Realistically How Big do RTC's Get..

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Deep Blue Sea

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 2, 2010
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Alameda Ca
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.
 
I picked up one from a lady a couple weeks ago that kept it in a decent size pond in her basement. She said she had had him for almost 11 years and the Lil guy was 2' - 2.5'. I have onenow and yes they do grow fast but I do not see him reaching true monster size. Will he get big......yes. Will he need his own inground pool size tank.....probably not. Talked to and met many keepers of these Monsters and the biggest I have seen was one that had passed away at 22 years old and he was a mere 3' 9"!!!!! Guy had him an intex 15' pool ever since he reached a foot in length!!!!!
 
My point exactly
 
i personally think the reason people go, rtc needs huge tank, is becuase they are catfish, and catfish create large amounts of bioload. now i have only seen 3 rtc in real life, and one was in a several thousand gallon tank, and the guy said it was 16, the other 2 where in a 3' tall, 6' long, 4' wide tank and the other in a 4'tall, 8' long, 4' wide tank, and they both where maybe 2.5 feet, while the one in the several thousand gallon(he claimed it was 3 but i think 2.5) was the same size. i think they would be fine in a tank that was 2x their length, and a foot wider then they are long, and as tall as they are long.
 
I had two that grew to 2' in the first year. And was hitting 3' when I last checked up on them (last year). Given the right amount of space to live, 3' in it's first 3 years isn't a hard task. The reason being RTC loves say "at lease" a 4' or 5' wide footprint, is because a RTC isn't as flexible as, lets say, a arow. For me, I think a foot print of 8'x5'/4'x3' is a bare minimum.
 
Mine has slowed down in growth to around 80cm in 3 years of keeping it......Maybe I will feed it more and see if it grows :D
 
Common sense would dictate that though a silver arowana and an RTC are comparable in length, they are far from comparable in size.

I own a 450g tank, there is no way it would be adequate for a 30" RTC nor that record silver aro that you spoke of.
 
ya they might be ok in a 400gal but be badly stunted thats like making you live in a room only 9 inches wider than yourself to turn around in and only enough room to walk 2 and half times longer than yourself not very happy or healthy
 
slednex11;4518333; said:
ya they might be ok in a 400gal but be badly stunted thats like making you live in a room only 9 inches wider than yourself to turn around in and only enough room to walk 2 and half times longer than yourself not very happy or healthy

that would be a 15 ft by 7 foot room, thats not that bad but then again these are just fish and not humans
 
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