RTC getting too big?

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A

adamstv

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 20, 2006
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costa mesa
Well i have had my RTC for about a year he was 5 inches when i got him and is now about 14"

I have a 8 inch Peacock bass and a 15" 10 year old Ornate poly And a 7 inch female FH(im not worried about her shes way too fat for any problems) All in a 180

now what i am scared of is obviously my RTC consuming either of my fish

My ornate is too fat to be eaten in the center of his body but his tail could easily be grabbed on to by my CAT. And My peacock is pretty fat and fast enough to avoid him but when he is sleeping on the bottom and when my bichir is not moving this is what happens.

My RTC will swim up to either of them and 1 out of five times bigin nudging and moving them and some times open his mouth slightly but not aggressivly like when he grabs food. My ornate and Pbass will always move out of the way but is it finally time to get rid of my RTC. What do you think is this just him reassuring dominance or is this early signs of trying to eat them.


Do you think its finally time for his to go or do i still half a while?
 
i think your fish will be ok...but that all depends on how aggressive your RTC is, like is he ever trying to be the boss of the tank or anything? it seems from what you described that your RTC is trying to establish himself as the dominant from what i read. but what i don't understand is why is he awake when the other fish aren't?
 
Oh man my RTC cruises at night! and my ornate just chills all the time and night time is when my peacock lays down on the bottom.

During the day when the pbass is awake the RTC loafs around
 
In a year, your RTC grew 11". Thats some pretty slow growth there.

A polypterus, to a RTC, is like a thick, tasty noodle just begging to be swallowed. IF you can house him for life, he's worth keeping.
 
Mystix212;1513071; said:
In a year, your RTC grew 11". Thats some pretty slow growth there.

A polypterus, to a RTC, is like a thick, tasty noodle just begging to be swallowed. IF you can house him for life, he's worth keeping.
Click to expand...

:iagree: BUT, if you knew you couldn't keep him for life, you should have opted for a different fish...
 
A wise man once said.... "Red tailed catfish dont have tankmates...just meals they are saving for later"

...Oh that was me.
 
One thing you must remember about RTC that I have learned the hard way recently with a CKF is that even if they can't swallow a fish head first they can still swallow their tails and digest the lower half of their bodies slowly killing the fish from stress. If you catch them doing this early enough you might be able to save your fish, but sometimes it's futile! RTC will always test their tankmates to see if they are suitable for consumption. 11" is slower than average growth in a year for a rtc, but it's still not that slow. Your's could be one of the ones that stays a little smaller. If there's someone on here that lives within a few hundred miles of you I'm sure they'd jump on the chance if you posted pics up!
 
I'll pay for shipping ;)

Basically the behaviour that your seeing has alot to do with judging the tankmate to see if 1) it's to big to get into it's mouth 2) if there will be a chase involved 3)Showing dominance over it. Given the chance you will be missing all of those fish if you don't move the RTC to a new home (either yours ... or mine ;) ) I would never allow a young RTC to be in a tank with a fish I didn't expect to lose... The only thing that ensures that a fish can survive in there is if they are much larger than the RTC which usually doesn't last all that long before the RTC will catch up and or surpass it and THEN eat it.

As for 11" in a year...as Necro said... alittle slow but still within the norms. There is someone on here that has a 10+year old that is only 18"... now thats a Small RTC LOL
 
Wolf3101;1513280; said:
A wise man once said.... "Red tailed catfish dont have tankmates...just meals they are saving for later"

...Oh that was me.
Click to expand...

Haha good one, that's probably why I won't ever have one, that and the fact I won't be able to house a 4' fish anytime soon. I do think the RTC will eat the poly, and then maybe the FH. the pbass might be able to keep up.
 
Wolf3101;1513280; said:
A wise man once said.... "Red tailed catfish dont have tankmates...just meals they are saving for later"

...Oh that was me.
Click to expand...



Most people dont believe that statement until they HAVE kept a RTC to 2' or more :D

They will attempt to consume ANYTHING over time. ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING.




basslover34;1513474; said:
I'll pay for shipping ;)

Basically the behaviour that your seeing has alot to do with judging the tankmate to see if 1) it's to big to get into it's mouth 2) if there will be a chase involved 3)Showing dominance over it. Given the chance you will be missing all of those fish if you don't move the RTC to a new home (either yours ... or mine ;) ) I would never allow a young RTC to be in a tank with a fish I didn't expect to lose... The only thing that ensures that a fish can survive in there is if they are much larger than the RTC which usually doesn't last all that long before the RTC will catch up and or surpass it and THEN eat .
Click to expand...





Very well put........And true........:naughty:






bob
 
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