How often do i have to feed my RedTailed Cat?!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
oh yeah? Awesome, I love prawns, ive been feeding them to all of my fish for about a month now, a big bag is £5 and ive used hardly any in like a month, cheap and healthy. What size is your rtc? because the food difference between one 1' and a 3' is obviously a lot. cheers.
Mine is fed once a day, skipping a day usually means 1 less other fish in the tank
He/She basically eats about 6-7 whole prawns with each meal
 
Hey mate.. someone did mention earlier in the thread.. when the RTC is small.. its better to feed it everyday (once) and once it gets beyond 18" / 20 " every other day is fine.. this is how i've fed my RTC.. i haven't measured how big he is now.. prob 20"+ and do try to vary the feed.. i somehow could never get him eat massivore delite.. prawn tends to be on the fattier side and also look up on thiaminase and carnivorous fish.. tilapia will be one of the best nutrition you can give the RTC and other carnivorous fish.. all the best with your pond.. you sure would need a huge one and lots of heating.. :)
 
no problem man! the 180 might hold him for a year if your lucky. if fed well he will most likely be around 20in in a year. if you have the space for a pond now just stack up some cinder blocks and do it. he will love the space and you will be releaved at not having to move a 20+ in rtc (its not fun)
 
Hey, yeah I will not over feed him, I want his growth rate to be slow so I can enjoy him in the tank and ill have more time to prepare a pond. I already have the materials for a pond. In faact i used blocks for my tank stand, so i made a stand for my 180 with a total cost of £11. haha. :) im hoping i will be able to have him in the tank for 1-1.5 years, so i dont have to rush with the pond.
no problem man! the 180 might hold him for a year if your lucky. if fed well he will most likely be around 20in in a year. if you have the space for a pond now just stack up some cinder blocks and do it. he will love the space and you will be releaved at not having to move a 20+ in rtc (its not fun)
 
honestly just plan on doin the pond with in year. dont push it man. they are a big fish and make some huge poopies! lol
if you have the stuff for the pond i would just do it. mine would be in a pond right now but im about to move. i will prob throw him in his pond in our new place
 
Hhaha! yeah. i figure ill have to take my sand out and get some kind of substrate which will survive powerheads to get the water moving more. I'm currently having trouble with circulation, i have a 4 ft spray bar from my fx5 and it still leaves holes in the sand, and doesnt move all of the waste to the intake of the filter... I'm going to have to sort somthing out because it's bugging me, my oscars poop is big, haha!
 
Ok, first of all, I kept mine in a netted area in a pond so, the growth rate is different from that of a tank.
Mine got to 2' from 3-4" within 3 months, just so you know. Better get that pond up fast!

As for feeding, I will adopt what I leant from the gator gars research and feedback from the gar forum to apply to rtc.
Over feeding might cause a fish to explode in growth but might shorten his end lifespan.
Within the first year, aka growing phase, the fish should be fed every day.
2nd to 3rd year, sexual development phase, the fish should be fed once every other day.
Years onwards, matured phase, the fish should be fed once every 3-5 days.
As to how much to feed will depend on individual fish. I still did not get a confirm answer on that but to my understanding, if you can look at the fish's stomach area, feed till you see that there is a slight budge. A hungry fish should have a sunken stomach. A very hungry fish will even have a sunken eye.
If the fish is in a tank, it will be more easy to monitor.
A fish is inactive after feeding because it is spending a lot of its energy digesting its food. It may be a sign of overfeeding, imo. So ideally I think it also serve as an indication of the amt to feed.

Just sharing what I researched and open to constructive discussion. Please don't flame me as I'm still learning. Cheers.
 
Oh and I'm also with the natural diet thing. I don't feed meat.
But from what an experienced member in MFK told me, maybe, at times, we should stuff the feed with some vegetation matters, ie algae wafers to provide a more balance diet
 
Sounds right to me. thanks for the feedback, you have reassured me of how I should be feeding it with some facts about the stages in there too. I've been feeding it twice a day at the moment but ill cut down to once a day as his stomach looked massive last time i checked, the catfish is in a plastic container so its hard to see the under side of him. Just so clarify how much did yours grow? from 2" to 3 or four inches with in a few months? im getting confused as there is a ' and then " if you get me. ha ha.
Ok, first of all, I kept mine in a netted area in a pond so, the growth rate is different from that of a tank.
Mine got to 2' from 3-4" within 3 months, just so you know. Better get that pond up fast!

As for feeding, I will adopt what I leant from the gator gars research and feedback from the gar forum to apply to rtc.
Over feeding might cause a fish to explode in growth but might shorten his end lifespan.
Within the first year, aka growing phase, the fish should be fed every day.
2nd to 3rd year, sexual development phase, the fish should be fed once every other day.
Years onwards, matured phase, the fish should be fed once every 3-5 days.
As to how much to feed will depend on individual fish. I still did not get a confirm answer on that but to my understanding, if you can look at the fish's stomach area, feed till you see that there is a slight budge. A hungry fish should have a sunken stomach. A very hungry fish will even have a sunken eye.
If the fish is in a tank, it will be more easy to monitor.
A fish is inactive after feeding because it is spending a lot of its energy digesting its food. It may be a sign of overfeeding, imo. So ideally I think it also serve as an indication of the amt to feed.

Just sharing what I researched and open to constructive discussion. Please don't flame me as I'm still learning. Cheers.
 
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