Realistically How Big do RTC's Get..

[FLESHY]

Agreed.

 

[jclyde13]

I highly doubt that fish is the "raised record". Especially based off of what some people are saying on here.

Everyone take a good luck at the above tank...not good. RTC looks okay, but that CK looks rough. More space would probably go a long ways for happier, healthier fish.

The guy who made the vid said (in the comments) that he just made up the title and he realizes that they get much bigger than that.

 

[Cichla dude]

I agree 95% with this thread, with the exception being it doesn't matter much that they will only get 3-4'... if you can't house one don't get one.

 

[Just Toby]

Ok my two cents. Aka meaning it's not worth much. But I have a rtc in a 75gallon. I feed him blood worms and pellets. I keep the water at 73F. I must say the temp must slow their growth. He grew maybe half a inch in a month. And my filtration turns my tank over 14 times a hr!!!! And my water quality is perfect. Take it for what you will or flame away. But on the same note I know I can't keep it in this tank for very long. I am prepared to spend serious money on this fish. Just saying about the growth rate.

So you are keeping a fish in a tank way too small, making it suffer from malnutrition (blood worms are a tiny food and a no use at all to a rtc, at any age) and it is struggling to survive in water too cold for it....well done for cruelty...good example...!

The op is so small minded, he posts to ask why thousands of people say that tanks are too small (should be a clue in there) and then when people prove the reasoning he turns nasty.

 

[troutking]

I see alot of people getting RTC's on this forum and I always see the person who posts "Hope you have a 1,000+ gallon pond that thing will get to be 5 feet". I find this highly unlikely since the world record was a little over 4'4". Ive seen alot of RTC's in large aquariums, from 300-1000 gallons and it seems like the internet is supersizing this fish, being as Ive never seen a RTC on MFK or in RL over 3 feet unless it was in a HUGE tank like Arapaimags 50k. I also find it funny that the world record Silver Arowana was just a few inches shorter then the world record Red Tail and yet it can be housed more then comfortably in a 400g.

A pet store not far from my house has had a Red Tail for quite a few years in a 7x3x3 and the red tail had plenty of swimming space but has never really gotten much bigger then 2'-2.5'.

I guess the point I'm trying to make here is, I think we give this fish more credit for its size then it really deserves, I personally would think one would do fine in a 400-450g for life. Like every fish theres the odd out out that grows to be HUGE but those are really the only stories anyone pays attention to on the internet and thus it helps inflate the "common adult size" of the fish. There are probably just as many stories on the internet about how one stopped growing at 2.5'-3' even tho it had plenty of room to swim about in yet no one pays attention to those stories.

IMHO I think a better common adult size 2.5'-3.5' and better minimum tank size would be 400g but thats just me, I know TONS of people would beg to differ but this is just my 2 cents.

people say that you need 1000+ gallon tanks cuz even though it may not reach 4 ft and might only reach around the size of a silver arow. although u may be able to house a full grown arow more comfortably in a 400 gallon, it produces 4x as much poop as one.

 

[flowerpower]

A rtc is the greatest aquatic pet IMO. I used to have one in a 150. Got him at 4" and a yr later, at around 20", I drove 16 hrs round trip to re-home him. The tragedy with these fish is that they are sooo intelligent and puppy like. He would eat a fish that he grew up with and then sulk for a few days as if he felt guilty (or maybe just digesting a good meal!). You should have to be licensed to own this and other extremely large fish.

 

[derekp]

A rtc is the greatest aquatic pet IMO. I used to have one in a 150. Got him at 4" and a yr later, at around 20", I drove 16 hrs round trip to re-home him. The tragedy with these fish is that they are sooo intelligent and puppy like. He would eat a fish that he grew up with and then sulk for a few days as if he felt guilty (or maybe just digesting a good meal!). You should have to be licensed to own this and other extremely large fish.

I fully agree with the licensing thing. An lfs in austin has 4" rtcs for $20 each. I got mine from a dumb*** on craigslist that bought one and it outgrew his 30 gallon in a month. Furthermore I saw today that petsmart has pacus on sale for $3.50 each, pangasius cats for $ 4 each, and clown knifes for $3.50 each as well. This kind of crap drives me absolutely nuts.

 

[FLESHY]

+1 to the above...its not so much the price, as that they have max tank sizes of 55g on all of those.

I can get RTC with my wholesaler for $14. That being said, I would rather see a fish be reasonably priced than ridiculous. The downside is that you cant expect just anyone to be responsible with fish like that.

 

[taksan]

I'd like to see RTC's priced at $1000+ ea and licensed. And they are not the only ones I'd like to see a lot of fish licensed and priced much higher.

Way too many threads on here with RTC's being cruelly treated "Hey check out my RTC in my HUGE 300 g tank" .....

I am so sick of people treating this fish cruelly its almost at a point where I'd like to see RTC's banned all together.

 

[derekp]

Lol my little footer makes my 300 look small cause he is so active.