rtc question

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milkman407

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jul 15, 2006
5,163
205
120
in a house
I'm giving my girl my 120gallon tank, she wants a rtc!... She has a huge pond behind her house that gets constant flow from the lake behind the pond. All she has in there now is about 1,000 channel cats about 9".

I was just wondering what will grow fast enough that she could keep with him, She wants this so far.

silver arowana
oscar
rtc

She has a 30gallon long, with a jag and some other random fish, and she knows how to do w/c's and all that. So what would you guys suggest?

She plans on putting the arowana in there also.
 
not getting it and releasing it into the wild... I'm gonna hope you are not serious
 
as long as there is no way the cat can get outta the pond and into the lake i don't see the problem. as long as ur area has suitable weather for the animal and you can provide a good quality of life for it. there's no difference from that and the other guys on here keeping their rtc and hybrids outside in manmade ponds.
 
Might work fine, only problem is that it is connected to a major water source as you stated. You will need to check with your local state regulations on keeping pond fish in a pond that is connected to a watershed. I know here in Montana and other states there is a law that forbids you to keep non-native fish in ponds that connect to a natural spring, river, or other watershed. I believe their thinking behind this is flooding. If the waters flood at normal intervals during the seasons the fish will have a chance to escape into the wild. Now if you can block completely where the two bodies of water meet up to flood levels I don't see why it would be a problem. Is this a natural pond or manmade pond? There are so many variables you will have to do a lot of research. I know when I went to florida about 10 years ago there was a man there that kept nothing but rtc in his pond in his back yard. They were all huge. Probably 3 1/2'-4 1/2'. It would be awesome, but you are gonna have to make sure you do it right. That is the only difference I see in what you are doing and what others are doing is the fact it's connected to another body of water.
 
Nic;957862; said:
not getting it and releasing it into the wild... I'm gonna hope you are not serious

Its going in her pond, the pond is hooked up so that lake water goes into it. Its not the wild O.o... its just a giant pond her dad has on her farm.

Its connected by a Big tube, that is connected to a pump, which the pump is in the middle of the lake.
there is no way possible the fish could get out. And also her pond is about 20ft in the deep spots.

The pond is about a mile away from the lake, and there is no possible way it could flood.
 
Well they just cought a 4ft gator in the pond O.o must have walked a long ways to get in there lol.
 
ethnics;958063; said:
happy rtc in a 20ft+ pond. but how are u gonna watch it lol

i can see it working tho.
well if he grows it out in a 120 for long enough they can teach it to eat from their hands and then when it goes into the pond it will probably still come up to feed.... and a silver would probably be fine with the cat but I would start it a tad larger then the rtc... as far as the oscar... it would probably be fine for a good time but eventually could become a dinner snack... how south in FL do you live? I know norther Florida gets to cold in the winter for a rtc and or aro.... unless you plan on heating the pond durring the cold months... and you said 20ft and the deep spot... so I'm assuming u mean thats how deep it gets, but how long/wide is it?
 
If the pond is lined and layered with large stones the water should be clear after a few months. Only time it should cloud would be during rain, or heavy winds. I would just not keep carp or goldfish as they will muddy the bottom looking for food if it is a natural pond with a dirt bottom.
 
Its a natural pond the dug out when they first moved in ( about 6 years ago ). The pond you could walk around in about 5 mins, so its very large. Not sure exactly how large, but I've jumped in before and it gets deep very fast. So I'd say the whole pond is about 5-20 ft. I live in orlando, and she lives about 45 mins from me.
 
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