I'm going to start doing something called the catfish of the week. I'v been thinking of doing this for months now so I'm finally starting it. What it is, is it's a thread on one specific catfish species. We will chat about experiences, care, were you can buy, catfish suggestions for next week, and what ever you can think of.
Catfish of the week #1
- Thread starter Red tail catking
- Start date
I'm sorry, I was in such a rush that I forgot to add this. Please try to get pics of your own cat and try to post video links of the species. Also the main thing that I forgot was this weeks catfish. This weeks catfish is... my favorite of all the aquarium fish the
Red tail catfish!
Red tail catfish!
Onion01;1765039; said:
Well the thing is I'm not always going to have access to the internet so I'll miss some days. Plus most of the species are going to be ]v[onster catfish so if I did a catfish everyday then this wouldn't last that long.
You may be right it could get stale after a week but thats why its our job to keep this thing running. Like I said try to get as much information as you can on the species listed. Okay?
One reason that I'm doing this is not just because talking about cats is fun, but also this can be a useful tool to newbie catfish keepers and guest looking for info on a specific species while browsing the threads.
Catfish of the week sounds cool. I think a week is good it gives everyone a chance to contribute hope it goes well for you. Why don't you start it off with some of your experiences with South American Redtails.
RTCs are my favorite too. I have owned a couple and will eventually have a 16'x16'x16' tank in my house that is 10' tall. I will then own around five or six of these guys. I have had 3 or 4 now and have kept them with all different sorts of fish from gourami to oscars and everything in between. They will eat anything they can get ahold of. My first experience with a young redtail started the way I kind of expected. He was around 6 inches before he started eating his tankmates. He ate around 6 angels that were full grown(left the baby alone), ate a 10"rocket gar and a jelly bean parrot. The jelly bean was a sacrifice since it was terrorizing the fish in the other tank. They are great cats, but be prepared to upgrade your tank twice a year as he grows or just start out with a 265 gallon tank or bigger.
Heck I guess I'll go next. First experience with a RTC was about 5 years ago. I only knew about fish thru petland and regular LFS at that time. I saw a beautiful catfish in petland unlike any other cat I had ever seen before. It was black and white and had a huge mouth and only one eye. I had never been interested in cats before that day I was a cichlid man preferring Oscars and Red Devils, but there was somethin about this cat that just sparked something in me I had to have it even if it only had one eye. I still kept my reserve even though I was drooling inside. I asked one of the employees what it was and how much. He said it was a Redtail catfish and it was $50. I pointed out it had only one eye and said I don't think anyone would pay $50 for a one eyed fish. I suggested in a joking way the RTC has only half the eyes he suppose to so he should be half off. The employee looked at me laughed and I said I'm serious could I take him for $25. He walked away to talk to another employee presumably the manager and came back and said sure you can have him for $25. So I had bought my first ]v[onster catfish, he was about 5" and very cute. I took him home and stuck him in my 75 gallon. He struggled to get enough food his tankmates where Oscars and they made sure virtually nothing touched the bottom and what did they were on top of faster than the RTC could get to it. Apparently his one eye was worse than having no eyes since his depth perception was off. He could see the food and smell it, but would be off where it would land on the substrate. He was always in the wrong place while the Oscars always had a bead on the food. He never ventured above the bottom since the Oscars aggression kept him there. He was wilting away I had to try something, so I started handfeeding the RTC beefheart and feeders which wasn't easy. The RTC to my surprise wasn't afraid of my hand unfortunately neither were the Oscars, but I managed to keep them off me long enough to feed the RTC. Within I'd say a week and a half the RTC was a different fish. Seeing me approach the tank he'd rush to the surface full of energy and fight giving chase to the Oscars if they dared get in his way at feeding time. He soon learned to even like being touched by my hand though it was sometimes unsettlin as he'd rub,rub and then all of a sudden bite. He didn't try to bite every time, but it still was unsettling. Now I had fish eat from my hands before, but being able to pet him just blew my mind. He grew to be my favorite fish he was personable, beautiful and the widest fish I had ever had. I had fish grow vertically to dinner plate sizes, but this bad boy was growin horizontally. He was my favorite till the end when a poweroutage caused my overstocked tank to go under. I lost 3 fish one was my RTC. He was my introduction to ]v[onster cats and remains one of my favorite pets.