RTC bouncing off the walls..literally

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
To answer your question first: Since it is a new tank, I have to ask if the water parameter okay or changed from your old one? or have you noticed him shedding mucous?

When I had a RTC, it gets agitated when I did large scale water changes...

My one and only experience with RTC was 15 years ago...I bought one at 3 inches and put him in my 100 gallon tank. at 7 inches, he killed my plecos. At 12 inches he killed my pet cichlid, a Red Devil; then he lived alone until 24 inches when I had to trade him away because there was not enough room and I can't get a 300+ gallon tank. The whole process took about a year and half.

I am not really a tank size nazi but if you want him as your kid...he demands a bedroom(literally) of a tank...If you like your oscar, I suggest strongly get a smaller catfish...or I would say leave the oscar in the 40 gallon, it would be better for him than to share a tank with a growing RTC.
 
Im really the last person to tank size troll.. but gill curl generally happens when turning around becomes a problem. You may have ich though which is causing him to roll around in an attempt to scratch the ick off himself.
 
ecoli73 said:
To answer your question first: Since it is a new tank, I have to ask if the water parameter okay or changed from your old one? or have you noticed him shedding mucous?

When I had a RTC, it gets agitated when I did large scale water changes...

My one and only experience with RTC was 15 years ago...I bought one at 3 inches and put him in my 100 gallon tank. at 7 inches, he killed my plecos. At 12 inches he killed my pet cichlid, a Red Devil; then he lived alone until 24 inches when I had to trade him away because there was not enough room and I can't get a 300+ gallon tank. The whole process took about a year and half.

I am not really a tank size nazi but if you want him as your kid...he demands a bedroom(literally) of a tank...If you like your oscar, I suggest strongly get a smaller catfish...or I would say leave the oscar in the 40 gallon, it would be better for him than to share a tank with a growing RTC.
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x2
 
The fish needs a much bigger tank. Regardless of how well you take care of them. Aside from the fact that he might have been stunted in the 40 if he was 16"before you moved him. No offense, but these fish grow fast and his erratic behavior is probably not erratic at all. Now that he can move around a bit, he's probably just taking advantage of the added space.......

a very large tank or pond is in his future.......
 
chefjamesscott said:
So let me get this straight your gonna make your kids live in a closet till they move out!

Seriously the issue with your fish is very much the small tank that it is in.

You may not want to hear what people will say or want to say to you, but you asked and so they will answer.

Without going into a long drawn out explanation of what happens to a fish physiologically when they stunt I simply did a google search and post it here for you.

http://www.google.ca/search?q=the+p...s=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a

Without a doubt the issue is the tank size. It does not take much for issues to occur with fish when they are raised in tanks that are far to small for them. Now imagine the mental aspect that is playing out with the fish. I personally think that some fish are dumber than a sack of hammers while other fish are full of smarts and intelligence.

I also know that when a fish begins to get stressed out by it's environment there can be once dormant health issues that now become active because of the stress. Also a stressed fish can and will begin to do very strange things.

I also believe that stunting a fish will mess with it's motor function.
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Soooooo..being in a 40 gallon tank for 9 months..hes fine..I move him to a LARGER tank and the tanks too small?

Im not trying to be a dick..but rather get advice.

Right now im looking at this as, I go to a car website and post pictures of my truck, and say hey guys what do you think of my new stereo, how can i improve it? And everyone immediately telling me "yo brah, you need to paint your truck!" ..So now i have 25 replies of everyone stating the "obvious" to me that i need to paint my truck, but no one answers the question to give advice on the stereo

I understand that eventually hes going to outgrow this tank as well. And i understand that stress COULD be a factor as to his puppy dog behavior right now. BUUUUUUT im not looking for every person to tell me "Yo man, your being cruel, that tanks too small, upgrade!" Ive been hearing that for 7 months, and i upgraded.

I understand the fact that the one gill curl could be due to the oscar causing a bio overload, which is why the fluval 406 was bought and hooked up last night.

