HELP --- RTC getting on my last nerve

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owning large predatory fish isnt an exact science.. i agree OP in a larger system with more room for the cat you MAY have luck with other fish... imo the only bad thing you did was spend way to much on feeders ;) did i mention my first TSN ate an Aba aba knife twice its length? no way did we think he'd eat such an aggressive and larger fish... but he did!

as for an aripima as a tank mate, are you seriouse? he would need an even bigger setup... ariapima are one of the fish that get bigger then an RTC. RTC are big fish, but they are by no means the biggest fish out there in the trade, just one of the most accessable.
 
MonsterMinis said:
owning large predatory fish isnt an exact science.. i agree OP in a larger system with more room for the cat you MAY have luck with other fish... imo the only bad thing you did was spend way to much on feeders ;) did i mention my first TSN ate an Aba aba knife twice its length? no way did we think he'd eat such an aggressive and larger fish... but he did!

as for an aripima as a tank mate, are you seriouse? he would need an even bigger setup... ariapima are one of the fish that get bigger then an RTC. RTC are big fish, but they are by no means the biggest fish out there in the trade, just one of the most accessable.
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Agree entirely. 4' vs 10' is a big difference. Large Pimelodidae, Pacu, Doradidae, Bagridae, Clariidae, Pangasiidae, perhaps very large alligator gar, pbass etc. should do just fine (in a large pond/tank, needless to repeat).
 
Every time this cat got a tasty bite of another fish, he received immediate positive reinforcement for even trying.
That strong & instinctive drive in his brain won't diminish with more space (nor will his behavior), because that space is still confined. Predatory animals enjoy the pursuit.
If he can get his mouth around any part of a fish's anatomy, it's dead. He doesn't need to swallow things whole, he can shake them to death.
The rtc is genetically driven, and has learned to do absolutely everything that you conditioned him for.
 
I'm pretty surprised to hear people saying you can keep this fish, all these fish, in a few thousand gallon pond. I have a 15,000 gallon outdoor aquarium with 7 arows, 2 RTC'S, 8 pacu, 2 pangasius shark cats, 1royal clown knife....and im worried about it getting over crowded! Those RTC'S are awesome, but only if you have enough room! They are all mouth and are very aggressive! If you're not feeding them enough they will try to swallow anything up to 3/4's of their size. And if they are crammed together it's a wrap for your other fish...they will torment them. My saving grace is my aquarium is 9 feet deep so my arows aren't bothered by them. Realistically, IMO, 1RTC is going to need around 1,000 gallon all to itself .... 4 1/2 foot aggressive predator.


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Best bet with large fish are fish that are incredibly large where thier is no chance for them to be eaten...big pacas...

OR

Like mentioned very small fish, that the cat woudnt even bother wasting it's time.
 
Stavfish said:
I'm pretty surprised to hear people saying you can keep this fish, all these fish, in a few thousand gallon pond. I have a 15,000 gallon outdoor aquarium with 7 arows, 2 RTC'S, 8 pacu, 2 pangasius shark cats, 1royal clown knife....and im worried about it getting over crowded! Those RTC'S are awesome, but only if you have enough room! They are all mouth and are very aggressive! If you're not feeding them enough they will try to swallow anything up to 3/4's of their size. And if they are crammed together it's a wrap for your other fish...they will torment them. My saving grace is my aquarium is 9 feet deep so my arows aren't bothered by them. Realistically, IMO, 1RTC is going to need around 1,000 gallon all to itself .... 4 1/2 foot aggressive predator.


Sent from my iPad using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
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Your setup sounds amazing! Can you create a thread with all the details (Filtration, aeration, heating etc) and lots of pix? A video would be awesome too! Hope I'm not asking too much, but you have to show that setup off! Nine feet deep? That is awesome!
 
petspoiler said:
Every time this cat got a tasty bite of another fish, he received immediate positive reinforcement for even trying.
That strong & instinctive drive in his brain won't diminish with more space (nor will his behavior), because that space is still confined. Predatory animals enjoy the pursuit.
If he can get his mouth around any part of a fish's anatomy, it's dead. He doesn't need to swallow things whole, he can shake them to death.
The rtc is genetically driven, and has learned to do absolutely everything that you conditioned him for.
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I do find this agreeable (barring knit-picking). The only important tack-on would be: if the fish can be conditioned, it can be re-conditioned.
 
thebiggerthebetter said:
I do find this agreeable (barring knit-picking). The only important tack-on would be: if the fish can be conditioned, it can be re-conditioned.
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There's no nit-picking there. It is blatantly factual: providing a consistent supply of live fish to eat, throughout the RTC's survival learning phase, was a conditioning process.
NO, fish can not be re-conditioned to unlearn so many rewarded primitive, instinctual drives.
Nothing will make him pass up live meals. but if they aren't provided, he'll eat other foods.
 
petspoiler said:
There's no nit-picking there. It is blatantly factual: providing a consistent supply of live fish to eat, throughout the RTC's survival learning phase, was a conditioning process.
NO, fish can not be re-conditioned to unlearn so many rewarded primitive, instinctual drives.
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I would disagree whole heartedly. Most predatory fish that I get I powerfeed them on a steady supply of live fish up to a certain size. Depending on the species that will determine what size. After which I switch themover to other foods. Even being fed 100s of feeders per week, after switching prodided some common sense is used in stocking there are usually no problem.

It's also not like he was raising his rtc on feeders. It was doing what rtcs do, eat. It just so happenned that it was it's tankmates that were eaten.
 
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