So what happened is exactly what I thought would happen. The red tail claimed it. HAHA Good news is there's no more aggression from the channel. I think mainly because he's still freaked out by the giant white tube.
Well the RTC has been usurped. First by a 10" datnoid and now by the channel. Looks like I'm going to have to get another tube.
In other news, the channel cat has scrapes on his side in the shape and size of the RTC's mouth. Now I'm worried I might wind up with a missing gar or pleco... So to be safe, I'm going to start designs for a landscaping timbers pond in my garage.
At such sizes, neither catfish should a need to hide anymore.
IME, in plenty of space, channels are not aggressive to other spp or even each other much. Same goes for RTC in general.
Are both pretty inactive? If yes, that's another symptom of the space being too small for them. They should not swim non-stop like IDS but they should not lay around all day long but cruise a good part of day, not to speak of the intense activity at night.