Brand new RT owner!

[KDX_rider]

I just bought my very first true potential monster fish and I am so excited! I bought this little guy a couple days ago and I am already in love with it. Not sure on sex but its name is tidus. Tidus is currently in my 75 gallon aquarium at a teeny tiny 2 1/2 inches long, cant wait to learn this little buddys personality. I hope its a water puppy like my oscars. I have plans of puting tidus into his very own pool pond once he eventually outgrows the 125. Im not an irresponsible fish owner, i will do all this little guy needs.

 

[FJB]

Cute little fellow. Good luck with it and good wishes to getting to monster size!

 

[KDX_rider]

Cute little fellow. Good luck with it and good wishes to getting to monster size!

Thanks! I hope he gives me a couple years of aquarium enjoyment before he outgrows the 125.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

A normal RTC would reach 1.5'-2' in one year. You don't wanna keep a 2 foot RTC in a 125 because if it doesn't kill it, it will likely damage its health for good via brown blood disease aka methemoglobinemia.

 

[KDX_rider]

A normal RTC would reach 1.5'-2' in one year. You don't wanna keep a 2 foot RTC in a 125 because if it doesn't kill it, it will likely damage its health for good via brown blood disease aka methemoglobinemia.

The lady i bought him from has owned hundreds for her pet store and she said she has never seen one exceed 1.5 feet within a couple years. Its also about their diet, you give them good food but in moderation and it limits their growth and not due to bad nutrition. I plan on finding a pool during this winter when they would be on sale or being sold for cheaper on marketplace or similar places. I will monitor his growth, i will not starve it and if it grows more than anticipated i will transport to the pool pond just quicker than i would have liked. I want to be able to enjoy this beauty for as long as possible in my room but i am aware that that is not for an extended amount of time. I do not believe it is the shortened breed of RT but then again it may be. I would prefer the larger breed because they live longer but if it were the smaller breed i could enjoy it longer in my bedroom in my 125 aquarium. But again i will NOT do anything to harm or stunt him for my own gain, i am a fish lover not just a fish keeper. I will watch how much i feed it so it doesnt have any health issues but this is my baby and i will treat it as best as humanly possible.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I bow down to the LFS lady then but be careful and prudent in choosing who you listen to. LFS are not in the business of growing out large fish, least of all RTC, and least of the least of all by hundreds We are in this business. This sounds like an old wives tale to me.

The first two are a couple of ours 3.5' and 4'. We raised about a dozen. Definitely not hundreds. The third is from world fishing records.

 

[KDX_rider]

I bow down to the LFS lady then but be careful and prudent in choosing who you listen to. LFS are not in the business of growing out large fish, least of all RTC, and least of the least of all by hundreds We are in this business. This sounds like an old wives tale to me.

The first two are a couple of ours 3.5' and 4'. We raised about a dozen. Definitely not hundreds. The third is from world fishing records.

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I have plans to either buy a pool and make into a pond or just make my own 2x6 frame pool thats about 12'x8'x36" which would put it around 2,150 full gallons and around 2,000 gallons a few inches from full. She is an independent seller from her house/business and she is a very nice lady with a very nice setup. She has sold many many Reds and havent gotten any negative reviews. The place is called persona touch petstore if you wanna check out their google reviews. They are a smallish personal owned petstore about an hour and a half from me. They have a huge snake there and a few other reptiles including a redtail boa, bearded dragons, tarantulas, scorpions, geckos, a cute little croc or alligator one which ever is smaller, the whole 9 yards. The pet crocigator lol is about 3 feet long and gets the fish that dont make it in transport haha she sells silver arowana, gator gars which i drooled over but know it gets way bigger than the reds so i stayed away and just admired it in a small 10 inch version lol fresh and saltwater sections. Also lots of birds, chinchillas, mice, gerbals, all kinds of stuff. The place is so cool and homey feeling. She also has a very large outdoor aquaculture setup for large koi and goldies. Very credible people and do not at all seem like they are just in it for the money. I recommend the place to anybody in the area to go to it. Its in princeton WV, a little over an hour from me. I had bought an albino channel cat(moby) there a few years ago and it did great for a long time then just overnight got super sick and died. Idk if it ate too much or what but it was by no means the fish stores fault.

 

[Gourami Swami]

Whether or not you trust the LFS lady; an RTC can certainly exceed 1.5' long within 2 years given proper care. 1" a month is being conservative, these guys grow FAST. I have also worked in the pet industry, and Local fish stores (some very respected, others big box variety) for around 15 years on and off. Stores do not want large red tail cats, they would be expensive and difficult to keep, and hard to sell. The idea that a local fish store would grow out red tails cats by the hundreds, to 2' long over the course of multiple years to sell them, is honestly kind of absurd.
You seem to have your heart in the right place and are enthusiastic about the redtail cat, I think that's great and you will probably be a much better owner than most RTC's end up with! I think the 125 will be a good start, just maybe not quite for as long as you hope. Do plenty of research on your own, don't take the LFS's advice without checking yourself first. I have heard some very ridiculous things come from LFS employees before.

 

[KDX_rider]

Whether or not you trust the LFS lady; an RTC can certainly exceed 1.5' long within 2 years given proper care. 1" a month is being conservative, these guys grow FAST. I have also worked in the pet industry, and Local fish stores (some very respected, others big box variety) for around 15 years on and off. Stores do not want large red tail cats, they would be expensive and difficult to keep, and hard to sell. The idea that a local fish store would grow out red tails cats by the hundreds, to 2' long over the course of multiple years to sell them, is honestly kind of absurd.
You seem to have your heart in the right place and are enthusiastic about the redtail cat, I think that's great and you will probably be a much better owner than most RTC's end up with! I think the 125 will be a good start, just maybe not quite for as long as you hope. Do plenty of research on your own, don't take the LFS's advice without checking yourself first. I have heard some very ridiculous things come from LFS employees before.

I didnt mean the lady grew thousands, i meant she has bought and sold thousands. They are one of her bigger selling fish and idk how where they go once they leave but she has never had to take one back. The only thing i really ever hear from my research is it all depends on the individual fishs' genes and how big the parents were and all that. Some will not reach 3 feet maxed out and some hit 2 feet in just over a year, its just a toss up if youre going to get a good gene or bad gene RT. Idk which i got but i do know if he gets too big in only a year and a half then i will keep him in the 125 for a year and a half and if he goes 3 or 4 years and stays around the proper size then thats great. He will not be mishandled, if he has to be transported into the pool pond early so be it. I am going to enjoy him or her until i have to move him or her then i will still enjoy him or her just in a pool pond in my downstairs basement. I have a massive sand filter for a large pool so it will have plenty of filtration, its basically the same pool filter joey from king of diy uses for his 2,000 gallon concrete tank. I plan to recreate his pond he made but much longer, more like 12' long by 8' wide. Simple design with lots of insulation to keep the cold out. Im honestly glad you guys are warning me, it shows theres passion and care on this site for the massive babies we all love. I grew up with bass and blue gill in fish tanks haha fish and aquariums in general are in my blood for good.