New member with a TSN...
- Thread starter Zanba01
- Start date
Welcome to the forum, Zanba01!
I agree with almost all that has been said above. You are getting good advices.
The following are just my opinions.
Yes, it is an RTCxTSN hybrid. Yes, it is probably stunted. How bad, no one really knows - e.g., if you put it in a lake, it could still reach its potential of 4' in 3-5 years, may be even 5' or the stunting could cause it to stay at, say, 3' max. In any case, you should think of the semi-worse case wherein it will reach 4' if you give it proper care. So, your step one is not to think of tankmates but rather to think through if you can provide for this great and beautiful, majestic pet.
If you think you can, then let's think about tankmates. If not, it's a moot point. So let us know if you decide to not find it a new home and keep it for yourself and then we will mull over the potential tankmates...
... my prediction is it will eat your gar(s), sooner or later - in a small tank (yes, 8'x3' id still small for this cat when sub-adult/adult) such a big predator will have no problems whatsoever catching any fish that will fit in his mouth girthwise - cigar-shaped gar is perfect for it. My hybrid just like yours only at 2.5' ate a 2' longnose gar in a 4000 gal pond (40'x6'x3').
I agree with almost all that has been said above. You are getting good advices.
The following are just my opinions.
Yes, it is an RTCxTSN hybrid. Yes, it is probably stunted. How bad, no one really knows - e.g., if you put it in a lake, it could still reach its potential of 4' in 3-5 years, may be even 5' or the stunting could cause it to stay at, say, 3' max. In any case, you should think of the semi-worse case wherein it will reach 4' if you give it proper care. So, your step one is not to think of tankmates but rather to think through if you can provide for this great and beautiful, majestic pet.
If you think you can, then let's think about tankmates. If not, it's a moot point. So let us know if you decide to not find it a new home and keep it for yourself and then we will mull over the potential tankmates...
... my prediction is it will eat your gar(s), sooner or later - in a small tank (yes, 8'x3' id still small for this cat when sub-adult/adult) such a big predator will have no problems whatsoever catching any fish that will fit in his mouth girthwise - cigar-shaped gar is perfect for it. My hybrid just like yours only at 2.5' ate a 2' longnose gar in a 4000 gal pond (40'x6'x3').
I definately want to keep the RTC/TSN as long as I can. I know I cannot provide a tank for life with him as he will just get to huge. I rent a house so making a pond outside wouldnt happen and since I have kiddos I dont wanna deal with an inside pond (aka swimming pool for kids when im not looking) However, I do want to provide him with an aqeuate tank to live in for a few years...or as long as he can fit in a tank i can afford to obtain. I know a few people with solar heated ponds that he could move into once he gets to big for me. So I feel confident I can be a responsible owner and provide to his needs even if he eventually ends up not on my property. I can still go visit 
I'm still on the search for aquariums and I have my name with a few aquarium consignment shops around Florida with my specific needs and budget. Craiglist hunting of course as well, but these size tanks can be hard to find sometimes. I've also contacted a couple custom tank makers that advised with my budget I might want to look into 96x30x18 just because it will only use 2 sheets of acrylic vs 3. I know 36" wide is ideal, but probably not feasible for the near future unless craigslist is nice to me. Thoughts?
@thebiggerthebetter I was thinking that myself about the gar lol. I just envision half a gar sticking out of his mouth as he swims around. oi! I'm up for different tank mates as long as they arent Oscars/Cichlid in nature (had to many tanks with them) I'm located in FL so anything suggested would need to be legal to have obv.
I appreciate everyones advice
I'm still on the search for aquariums and I have my name with a few aquarium consignment shops around Florida with my specific needs and budget. Craiglist hunting of course as well, but these size tanks can be hard to find sometimes. I've also contacted a couple custom tank makers that advised with my budget I might want to look into 96x30x18 just because it will only use 2 sheets of acrylic vs 3. I know 36" wide is ideal, but probably not feasible for the near future unless craigslist is nice to me. Thoughts?
@thebiggerthebetter I was thinking that myself about the gar lol. I just envision half a gar sticking out of his mouth as he swims around. oi! I'm up for different tank mates as long as they arent Oscars/Cichlid in nature (had to many tanks with them) I'm located in FL so anything suggested would need to be legal to have obv.
I appreciate everyones advice
Howdy, neighbor. Yeah, I can still visualize my poor Twizzers half-sticking out of my hybrid's mouth - one of the memories I wish I didnt have.
I guess the simple answer is anything that will not fit girthwise into his mouth - like other comparably sized cats, pacus, giant gouramies, etc. Maybe a large Pbass. No arowanas.
On the other hand, in a small tank and even a pond, they can start killing tank mates even without any predation intent but with what rather appears a territorial thing. Since mine were in a 4000 gal, I have never wintnessed it. Necrocanis' 3' hybrid was in a ~500 gal, don't remember, and it went through killing phases and calm phases - I hope he will chime in (he is our leader and the mod of the catfish section).
Also, they are huge, bulky cats = big bioload. Since the tankmates should be comparably big = super big bioload in a smal(lish) tank. So, to me you are a bit caught between a rock and a hard place. May have to consider a single fish tank or experiment with tankmates and report so we all learn with and from you
Yeah even catfish that obviously my hybrid could not eat he would tail bite until the tails were gone and the fish was dead if not moved quickly enough. I had a 2' rtc in with my 3' hybrid and left them over night as all day long they were fine and never bothered each other even laying on top of each other. My theory was to try and let the rtc establish the pond as his territory before introducing the hybrid. I kept the hybrid in a 50 gal rubbermaid container for a few weeks to stress him a bit before adding him to the pond also. My theory was that with no established territory for him and being stressed that he would get use to the rtc and accept it as a tankmate. I was very wrong on this and the morning after introduction he had torn all the fins on the rtc to shreds and I had to put the rtc in the hospital pond for recovery. The hybrid had to be re isolated in his own 300 gal cattle trough. He lived in there with lots of adult oscars people kept bringing to me out of their 10 and 20 gal tanks lol. He would eat them every so often, but usually he took whole shrimp, night crawlers, and fish fillet by hand. Hope this helps. He also killed a 26" planicpes when he was 32". He ripped the tail fin off also.
If you don't know what planiceps is, it is another large pim albeit a relatively skinny one: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/species.php?species_id=122
As I was on the search for a quick fix as well for a bigger tank/pond, someone mentioned to me about stock tanks...check online and also stores-farm supplies, sears, etc, or your lfs and see if they can order you one.
