hurry talk me out of a red tail cat

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L

leather

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 8, 2010
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Pennsylvania
My lfs has a a cute little rtc, I have always wanted one, but the timing never worked out. To start with I could house it easily for the first 3 ft of growth but, I don't have an indoor pond big enough for a 4 foot monster yet. Mostly because I don't need it. I have the room and actually have a huge piece of rubber I have been saving for something. I just don't take getting any animal that I will have for such a long time lightly. If I take my time deciding maybe somebody else will take him home and that will make up my mind for me. Experienced rtc keepers, is it worth it personality wise? One of the reasons I love my oscars so much is the personality that is evident from them.
I guess I just don't want to commit without knowing everything that I am in for.
 
Realize that in the first 6 months it'll grow to be 24" if fed properly.

Mine outgrew all the fish in my 450, I moved him to a 210, he was about to move into a 1500g pond and he jumped out of the 210 a week before.

You're gonna drop a large bankroll feeding him.

If you're prepared for all that, then go for it. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders.

As for personality, they're a pretty awesome fish. Mine would let me pet him and was always attentive when I came to the tank. In fact, he made tank cleaning a bit of a pain, constantly running into gravel vac, wanting attention.
 
Food bill is big, got it. Sorry you lost yours Ed. That is a very cool pondyou built, an outside pond for me would have to be heated to keep tropicals in, which isn't out of the question yet. I have been thinking about doing it for a long time.
 
Thanks! I still plan on putting the TSN in there, but I'm less worried about the TSN eating the other fish since he has a smaller mouth.

I would have had to heat it in the winter, but may go with some native fish now, or colder water fish to avoid that and just take the TSN out when it gets cold. I'd probably only need to take the TSN out for a few months in the winter.

Good luck with your decision, they're a great fish if you can house them.
 
SpeshulEd;4295032; said:
Thanks! I still plan on putting the TSN in there, but I'm less worried about the TSN eating the other fish since he has a smaller mouth.

I would have had to heat it in the winter, but may go with some native fish now, or colder water fish to avoid that and just take the TSN out when it gets cold. I'd probably only need to take the TSN out for a few months in the winter.

Good luck with your decision, they're a great fish if you can house them.
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tsn is at least as likely to eat your fish as rtc don't get either if you have any reservations at all.
 
jprp;4295360; said:
tsn is at least as likely to eat your fish as rtc don't get either if you have any reservations at all.
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I do believe both will eat whatever they can fit in their mouth...an rtc's mouth is about 4x the size of a tsn's mouth though.
 
You do realize that a rtc in about six months will be 36''?? And will require tons of feeding, tlc, clean water to prevent gill curl, and much more.
 
Cichla dude;4297625; said:
You do realize that a rtc in about six months will be 36''?? And will require tons of feeding, tlc, clean water to prevent gill curl, and much more.
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36" is kind of pushing it. More around 24".
 
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