ive been wanting a rtc for a while now. i saw a tankfull of small 3in baby rtc's yesterday. if i were to get one could i house it in a 125 with 4 med. oscars and 2 jd's for about 6months until my BIG tank is up and running.
red tail cat tankmates
- Thread starter scottchristian
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I believe this really depends on how big your oscars and dempseys are. I purchased my RTC 5 months ago at 3" and it is now 12" long. At his present size, he could quite easily consume my 4" oscar.
If your oscars and dempseys are under 6" in length, your RTC may end up growing large enough to eat them in that timespan. Therefore, my recommendation would be that you wait until you already have the larger tank before you get the RTC. This would give your other fish the opportunity to grow a bit more first since even the oscars will not keep pace with the growth rate of the RTC.
If your oscars and dempseys are under 6" in length, your RTC may end up growing large enough to eat them in that timespan. Therefore, my recommendation would be that you wait until you already have the larger tank before you get the RTC. This would give your other fish the opportunity to grow a bit more first since even the oscars will not keep pace with the growth rate of the RTC.
the oscars are 6in, the jack's are 4". i think i will wait, and maybe get a bigger one. one of my oscars is very aggresive. i know people say oscars arent aggresive, but i beg to differ. he has killed a few fish that are way to big for him to swallow. thanks for the reply
yeah, most O's i've had were semi-aggresive...but every now and then i'd get a real terror...i'd wait awhile, RTC grow at an amazing rate
If you want a red tail i would keep it on its own as they will try to eat fish far too large for them to swallow and this can cause problems and potentially kill them.
tank mates are possible until the 2ft stage but past that most aquarium fish are dinner for a rtc.
your dempseys will be at risk as the redtail will outgrow them rapidly in six months.
i had my red tail in a 8 x 3 x3 tank util he was 30" then i transferred him to a tropical pond.
Try and start with a big tank as moving large fish is difficult and requires skill, strength and is risky as the stress can kill them, and be prepared to get soaked, when moving a rtc it soaked me with one swipe of its tail and i was drenched, it was amusing for my family who were watching but not for me.
a 3" rtc will grow at 2" a month until 12" the slow a bit. mine was 4 " when i got it and it was 18" in year.
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re: aggressive oscars , they can be really nasty fish sometimes but others are quite docile, i have a super agressive one that is housed alone but my other two are quite peacefull and housed with other cichlids.
your oscar may pick on your red tail when its young but the rtc will probably cope and get its revenge one day when the oscar becomes dinner
tank mates are possible until the 2ft stage but past that most aquarium fish are dinner for a rtc.
your dempseys will be at risk as the redtail will outgrow them rapidly in six months.
i had my red tail in a 8 x 3 x3 tank util he was 30" then i transferred him to a tropical pond.
Try and start with a big tank as moving large fish is difficult and requires skill, strength and is risky as the stress can kill them, and be prepared to get soaked, when moving a rtc it soaked me with one swipe of its tail and i was drenched, it was amusing for my family who were watching but not for me.
a 3" rtc will grow at 2" a month until 12" the slow a bit. mine was 4 " when i got it and it was 18" in year.
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re: aggressive oscars , they can be really nasty fish sometimes but others are quite docile, i have a super agressive one that is housed alone but my other two are quite peacefull and housed with other cichlids.
your oscar may pick on your red tail when its young but the rtc will probably cope and get its revenge one day when the oscar becomes dinner
ng80 said:
I can attest to this statement. Mine has shown remarkable growth.
Here he is at 3" in September.
And here at 10" in December.
He just recently passed the 12" mark and now I am looking for a 180 - 240 to devote to him as he is growing too fast for my aro and royal clown knife to keep up with him.
scottchristian said:
Is your big tank you will have up and running 10' x 5' ? If not I would advise against getting a RTC. This is only advice and my opinion
I agree. The rtc's get huge!!!!!! Unless you are planning on upgrading again make sure your BIG tank is big enough!!!! Also, I'd be more worried about your JD because they do grow a lot slower than the O's.