I guess its more, that ive heard the same "tanks too small" gig for the last 7 months, and now that im experiencing something new, and looking for answers, and I feel like im going back in time.

I wanted to know if anyone elses catfish do this, maybe its normal as he has more room to swim
 
Look. As its been clearly explained it is solely due to the size of the tank. He would have done exactly the same if he had been able to build up to that speed in the 40 gallon. the gill curl is also 99% due to tank size
 
The answers have been provided. You're just choosing not to listen.


Your RTC will probably try to eat your Oscar now that it can turn around. Sorry it's not the answer you're looking for, but it's the only right one.
Advice only really works if you're willing to take it........
 
ecoli73 said:
To answer your question first: Since it is a new tank, I have to ask if the water parameter okay or changed from your old one? or have you noticed him shedding mucous?

When I had a RTC, it gets agitated when I did large scale water changes...

My one and only experience with RTC was 15 years ago...I bought one at 3 inches and put him in my 100 gallon tank. at 7 inches, he killed my plecos. At 12 inches he killed my pet cichlid, a Red Devil; then he lived alone until 24 inches when I had to trade him away because there was not enough room and I can't get a 300+ gallon tank. The whole process took about a year and half.

I am not really a tank size nazi but if you want him as your kid...he demands a bedroom(literally) of a tank...If you like your oscar, I suggest strongly get a smaller catfish...or I would say leave the oscar in the 40 gallon, it would be better for him than to share a tank with a growing RTC.
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Thank you for your response. To answer your questions. The parameters of the tank were good. Off the top of my head, I dont have #'s. 40 gallons from the other tank, went into the 75, and 35 new gallons were added to fill the rest. I have done 50% water changes every saturday since they have been in the 75. LIke i mentioned, I did have inadequette filtration up until last night. And since monday I was having an issue where the oscar caused a bio overload and the water turned milky white, leading to another 50% emergency water change.

A few days ago, yes he was shedding some mucous which got me worried, as in 9 months i never noticed it once. It almost appeared to be looking like my first red belly pirahna years ago, when he got ammonia burn, and started to shed all his slime coat, So i was a bit worried, but he wasnt slimy to the touch. Still had his rock hard head and upper body.

I did notice that he tore his bottom tail fin, and the bones were sticking out of the fin. Which i thought was odd since there was no decor, and the oscar doesnt attack him, but in 2 days that was healed.

I am TOTALLY aware of the size of the tank he will need, and plan to accomodate for that when i get my own place.

Unfortunately, that response, is what causes me to lurk around more then post, as the moment I mention RTC, everyone jumps down my throat about the tank size :(
 
Just a FYI I can see not one single person who has jumpted down your throat in any way shape fashion or form.

If you wish for casual hobbiest through to serious hobbiest and everyone inbetween to simply be silent on the issue of tank size, I would say that you are seeking the wrong thing from them.

I for one feel no remorse for saying to you what I said and really am not bothered by your attempt to make people feel bad for giving you solid advice with a comment that you are going to lurk rather than post.

Just have to put that out there for you that your attempt to make people feel bad for giving you advice is not really a valid response.
 
Sounds like you have some water issues...I think you need to by a water testing kit and do some measurements...I never had a bacterial bloom without ammonia/nitrite problems. The feeders in your tank also contribute to the problem...unfortunately, adding a new filter will not solve cycle problems over night. I suggest if you must use feeders, do so in 5-10 numbers and have the fish finish overnight then pause 1-3 days and do it again. Try to wean them to pellets. Much easier on the wallet and their health.

As for the rest, RTC is a great fish, and I loved that fish when I had it; he is still ranked as one of my favorites. Ironically, I do have a 300 gallon now but another RTC never crossed my mind...because I know in 2 years I would have the unenviable task of trying to fish the cat out of my tank when he grows over 30 inches(my 300 is only 24 inches wide)...
 
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