Sure thing I will, also somthing to consider a 3 ft rtc has a 4 1/2 inch mouth from left to right at least that's the mouth size of the 3 ft one at my lfs and my 14 inch clown knife is 6 inches from top to bottom and 14 to 15 from back to front so my 13 inch rtc with a mouth sand of two inches can not eat him not even possible I care less about the size of the fish and more about the size of the mouth a 12 peacock bass would have a better chance of eating him then a 2 ft rtc IMO
Gator gar + aro combo
- Thread starter 760fishaddict
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It makes sense no? A 3 ft clown knife couldn't eat a 12 inch aro they have tiny little mouths it's just a example.
Well I see your point but there are variables that play into these types of things 1. I'm sure if I didn't feed my fish for 2 weeks all hell would break loose the fish become desperate and are willing to take a bite out of anything. 2. Fish will always go for the easy meal if u have a routine they know when feeding time is much like dogs and are expecting to get fed and as long as there being fed right there not going to take the risk of attacking a big fish. 3. If the fish have been together for a long time there LESS likely (key word less) to attack a tank mate vs just adding a new fish in the tank. 4. tank size and decorations if there in a big anuff tank and have places to hide mortalities will be drastically minimized. Vs the tank u posted it's bare bottom and if that rtc was hungry and the clown knife was newly added then it had no chance. A good example of my theory at work is the tank at my lfs they have a three ft rtc with Jack Dempsey Texas cichlids and a couple Oscar's all about 7-10 inches and they have all been in there for over a year and there still there and nobody has gotten eaten the cat fish gets 10 xl pond fish a week and he harms nobody and could eat everybody.
It's not the clown knife that you need to worry about. If the 13" RTC has a 2" mouth, in my opinion it will stretch out to at least 3-4" when it it trying to swallow something down whole. There are no bones in the fleshy cheeks and corners of their mouth that would limit the elasticity/stretchability of its jaws. Example.... Let's say that your mouth is 2" wide with it shut and relaxed. Now open it upas wide as you can. Now grab your cheeks at the corner of your open mouth with a couple of fingers and stretch it as far as you can. Your 2" mouth just stretched out to 4-5" easily and you don't normally swallow things whole while eating as a RTC would. Their mouths are made to stretch out and inhale everything regarded as food. Sometimes they try to eat another fish and its too big too swallow down its throat and into the stomach, but that doesn't stop it from inhaling the fish even if it dies trying to swallow it. Too big for the
throat is often an easier fit for it's larger stretchable pie hole. I know you have probably thought about it over and over. All you can do is wait and see. There are some extremely smart fishgeeks on this site. IMO, they've been in your shoes, you know been there done that. I believe that they just don't want someone to make the same mistake as they did. Heck, they got the pictures proving their point. RTC are swimming mouths with a voracious appetite and sooner or later, ODDS ARE you're gonna hear that first splash one night that wakes you up just like I mentioned before. Nothing is set in stone though. You might be the 1 in 1000 that gets away with growing everything to adulthood together without a problem. Not likely, but still a chance. All you can do is your best and pray to the God of Hemioliopterus .
throat is often an easier fit for it's larger stretchable pie hole. I know you have probably thought about it over and over. All you can do is wait and see. There are some extremely smart fishgeeks on this site. IMO, they've been in your shoes, you know been there done that. I believe that they just don't want someone to make the same mistake as they did. Heck, they got the pictures proving their point. RTC are swimming mouths with a voracious appetite and sooner or later, ODDS ARE you're gonna hear that first splash one night that wakes you up just like I mentioned before. Nothing is set in stone though. You might be the 1 in 1000 that gets away with growing everything to adulthood together without a problem. Not likely, but still a chance. All you can do is your best and pray to the God of Hemioliopterus .
I too have seen large RTC in with smaller Cichlids without being eaten. The catfish is usually fed pretty well so as not to eat the tankmates. Fish are creatures of habit just like people. If they are used to being fed every day at 6 pm and that feeding doesn't materialize for some reason, that's when trouble starts like you said. BUT....... RTC likes a midnight snack sometimes too. When you're sleeping.......
Well all I kno is right now everybody is safe nobody can eat any body could that change in a couple months of corse but there is a 7 inch green terror in there who currently punks the 14 inch RTC so if anybody is going to go it will be him first so as long as he's still kicking I figure I don't have anything to worries about.
Many of these fish will end up in my pond and all of these fish are big fish so it has the potential to work and the potential not to work and I didn't make this thread asking if it would work or not. I'm well aware of the potential ramifications. So either u guys will be telling me I told u so or I will be telling u guys I told u so. I've been doing this for a solid ten years and I've acounted for every possible out come. Go to YouTube and type in monster amazon tank there are many people who have almost identical fish as I do aro,gar, arapiama,RTC. So like I said before only time will tell nothing is ever 100% with fish keeping and nobody here can say with 100% certainty that it will fail, yes the odds maybe against me but there are few fish keepers out there who put as much time and effort into there fish as I do I watch my tank 10 hours a day minimum every day not very many people can say that, I kno my fish and there behaviors better then I kno most of my friends so let's just see what happens I will keep u guys posted if anything bad happens you guys will be the first to know.
Agreed. May I please see some pictures of your fish that we've been discussing? I'd really appreciate it. I'm sure everything really looks good and I'm anxious to get a good look for myself. I bet that they really enjoy having the 450 gallons to swim around in while they're still juveniles. You might have already said, but what are the dimensions of your aquarium? Thanks in advance.
