Short body red tail catfish

[Rghfor]

Ditto, brother! There is room for all of us on MFK

Care is not the same in the sense that SBRTCs backbone is folded over many times and his internal organs are the same size as normal RTC, barely fitting in the abdominal cavity, AFAIU.

Most common reason people lose mature RTCs is to overfeeding. Multiply that by 1000x for SBRTC.

Most people treat RTC as a bullet-proof, very hardy fish. SBRTC with all its problem and weak areas is ~1000x less hardy.

So I think the care is not the same.

But don't go by my suppositions of someone who's never had a SBRTC. I'd trust UnstoppableJay much more as he has kept one and in general he is more experienced, much longer-time keeper than me.

vincentwugwg is pretty active too so he should chime in. I forgot he keeps them.

I understand that these aren't ideal fish because of their internal organ issues however they are more realistic to keep as very few have the large space

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

This has already been stated

I was addressing your "casual" comment that their care is ~ the same. Just my $0.02.

 

[Rghfor]

This has already been stated

I was addressing your "casual" comment that their care is ~ the same. Just my $0.02.

Was a guess. Any Ty for ur opinion it's something to think about I suppose

 

[moe214]

I know for a fact as of his last update of the 15' tank, Vince has a few sbrtc, I believe his largest is 2' and very thick.

 

[UnstoppableJayD]

Ditto, brother! There is room for all of us on MFK

Care is not the same in the sense that SBRTCs backbone is folded over many times and his internal organs are the same size as normal RTC, barely fitting in the abdominal cavity, AFAIU.

Most common reason people lose mature RTCs is to overfeeding. Multiply that by 1000x for SBRTC.

Most people treat RTC as a bullet-proof, very hardy fish. SBRTC with all its problem and weak areas is ~1000x less hardy.

So I think the care is not the same.

But don't go by my suppositions of someone who's never had a SBRTC. I'd trust UnstoppableJay much more as he has kept one and in general he is more experienced, much longer-time keeper than me.

vincentwugwg is pretty active too so he should chime in. I forgot he keeps them.

You are correct.. and my bad I was answering this quickly while at work today and left out some key points that thebiggerthebetter brought up... I was very careful about overfeeding him especially when he was little... they will eat as a normal red tail and you need to be cognizant of this- also even though they are shorter there body mass is not far off so you need to account for this with filtration. and one last thing.. keep in mind the head is just as big as a normal redtail so they will try to eat anything and with the concerns about over feeding this can be a huge issue if tank mates are on the menu.... that being said here is my old guy when a baby...

 

[ShanerBock888]

are these just a result of selective breeding? or is it a recessive trait like albinism?

 

[vincentwugwg]

I grew out 3 SBRTCs.. got them at 6-9 inches and before the first year was done... most of them were close to 24 inches. Sold 1 off and gave the biggest monster to a buddy of mine. They are pretty awesome looking once they pass the 20 inch mark...They look like some kind of giant mutant toad!
From what I know.. non of the SBRTCs are being selectively bred.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Great info, vincentwugwg What can you tell us about the under/over feeding?

It looks like SB varies, no? I always thought SB is a fish, for instance, as exemplified by Jay's photo above, without any gap between dorsal, adipose, and caudal fins. I see gaps in yours but they are clearly not full-bodied.

I may be way off, but I think that SB may be a result of intentional and extreme stunting.

 

[UnstoppableJayD]

Great info, vincentwugwg What can you tell us about the under/over feeding?

It looks like SB varies, no? I always thought SB is a fish, for instance, as exemplified by Jay's photo above, without any gap between dorsal, adipose, and caudal fins. I see gaps in yours but they are clearly not full-bodied.

I may be way off, but I think that SB may be a result of intentional and extreme stunting.

Mine was 3 inches when i got him so not sure there was a lot of time or stunting

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I'd suppose this is done at the tenderest of ages when they are fry and their bodies are like putty. Again, all a supposition. I hope someone with authoritative knowledge will clarify.

This could be a guarded know-how too.