How Long Before My Other Fish Could Be Eaten?

Wolfe · Feb 17, 2015

Red Tailed Catfish have been one of my favorite fish for a long time; they were the first fish I saw that really got me interested in the monster fish keeping hobby. Thankfully, I researched before I got one and decided that the time wasnt right.

However, now I will have a big enough place to keep one. Within the next few months I will be purchasing one of those above ground pools that you can get at Wal-Mart. It will likely just be the 10 wide and 30 deep one, which is about 1400 gallons. My plan is to put my Oscars in there with a few other fish, I still havent decided on the species. How long do you think I could keep one with my other fish before it grows big enough to eat them and would need to be separated?

fwprawn · Feb 17, 2015

A few months.

MoNsTeR FiS · Feb 18, 2015

I think a rtc could live with oscars for his life if he is well fed.

thebiggerthebetter · Feb 18, 2015

If you have been reading posts on here, you know it's a gamble. In general, the larger the space, the safer the RTC's tank mates but ultimately no one can guarantee a tank mate won't get preyed upon if said tank mate even remotely fits in an RTC's mouth. It is generally assumed to be safe only if it definitely is too large for an RTC to try and wrap its mouth around its body.

Still, even in relatively smallish enclosures and in the presence of "eatable" tank mates, it appears to be not understood why some (most?) RTCs are rather docile whilst many others turn predatory.

By their built and biology, one can see that they are scavengers and are well fit to prey only on slow or foreign animals / objects happened to be in water, e.g., crustaceans, slower reptiles and amphibians, snails, insects, mammals, birds, fallen fruit, etc. They have no stealth and no speed to catch a fish unless, I'd imagine, it is injured or sleeping (night time barbel advantage) or such which are likely exceptions, not as a rule.

GreenTerror7 · Feb 18, 2015

When I was younger and didn't research fish before I buy them I had a rtc in a 4 foot long 50 gallon and within 6 months he was almost as long as the tank (3 feet maybe?). I look back at the experience and think how I could've let a fish suffer like that, but on a side note; these guys grow insanely fast.

Zeke · Feb 18, 2015

That may be stretching it a little bit friend. They do grow fast though. Really fast. About an inch or so per month when they are little is common. Even a little more than that possibly. I've kept them off and on since spring of 1989. The biggest one I've kept personally was about 26 or 28" +/- . I had that RTC for about 2.5 years and got it when it was already 6"+. You couldn't get baby ones back then very easily, if at all. It stayed well fed just about 24/7. When I had owned it about 6 months and it was about 10"+/-, it ate a 5-6" Albino Oscar that I had just gotten the day before. That was way back when an Albino Oscar was a new thing, not many around. That was the first one I'd ever seen in person. Long story short, they do all have different personalities, but nonetheless 99.9% are just opportunistic swimming appetite's with a mouth. Be aware and learn from my mistakes. Don't let your cute little RTC eat up your smaller tankmates, because they will and have the ability to eat things alot larger than you think they can. Including $75.00 Albino Oscars that I thought were safe. Good luck.

T1KARMANN · Feb 18, 2015

Wolfe said:
Red Tailed Catfish have been one of my favorite fish for a long time; they were the first fish I saw that really got me interested in the monster fish keeping hobby. Thankfully, I researched before I got one and decided that the time wasnt right.

However, now I will have a big enough place to keep one. Within the next few months I will be purchasing one of those above ground pools that you can get at Wal-Mart. It will likely just be the 10 wide and 30 deep one, which is about 1400 gallons. My plan is to put my Oscars in there with a few other fish, I still havent decided on the species. How long do you think I could keep one with my other fish before it grows big enough to eat them and would need to be separated?

I personal can't stand that kind of a pond

Rtc look great from the side with the white underside

I just don't see the point in getting a ghetto pond just to dump a fish in that you can't view properly
That kind of tub should only be used to hold fish on a temp short term

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MoNsTeR FiS · Feb 18, 2015

Wolfe said:
Red Tailed Catfish have been one of my favorite fish for a long time; they were the first fish I saw that really got me interested in the monster fish keeping hobby. Thankfully, I researched before I got one and decided that the time wasn’t right.

However, now I will have a big enough place to keep one. Within the next few months I will be purchasing one of those above ground pools that you can get at Wal-Mart. It will likely just be the 10’ wide and 30” deep one, which is about 1400 gallons. My plan is to put my Oscars in there with a few other fish, I still haven’t decided on the species. How long do you think I could keep one with my other fish before it grows big enough to eat them and would need to be separated?

I have a 20" rtc, a 18" rtc x tsn, and a 18" tsn in a 300 gallon cattle trough with 2 10" oscars, 12 2-6" red devils, and 50 .5-7" convicts and the tank looks beautiful. You can view it well and the cats are well fed and does not eat the red devils and the convicts.

Zeke · Feb 18, 2015

I like it "Ghetto Pond"!!! Lol!!! You can get a round or square white plastic liquids container as long as what was in it was non-toxic. The square ones I've used were approximately 4'x4'x4', but I've seen them bigger. Cut a rectangular shape hole in it and glue/silicone a piece of acrylic on the inside of it for a viewing window. Cut 3 or 4 out for that matter, one for each side. Some still have the metal cage around the outside of them. There's all kinds of ways/ideas to do something like that on this site. Check the internet also.I agree with Aaron about you keeping it well fed. That's the experience that I've had with most fish, including the RTC. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW FOR SURE THOUGH! THANKS

T1KARMANN · Feb 18, 2015

Zeke said:
I like it "Ghetto Pond"!!! Lol!!! You can get a round or square white plastic liquids container as long as what was in it was non-toxic. The square ones I've used were approximately 4'x4'x4', but I've seen them bigger. Cut a rectangular shape hole in it and glue/silicone a piece of acrylic on the inside of it for a viewing window. Cut 3 or 4 out for that matter, one for each side. Some still have the metal cage around the outside of them. There's all kinds of ways/ideas to do something like that on this site. Check the internet also.I agree with Aaron about you keeping it well fed. That's the experience that I've had with most fish, including the RTC. YOU JUST NEVER KNOW FOR SURE THOUGH! THANKS

If you are doing all that to a pre made tub why not do a ply tank

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How Long Before My Other Fish Could Be Eaten?

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