Hey Guys,
So i started off with my RTC moby when he was 20 bucks and about an inch. I had him in a 20 gallon tank and ended up buying various tanks all the way up to my 210 he is in now. He will be getting a new home in a pond in my back yard hopefully sometime this year.
There are a couple things i have learned from having my cats that i think anyone thinking about getting one should know about.
1) The grow exactly as fast as everyone says regardless of the tank size.
2) They love clean water so do water changes often and use good water.
3) They eat anything so be careful. I have a RTC, a TSN, and a hybrid all in the same 210. They get along perfect but if i go 2 more than a weeks without feeding them they get aggressive and fight and/or eat inanimate objects. I pulled 2 suction cups out of my RTCs mouth this morning. They were suctioned to the top of his mouth. Poor Moby.
4) They love to swim, If your catfish is being inactive it's probably not comfortable. My cats are usually active but my RTC does not like bright tank lights, he likes red LED night lamps and the natural sunlight. He rubs up against the warm glass on the sunny side of the tank. If my catfish is in the bright tank light he sits at the bottom and chills, once the light goes off he is active.
5) They are very smart, If you buy one as a baby you can get them to trust you. My RTC lets me pet him as well as my hybrid. My RTC trusts me enough to let me stick my finger in his mouth when i had to pull out the suction cup. He even swap up to the top of the tank to greet me. If you give them love they will give it back.
6) They seem to not like a whole lot of plants and such. I had live plants in my tank at first and my cats ripped em out all day long. They seem to like nothing in their tank but the gravel.
7) Do not overfeed!!! Everyone says this but most people have overfed their catfish. They have no sense of full. If there is food in the tank they will eat it. So feed accordingly. If you see a belly on them they are full! You should not feed again until the belly goes down(unless the belly is from a suction cup lol). Also mix it up and feed them different stuff, they will get bored of chasing little fish around the tank, besides hand fee
8) PLAN PLAN PLAN... Do not buy one of these fish unless you are willing to spend the money to take care of it. It's not the fishes fault you cannot afford a huge tank... you prolly should not have bought him then. From the day you purchase your fish you should have a plan to take care of him all the way up to full size. I am on tank 5 and now working on the pond for mine, they deserve a larger playground.
9) Compatibility is important. Don't just throw any fish into the tank with these fish or they might become snacks. I have tried to put multiple fish in with my RTC and the only ones he will tolerate are other cats for whatever reason. I have put fish much larger than he in there hoping he would be less likely to eat them.... He always found a way to stay on top.
10) If you can't take care of them there are plenty of people who will so look at your fish' best interest. I got my TSN already 14" long fo cheap because his owner could not get a bigger tank. It was the perfect addition to my tank and i gave him a much larger home he deserved.
Thats all i can think of but any other owners feel free to chime in with any of yours.
So i started off with my RTC moby when he was 20 bucks and about an inch. I had him in a 20 gallon tank and ended up buying various tanks all the way up to my 210 he is in now. He will be getting a new home in a pond in my back yard hopefully sometime this year.
There are a couple things i have learned from having my cats that i think anyone thinking about getting one should know about.
1) The grow exactly as fast as everyone says regardless of the tank size.
2) They love clean water so do water changes often and use good water.
3) They eat anything so be careful. I have a RTC, a TSN, and a hybrid all in the same 210. They get along perfect but if i go 2 more than a weeks without feeding them they get aggressive and fight and/or eat inanimate objects. I pulled 2 suction cups out of my RTCs mouth this morning. They were suctioned to the top of his mouth. Poor Moby.
4) They love to swim, If your catfish is being inactive it's probably not comfortable. My cats are usually active but my RTC does not like bright tank lights, he likes red LED night lamps and the natural sunlight. He rubs up against the warm glass on the sunny side of the tank. If my catfish is in the bright tank light he sits at the bottom and chills, once the light goes off he is active.
5) They are very smart, If you buy one as a baby you can get them to trust you. My RTC lets me pet him as well as my hybrid. My RTC trusts me enough to let me stick my finger in his mouth when i had to pull out the suction cup. He even swap up to the top of the tank to greet me. If you give them love they will give it back.
6) They seem to not like a whole lot of plants and such. I had live plants in my tank at first and my cats ripped em out all day long. They seem to like nothing in their tank but the gravel.
7) Do not overfeed!!! Everyone says this but most people have overfed their catfish. They have no sense of full. If there is food in the tank they will eat it. So feed accordingly. If you see a belly on them they are full! You should not feed again until the belly goes down(unless the belly is from a suction cup lol). Also mix it up and feed them different stuff, they will get bored of chasing little fish around the tank, besides hand fee
8) PLAN PLAN PLAN... Do not buy one of these fish unless you are willing to spend the money to take care of it. It's not the fishes fault you cannot afford a huge tank... you prolly should not have bought him then. From the day you purchase your fish you should have a plan to take care of him all the way up to full size. I am on tank 5 and now working on the pond for mine, they deserve a larger playground.
9) Compatibility is important. Don't just throw any fish into the tank with these fish or they might become snacks. I have tried to put multiple fish in with my RTC and the only ones he will tolerate are other cats for whatever reason. I have put fish much larger than he in there hoping he would be less likely to eat them.... He always found a way to stay on top.
10) If you can't take care of them there are plenty of people who will so look at your fish' best interest. I got my TSN already 14" long fo cheap because his owner could not get a bigger tank. It was the perfect addition to my tank and i gave him a much larger home he deserved.
Thats all i can think of but any other owners feel free to chime in with any of yours.
