should i buy a red tailed cat????

[matthewkingoftheworld]

my local shop sells rtc's and i've always thought they are amazing. i've seen some pretty big and thats not what bothers me. he sells them as babies so i'd need to grow him up. what my problem is i hear they are super aggressive and will eat everything that fits in its mouth. is this an 'urban myth'? also at what rate do they grow. i have a 220gal tank at the moment but it will be getting replace with something much much bigger (for my pacu's), the problem is i would hate him to be enomous in the 220 gal tank before i move and get my monster tank.


what are your thoughts.

thanks

 

[knifegill]

Sounds like you know what you're getting into. Just remember that even when small they are putting off enough waste to equal three average adult fish of the same size.
Yes, they will eat anything they can, even large rocks and plastic plants.

I don't believe they are particularly aggressive, though. Just big and heavy with a good appetite.

 

[marauders30]

unless u have plans for a big pond i would stay away from it. plus, they make huge messes when and after they eat so the maintenance and food bill starts to suck. they are cool but u gotta be prepared imo.

 

[Loves severums]

unless u have plans for a big pond i would stay away from it. plus, they make huge messes when and after they eat so the maintenance and food bill starts to suck. they are cool but u gotta be prepared imo.

yup

 

[bahamaqt00]

No that is not a myth. They Will eat anthing that fits into their mouth. I would not get one until you have a pond ALREADY built. Too many people say they will build a pond then the time comes and then never do. They grow very fast. Ive seen them double in size in a couple of months. They need a LOT of filtration because they produce a lot of waste and ammonia. I would say for the fishes sake, wait until you have pond plans already in the making before you get him. (I say pond because you will need a pond. I don't think very any standard size fish tanks will hold them. 220 is probably the min for a baby. Until it reaches maybe 12" which will only talk about 2 months. Speaking from experience. I made the same mistake but luckily we found a good home

 

[Just Toby]

Even if you blew a neon tetra up to RTC size it would eat anything it could fit in its mouth, this is the rule with all fish.

RTC have large mouths and a fast growth rate.

I would set the pond up for it like the others say or give them a swerve.

 

[Cakilla]

I would wait till you have the pond built honestley... they do grow very fast.

 

[black_monster]

i used to have four baby rtc's.
they were one inch each when i first got them.
six months later they outgrew my tank and i had to trade them in to my petshop.
imo i wouldn't get it unless you know you're going to upgrade in the next year or two.
i thought i would have enough time and ppl were just bs'n but i was wrong lol.
but, they grow as fast as you feed them. if you don't feed them much they grow slow.
if you feed them a lot they grow fast. saying this because not all four were the same size at the end. one was twice as big as the biggest one i had.

 

[redtailrob]

Great to see some great, sensible comments here.
These really are terrific fish & quickly become handtame but everything that has been said here is true.
They are not partculary aggresive fish by any means but theydo & will attempt to eat anything they can fit into their mouths.
They produce a huge amount of waste and very large filters & big,regular water changes are needed.
Their growth rates can be limited by the regularity and amount that are fed but they do grow very fast.

 

[Oddball]

They are a terrific showpiece to have. But, unless you can house one NOW as an adult, wait until you can. This is not a hard-to-find species so, they'll be RTCs around when you're ready to keep one for life.