Your tank is too small (as you know already, as you're planning an upgrade). Your filtration is WAY too small. You need a filter rated for at least 300 gallons per hour. Nitrates don't go away without water changes. Please research the nitrogen cycle, or your fish will become gradually more and more stressed out, and then they will get sick, and eventually, they'll die. You NEED to know this information in order to keep fish. Look, I'm not trying to be rude, but what the people on this forum do is an art. It's not as easy as "add some water, add some fish." People who think it is kill their fish. It takes more research, more thought, and more effort than what you've been giving. Buy some water tests, and learn how to use them. That way, you can test once per week, at least. Tilapia is a fish. They sell it at the grocery store. Look in the seafood part of the big freezers. It comes in a bag, as do a lot of other fillets that are way better for your fish than beefheart. Please, please research. And red-tailed catfish are not cichlids, they are catfish. Cichlids are cichlids, and catfish are catfish.
A COUPLE RED TAIL CAT QUESTIONS!!!
- Thread starter FISHY FINGAZ
- Start date
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ok ok so i looked at the cycle and basically got lost (was never good at science) but anywayz what your sayin is to do water changes which is what ive been doing religously for awile. maybe 1 or 2 a week of 20-35 % sometimes more. as far as my filtration goes how much more can i get? i cant fit anoth HOB fiter and already have a sponge/powerhead filter so i have to be turning ATLEAST 300 gal. and hour between the two. so until i get my new tank up and running what do you suggest i do? kepp goin with my water changes? vacuum gravel everyday? add more bacteria? or all of the above? what do the water paremeters need to be for the red tail? dont forget i also got cichlids in there with him.
Get a test kit it usually costs $30 which tests for everything ph,Ammonia Nitrite & Nitrates. As far as for cycling i dont think it matters no more because you had the fish in there for some time right?? So just focus on getting your water parameters to par. Also try not to overfeed the redtail because it will eat everything you give him and cause more ammonia. I do 30% water changes on my tsn X RTC tank every 3 to 4 days on my 125 gal and all my parameters are fine..
Yes, all of the above, except adding bacteria. A canister filter would do the job, along with the filtration you already have. It would provide more surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow, thus negating the need to add more bacteria (I'm guessing you mean Bb-in-a-bottle.) A few I can recommend from experience (I run all of these on various tanks) are the Marineland C-100, Fluval FX5, and Rena XP4. Your cichlids will soon be eaten, unless you're talking about Oscars, which shouldn't be with him due to the size of the tank. Plan on moving him by the time he gets to eight inches, which won't be long -- about two or three months if he's kept right. As far as your params, ammonia and nitrite:zero, and nitrate: up to 40. Your water change regimen, at this stage, should be okay, but since you don't have test kits, you really have no way to know if you need to be doing more. A good way to think of it is this: the word "okay" is extremely relative. What if the guy testing your water thinks it's okay to have small amounts of ammonia or nitrite? Obviously, it's not, but you wouldn't know, because you're not testing. Test kits are must. Spend the forty bucks, and have the peace of mind that you're managing your tank the right way. Honestly, I suck at science too (I'm an English major, and math and science have always been trouble for me). But the test kits are easy to do, and if you care about something, it should be much easier to learn. It's the only way to keep fish for any length of time.
yea what you are saying makes sense i wont be gettin a canister anytime soon, not until im ready to set up the upgrade tank in that case ill probably be running 2 of them (is that necessary?) due to the fact canister filters hit at about $250 around here. would you recommend getting another sponge filter/powerhead? because thats fairly affordable. check out the one i use right now so u have an idea of what i got its the ODYSSEA EX350 DELUXE. and no theyre not oscars i got a clown knife (about 9"), texas cichlid, paratilapia polleni (texas & polleni are still juveniles about 4" but real fat so i dont think the RTC can eat them yet, but i know it wont be long!) and a 7-8 inch bichir also a big fat p bass about 7 inches oh yea and plecos one about 4 inches the other about 8. all together i got 8 fish in the tank? whos in the most danger as far as becomming food? also when i do finish my built is it absolutely necessary to hook up a sump? because i was told thats only required for salt water.
i forgot to say why i was talkin about the power heat because it comes with a sponge filter and thats room for beneficial bacteria right? so it might be good to get another?
what are your thoughts on an undergravel as well, people i talk to have mixed feelings about em.
what are your thoughts on an undergravel as well, people i talk to have mixed feelings about em.
Your tank is overstocked. Now. As for who will be eaten first, look to the smallest of your group, and then the next smallest, and so on. A sponge filter just isn't going to give you the biological filtration you need, especially in a small, overstocked tank. If you don't have the money to spend out on a canister filter, you can build your own sump, but you'll still have to buy parts, so I'm not sure how much cheaper you'll come out. Yes, a sump works well for freshwater. Before my RTC went into the pond, he was in a 125 with a sump. Depending on your setup, if you build, it would be better to do a DIY filter. There are threads on here for that. Mine is built out of concrete, and is a part of my pond. However, I have to tell you, it's not cheap to build or buy tanks that house these guys. If you don't want to buy a canister filter due to cost, please take a look at how much you will be spending in the future to house your red tail. There are few fish that work with them, because they eat such big fish in relation to their size. At my LFS, a fourteen-inch red tail ate an aro almost his length. I guess what I'm trying to get to is, totally think this out. If for any reason, you don't think you can (financially or life-style wise-) do this, take him back. It's hard to get rid of half-grown red tails. As I said, get the test kits. Start thinking (NOW) about suitable housing. As a reference, my pond cost about $4000, after the cost to build it, materials, filtration media, pumps, 600 pounds of rocks, pvc pipes, etc. It's not cheap to house them correctly, and they're easier to get rid of if they are smaller. Do what's right for him -- not what you want. Your karma will be much, much better that way.
oh no ima do what it takes to have my monster tank his tank mates wirll prolly be p bass (when appropriate size) and some pacu. what about the clown knife?
He's definitely okay for now, and for about three months. The thing with catfish is the same as with gars: They'll eat what fits into their mouths. I've never owned a knife fish but I'm guessing RTC's grow faster (they seem to grow faster than any fish I've ever seen). The best bet is to get him moved before any losses. A 125 off of Craigslist would get him to about 16 inches, and then have the new, bigger home ready. That will be the chance to work on your sump skills. You could run canister filters (they make them for ponds but the GPH that this fish requires almost dictates that you build your own, adding pumps to get to the desired GPH. I run about 4000 GPH on my pond, and am planning to add more. (Just gotta get another electrician out to add a breaker.) In previous posts, I've said that owning a RTC is a change in lifestyle, and it is. From where you place the pond, to paying for it, to keeping up water changes, to the electric bills for all the new pumps, it's a lot. It's a big deal. So, I'm in no way suggesting that you can't do it, but I'm just adding, as a precaution, that if you believe that you can't, it's easier to take them back as small fish than as large.
i forgot about that electric bill, yikes! if you had any corners to cut what would they be as far as filtration goes? im planning on building around a 700 gal plywood display tank. now would you run 2 or 3 big cannister filters maybe 4 or would it be better to run a big sump and maybe 2 canisters? i plan on spending about 12-14 hundred on building just the tank. and then filtration maybe another 600? you tell me. im sure that will hold my RTC, P bass, and pacus for a couple years. what am i looking at as far as electric bills go (estimate). how much did it jack yours?
