So it has been months since I introduced myself, and I have yet to post pictures of my rtc. The tank is 300 gallons and I have been able to keep my rtc at ~24” for the past two years.
My RTC
- Thread starter bigzzx
- Start date
Nice! Is the 3rd pic down, where the tank seems so narrow, from a different tank? Your 300 gal must be 2' or more wide, right?
What do you mean by kept him at 24? Like inches? Is that detrimental to their health to slow their growth?
Sorry for the typo, my first post was from my phone but yes 24" (inches) but upon remeasure it turns out my RTC is at ~34" (probably should have measured before posting but last I had checked it was 24"). I regularly feed it various fish fillets roughly 8 ounces once a week or the occasional fresh caught trout (gutted), with weekly water changes (40-50%). The tank is 24" wide but 23" if you subtract the thickness of the acrylic. I do know that it is much too small to accommodate my RTC for much longer but I do provide it with ample current and it swims and turns just fine. I do plan to move it from this tank to a much larger inclosure so that to allow it to have much more space for activities
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It sounds and looks like you are quite dedicated to him and are doing a great job taking care of him. To me it is obvious we differ very much on the minimal width requirement with respect to the fish's length... and that's ok 
It sounds and looks like you are quite dedicated to him and are doing a great job taking care of him. To me it is obvious we differ very much on the minimal width requirement with respect to the fish's length... and that's ok
Thank you for your kind words. I do feel that my RTC needs something quite larger; at the very least triple as wide. I came upon my RTC years ago when my uncle was going through an ugly divorce but he was able to donate one(of the two) RTC to the local zoo and the other I took as I did not want to see such a beautiful fish go to a bad home.
Kudos for saving him!
Yes, 6' wide would be a minimum in my book. Others may tell you differently.
An ~$200 10'-12' round 3' deep intex pool could be ok. You will have to throw in the EPDM liner (also ~$200) as the vinyl liner that the pool come with is too thin and too toxic for fish. On the plus side, you can house more than your RTC in that pool and you will get your 300 gal back!
Yes, 6' wide would be a minimum in my book. Others may tell you differently.
An ~$200 10'-12' round 3' deep intex pool could be ok. You will have to throw in the EPDM liner (also ~$200) as the vinyl liner that the pool come with is too thin and too toxic for fish. On the plus side, you can house more than your RTC in that pool and you will get your 300 gal back!