hELP ME cAT lOVERS!
- Thread starter GatorGabe
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both my rtc and hybrid grew from feeder size to about 16in really fast, from there both have slowed down a bit. keep in mind this is all in a 2 year span my hybrid is slender but my rtc is a fatty
basslover34;1995081; said:
or just maybe my TSN is normal and healthy and is growing at a normal healthy rate because i don't "power feed" him to make him grow faster.
stranger things have happened..
Morledzep;1999335; said:or just maybe my TSN is normal and healthy and is growing at a normal healthy rate because i don't "power feed" him to make him grow faster.
stranger things have happened..
The growth rate of your TSN is being stunted by the tank it's being housed in. A 100 gallon tank in its typical size is 60"x18" footprint I believe, that is not really big enough for a 16" TSN to comfortably live in especially when sharing it with a larger RTC. I'm not questioning its eating habits but it's being stunted growth wise because of insufficient tank space and while that might not have an immediate health effect on the fish, it will in the long run.
That 2" growth rate is the AVERAGE rate of growth that most of the members on the forum experience with their TSN's, myself included. I've had a TSN grow close to 4" in a month but mine averaged 2" a month from the time it was 3" long until I donated it to the Dallas World Aquarium at 24" long. I never power fed especially over 12" becaues you are supposed to cut back on feeding when shovelnose are larger. I fed 1-2 times a week.
I'd recommend the INTEX pond as your next upgrade if you plan on keeping that TSN for any length of time. For more information on that pond check my indoor pond thread, also there are several pics of my TSN at larger sizes. ~Trent
thanks trent.. might be an excellent short term solution to my fish tank crisis..
Kabota, my TSN used to be in a much bigger tank.. he's only been in the tank with Lucy for a few months. he didn't grow in the other tank either.
my issue now is that Lucy (RTC) is too big for anything i have, and even if i could set up the 240 in the next month i'm afraid i'll have to move her again and again and i really only want to have to move her once.. twice at the outside if i don't have a choice.
i'm not a big fan of ponds.. i want to look in and SEE the fish.. i don't want to look through the top of the water and try to make out whether the fish are there or not (my preference, not saying that ponds are bad).
i'm planning on purchasing a 400 - 800 gal. tank (hopefully used to save some $$$) to put in the dining room (last remaining room with no fish tanks.. lol). Probably about 8 - 10 ft long and 4 - 5 ft wide and tall enough so i can put the arowana and the peacock bass in there too.. but short enough so that short fat people (me in particular) can reach in (or get in) to clean and move things around.
but.. this thread isn't about me.. i was trying to offer some help.. and as usual when i'm stupid enough to wander onto the catfish forum i regret it.. i'll try to remember to just let you guys be..
Kabota, my TSN used to be in a much bigger tank.. he's only been in the tank with Lucy for a few months. he didn't grow in the other tank either.
my issue now is that Lucy (RTC) is too big for anything i have, and even if i could set up the 240 in the next month i'm afraid i'll have to move her again and again and i really only want to have to move her once.. twice at the outside if i don't have a choice.
i'm not a big fan of ponds.. i want to look in and SEE the fish.. i don't want to look through the top of the water and try to make out whether the fish are there or not (my preference, not saying that ponds are bad).
i'm planning on purchasing a 400 - 800 gal. tank (hopefully used to save some $$$) to put in the dining room (last remaining room with no fish tanks.. lol). Probably about 8 - 10 ft long and 4 - 5 ft wide and tall enough so i can put the arowana and the peacock bass in there too.. but short enough so that short fat people (me in particular) can reach in (or get in) to clean and move things around.
but.. this thread isn't about me.. i was trying to offer some help.. and as usual when i'm stupid enough to wander onto the catfish forum i regret it.. i'll try to remember to just let you guys be..
RTC grows fastest. greed and power! mine is so sweet one time it tried to swallow my finger. none of these monsters can be kept in the given tank size.
Morledzep;2004650; said:
I'd love to see some pics of your TSN, You might have a smaller sub species like P. orinocoense which doesn't get much bigger than 2', I would love to be able to see for sure one way or the other
Another thing (Which you'd never know when buying one small) is that not all animals are going to reach the "Max" size that that specific species can grow to. Are all Humans 5'10" tall? No, not even close but we are all the same species. Are all Chocolate Labs 75lbs? No but it's a rough average. Just like with fish, sometimes you get a freak that is huge and other times it's a runt. Just because someones fish does not grow 2" a month and end up 36" long doesn't neccessarily mean they are doing something wrong.
I mean go flip on the TV, I see people who are full grown adults who are <5ft tall as well as others playing in the NBA who are over 7ft tall.
Same concept if you ask me.
If all fish grew to maximum size everyone would be catching 20lb Bass and 40lb Northern Pikes, but they don't. In fact in Florida the average Large mouth Bass I would catch is much larger than here in Northern Indiana, but alas they are the exact same fish. Different conditions, temperatures, available food, and so on play a huge role and people forget that. A fish can be perfectly healthy and not be huge.
As to the original poster, you could surely get a small RTC or TSN for your 75g but odds are it would outgrow it pretty quickly. If it does and you can't get a bigger tank at the time sell it on here, larger ones pull a premium and they are a gorgeous fish so at least you'd be able to enjoy it for a year or so if you got a tiny one to start with.
The LFS by me had an adult RTC in a small pond in the store for a long time, not sure if it died or they sold it but it had plenty of grow space and wasn't anywhere near 5ft and I know it was there for many years. The pond from memory was around 6x4x2 or so give or take a little bit it's been a while, not a massive pond by any means but it had room to swim and grow with ease. If I had to guess it was 2.5ft at the most and likely weighed at least 10lbs, it was fat.
I mean go flip on the TV, I see people who are full grown adults who are <5ft tall as well as others playing in the NBA who are over 7ft tall.
Same concept if you ask me.
If all fish grew to maximum size everyone would be catching 20lb Bass and 40lb Northern Pikes, but they don't. In fact in Florida the average Large mouth Bass I would catch is much larger than here in Northern Indiana, but alas they are the exact same fish. Different conditions, temperatures, available food, and so on play a huge role and people forget that. A fish can be perfectly healthy and not be huge.
As to the original poster, you could surely get a small RTC or TSN for your 75g but odds are it would outgrow it pretty quickly. If it does and you can't get a bigger tank at the time sell it on here, larger ones pull a premium and they are a gorgeous fish so at least you'd be able to enjoy it for a year or so if you got a tiny one to start with.
The LFS by me had an adult RTC in a small pond in the store for a long time, not sure if it died or they sold it but it had plenty of grow space and wasn't anywhere near 5ft and I know it was there for many years. The pond from memory was around 6x4x2 or so give or take a little bit it's been a while, not a massive pond by any means but it had room to swim and grow with ease. If I had to guess it was 2.5ft at the most and likely weighed at least 10lbs, it was fat.
