and got two of the largest hang on filters available (360gpm each). After a few hours, the water began to clear up and the heater brought the temp up to 78°F.
I had the large red tail (along with a pleco, and 2 cichlid that came with him? In a cooler in the house.I added aquarium water to the cooler to acclimated the fish. After a few more hours, I added them to the aquarium. They seem to be doing good. Last night I fed the catfish two large, previously frozen boneless skinless bluegill filets. I tried to feed the cichlids pellets I had for my oscar but they showed no interest.
Before someone states the obvious, I know a red tail catfish will quickly outgrow the 200 gallon tank, and so will my bass one day. I like the cat, but he'll need a new home one day. I'm working on a better filtration system.it currently has 2 -360 hang on filters along with two air bars.
I was a bit appalled at the conditions the fish were living in. The aquarium was half empty, the filters weren't running, nor the air bars. The tank had an oily haze on it, was covered in algae, and the gravel was more poop than gravel. The heater was unplugged, and the water felt like ice. The guy had been feeding the catfish hot dogs, hamburger. ..any lunch meat he had on hand and the 2 cichlids were fed goldfish pellets.
It took 4 men to get this aquarium moved and set up in my house. Before setting it up, I sifted all gravel and cleaned the tank out. The gravel was left moist during the cleaning process to try and preserve the good bacteria.
It took about 1.5 hours to fill the aquarium (well water)we also added boiling water to bring aquarium to room temperature. When it was full , the water was very murky.I added PRIME and turned the filters on........ nothing worked!
In a haste I ran to walmart and got two of the largest hang on filters available (360gpm each). After a few hours, the water began to clear up and the heater brought the temp up to 78°F.
I had the large red tail (along with a pleco, and 2 cichlid that came with him? In a cooler in the house.I added aquarium water to the cooler to acclimated the fish. After a few more hours, I added them to the aquarium. They seem to be doing good. Last night I fed the catfish two large, previously frozen boneless skinless bluegill filets. I tried to feed the cichlids pellets I had for my oscar but they showed no interest.
