new owner of a rtc

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A

armyguy24523

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 12, 2010
45
0
0
north carolina
hey guys and gals, well i bought a red tail cat today and just had a few questions, whats the best non live food for these guys as im not fond of feeding feeders that may carry diseases and kill him as he was not cheap! whats the best water quality for these guys and what kind of tank set up is good? he is currently in a 35 long with gravel and 2 caves, he is 3 inches maybe 4 now as we speak lol, i know they grow way to fast. just took my oscar out which was in the tank for a few months, so its well cycled, done a 20% water change b4 the rtc went in and ph is 7 and everything else is right at 0, i have a hob and temp is at 77, i do have a very small dose of salt in and also added a equal size algae eater. he has another tank that he will go in soon a 125 and would like to set it up with sand if thats a good idea and maybe a nice piece of drift. thanks alot for the help as its not much info on the web for these guys!
brandon
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At that size I suggest feeding Hikari Carnivore sinking pellets, than switch to Massivore in a few weeks when hes large enough. Once at about 12" should take about 2months start feeding shrimp, and than talipia as these two are quite cheap and healthy. As for tank setup your 125 will last maybe 6months tops. After that you will need to upgrade to a pond probably unless you want to spend upwards of $3-4k for a tank. Your going to need massive bio filtration to keep the water clean once he gets a little bigger. I had sand in my first pond but it just got to messy so now its bare bottom.

Heres my RTC bought 5-10-10 at 3"
RTC 5-10-10.JPG
6 months later he was 22" now hes about 24"
DSCF9984.JPG
cat pile.JPG
 
Blood worms, mine loves them at this size.
 
Blood worms won't provide enough nutrients for a rtc. U gotta remember at that age they are growing .5" a week. Earth worms are a good treat food but pellets than frozen foods are the most economical choices
 
mqktandy;4700530; said:
Blood worms won't provide enough nutrients for a rtc. U gotta remember at that age they are growing .5" a week. Earth worms are a good treat food but pellets than frozen foods are the most economical choices
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5" a week ? seriously ?
 
between the sizes of 3-10" they grow at least 2" a month if your providing them the correct diet/tank space. 2" month=.5" week. My rtc has kept up about 2" a month sense I got him.
To the OP. Yes they do need warmer water. between 74-82f I normally keep mine at about 80
 
chally567;4701968; said:
He said .5" lol so that would be 1/2 inch not 5 inches lol
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that sounds better ,
ahaha impossible 5' per week ,
 
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