oh thanks man!!can anyone give me a list of preferable food items for me to feed my rtc?? I have only fed him guppies and mealworms in the meantime..
An update on my rtc....
- Thread starter Fish_Admirer17
- Start date
Vary the food. Sinking pellets, meal worms, blood worms, krill, etc.... If your going to do feeders be extreamly careful and keep them quarentined/treated for a while to make sure they don't have any disease before you put them in with your catfish, especially untill he is fully healed and back to normal. If he hasn't been doing well he will be even more seceptible to disease. They eat a ton so that is another thing that you will have to be preparded for. The amount of money it take to feed a fish like this when it grows is no laughing matter.
I know that he is cute and it's very tempting to keep him but aside from just getting to be huge he's hopefully going to live a long long time. I know that sometimes people can get something not knowing what they have and can really change what they are doing and work to accomidate it but that is not a typical situation. You really need to make sure that you know what your in for. Your kinda young too, please don't take that a a dis, it's just that a lot will likely change for you over the next several years and these fish are extreamly hard to take care of. If you own your own house where your can build a pond and you have a full time job to fund a fish like this they can still be hard to properly care for. Please please make sure that you really want to take care of this fish and that you know what your in for, we keep saying this only because we love fish and don't want to see anyting happen to him. Since your still living with your parents they should know what they are in for as well. What happens as this fish starts to grow and your parents don't want a pond in their house? It's a huge responsibility....
I know that he is cute and it's very tempting to keep him but aside from just getting to be huge he's hopefully going to live a long long time. I know that sometimes people can get something not knowing what they have and can really change what they are doing and work to accomidate it but that is not a typical situation. You really need to make sure that you know what your in for. Your kinda young too, please don't take that a a dis, it's just that a lot will likely change for you over the next several years and these fish are extreamly hard to take care of. If you own your own house where your can build a pond and you have a full time job to fund a fish like this they can still be hard to properly care for. Please please make sure that you really want to take care of this fish and that you know what your in for, we keep saying this only because we love fish and don't want to see anyting happen to him. Since your still living with your parents they should know what they are in for as well. What happens as this fish starts to grow and your parents don't want a pond in their house? It's a huge responsibility....
I get what your saying pal
I love fish too..Don't worry he is doing well right now and is very active the last few days..he has been eating a lot and i will try to get diversity into his diet because so far i've just been feeding him with meal worms. i now what am in for and i let my parents read all the stuff you guys said so they will now too. We have already agreed that if I become responsible enough to keep this guy alive and healthy , they will support the fish's needs when he gets big..Thanks for your help everyone!!
I love fish too..Don't worry he is doing well right now and is very active the last few days..he has been eating a lot and i will try to get diversity into his diet because so far i've just been feeding him with meal worms. i now what am in for and i let my parents read all the stuff you guys said so they will now too. We have already agreed that if I become responsible enough to keep this guy alive and healthy , they will support the fish's needs when he gets big..Thanks for your help everyone!!A few random thoughts that might provide some perspective.
I lived in the city of Olongapo in the Philippines form 1988 to 1992. My observations are made from the time I live in the PI. That was a long time ago and I am sure things have changed over the years. Based on the OP saying that $20 is = to nearly a thousand pesos economic conditions have only gotten worse. In my time $50= about a thousand pesos.
Based on the fact that he has a tank, computer, internet, camera and is going to graduate from nursing school tells me that his family has resources well beyond the average person. But $20 is still a lot of money when you consider that skilled carpenters are well paid if they make $5 a day. Most of us would not get out of bed for $5 an hour let alone for a 10 to 12 hour day.
This is a rare case where I might be inclined to agree with the OP that the fish is better off in his small tank than at the pet store. The pet stores that I used to visit in Olongapo gave a new meaning to deplorable conditions. The most extreme LFS conditions described on this site don't even come close. I am not condoning leaving it in that size tank, I was one of the first to tell him in his original thread that it needed a lot more space.
I think the OP wants to do the right thing. I have witnessed people in the PI doing amazing things with extremely limited resources. I think if we hold off on the flames keep him on the site and offer helpful supportive advice we might end up seeing the grow out of a monster fish into a monster tank and will have helped produce a new responsible monster fish keeper.
I lived in the city of Olongapo in the Philippines form 1988 to 1992. My observations are made from the time I live in the PI. That was a long time ago and I am sure things have changed over the years. Based on the OP saying that $20 is = to nearly a thousand pesos economic conditions have only gotten worse. In my time $50= about a thousand pesos.
Based on the fact that he has a tank, computer, internet, camera and is going to graduate from nursing school tells me that his family has resources well beyond the average person. But $20 is still a lot of money when you consider that skilled carpenters are well paid if they make $5 a day. Most of us would not get out of bed for $5 an hour let alone for a 10 to 12 hour day.
This is a rare case where I might be inclined to agree with the OP that the fish is better off in his small tank than at the pet store. The pet stores that I used to visit in Olongapo gave a new meaning to deplorable conditions. The most extreme LFS conditions described on this site don't even come close. I am not condoning leaving it in that size tank, I was one of the first to tell him in his original thread that it needed a lot more space.
I think the OP wants to do the right thing. I have witnessed people in the PI doing amazing things with extremely limited resources. I think if we hold off on the flames keep him on the site and offer helpful supportive advice we might end up seeing the grow out of a monster fish into a monster tank and will have helped produce a new responsible monster fish keeper.
You should be alright for a bit if you don't feed too heavy. I would definitely start working on a larger tank now though. Perhaps you and your dad could have a bonding moment and build a pond for him. He will definitely get big. I got mine in November when he was around 2", he's now pushing 18" and eats like a horse. He's always hungry and begging for food.
Minus the fact that eat a lot and grow quickly, they're wonderful fish. Mine loves to be pet and have his snout patted. He's very sociable and friendly. Follows me all around the tank.
Minus the fact that eat a lot and grow quickly, they're wonderful fish. Mine loves to be pet and have his snout patted. He's very sociable and friendly. Follows me all around the tank.
It must be possible to build an indoor or outdoor pond in the phillipenes as the climate is well suited, I agree that a big plastic tub could be recycled from somewhere, add a pump and pump up to some sort of home made filter and then let gravity feed it back.
PLEASE get a larger tank ASAP and keep up the maintenance.
If you are committed you might just find a way...
People here are fish lovers and want to help.
I am certain that there is a better route than cloves (killing it) grow it on and either find a good home (pond) or hurry up and earn enough to buy your own test kits and larger tanks (hopefully prove the doubters wrong)
I would love to make owning RTC illegal all over the world, i love them so much and as much as there are hundreds who keep them well there are thousands that make them suffer.
PLEASE get a larger tank ASAP and keep up the maintenance.
If you are committed you might just find a way...
People here are fish lovers and want to help.
I am certain that there is a better route than cloves (killing it) grow it on and either find a good home (pond) or hurry up and earn enough to buy your own test kits and larger tanks (hopefully prove the doubters wrong)
I would love to make owning RTC illegal all over the world, i love them so much and as much as there are hundreds who keep them well there are thousands that make them suffer.
Hey look I know you have gotten a fish and its really beautiful bt seriously you ned to reconsider because of this. I had my RTC in a 300g tank for 11 months he was over 22" before traded him which I can guarantee is longer than your tank. Its simply not possible to have tis fsh in your tank. Have you even considered how much it will cost you to feed this fish? It doesnt rely on just flake/granular food, your talkng a mixed diet of different foods such as, algae, prawns, mice, worms with a long list and they tend to need a quite bit of a attention are you able to cater for this fish honestly?
