Tiny 4 inch baby RTC we picked up a few days ago. How do you guys think he looks?
He's been eating right out of our hands, such a little pig.
He's been eating right out of our hands, such a little pig.
[RTC]New pick up
- Thread starter toshmadness
- Start date
He looks just like mine 
looks like a nice littly fatty. going to grow into a real monster really fast!
looks like a nice littly fatty. going to grow into a real monster really fast!they max out at 4 foot. not 6 foot. and nice RTC! they grow FAST for up to a year then they slow down. so within a year he should be a good solid 1.5 to 2 foot.
Oh, he's going into our 1500 gallon outdoor pond that we're starting to build for him this up coming month.
At this very moment he's got a 55 all to himself untill he's big enough to go into the 185.
At this very moment he's got a 55 all to himself untill he's big enough to go into the 185.
Great. I'm Going to get an indoor pond with a RTC and some cichla one of these days when I have the money.
WOW... nice to see the myths are still bouncing around regarding RTC's... 6' is ALONG Way off.. 4' is not the max however... it is extremely rare for someone to have one that big in a home aquarium... you prob know the most owners of these guys at that size as members on this site. Typically RTC's will have a huge rush to grow to 2' as was mentioned, after that their growth actually does not slow down as most people have been led to believe, it simply changes direction, at 18-24" you will most likely have a leaner sleeker RTC... once they get to that size you will notice them bulking up... their heads will get much wider... their football shape will come in very nicely and you will see that their overall thickness will go up dramatically. Short version is, their weight will continue to climb just as fast as the length did during the first year.
I will leave this conversation as is before I start a novel on these guys
I will leave this conversation as is before I start a novel on these guys
Good advice. I have several big cats and can agree with your account of them growing wider after 20 inches or so. Personally I've never seen a rtc above 40 inches in a home aquarium. Most seem to hover around 34-36 inches ime. I'm sure they exist in set ups like arapaimags but I've just never seen a picture. Keep in mind that people love to exaggerate and a 30 inch fish is often more like 24 inches, still a big fish but no 30 incher.