I Just found it interesting that stuffing a catfish in a glass box of equal cost of a 1k "diy" set-up is preferable by some people... I would also like to go on the record that being 6 monthes pregnant, having a 20month old.. building from brick/concrete/ect was not an option... did I mention the part about being on restrictions? however spending a healthy chunk of change on a "temporary" set-up for more then just my catfish was an option... the only other option I had was to re-home fish that we are all aware of are almost impossible to re-home properly. Instead of force my fish to become stunted in small tanks like most people do I went w/ a "less then nice looking" set-up but meets my pets needs.
These are living breathing beings, not artwork... Same goes for my old thoroughbred horse... he lives in a 10acer field w/ other horses and comes into a comfy, safe old barn at night to sleep. It is not a state of the art 2k a month boarding barn w/ the latest and greatest innovations. Somewhere people started thinking "looks" where more important then function and health. My fish are rarely if ever sick, and I lose fish generally to freak instances not from predation from other tank-mates crammed into to small a tank, poor water quality or filtration.
I feed Mostly live food, and augment that with high quality pellets... Instead of spending 10k on a glass box.. I spent 2k on a pool and my fish eat better then most people I know do.
My fish also tend to reach wild average sizes or better, so it doesn't bother me if people disagree with what I do. But it does bother me to say your a better caretaker because I use elbow grease and ingenuity to accomplish what others have to toss money at to accomplish the same means. I enjoy sitting on a barstool in our basement and feeding our fish which btw I can see just fine. my catfish don't bash their faces on the walls and hurt themselves... the gar don't spook and have PLENTY of swimming space... none of my fish have issues turning and at the end of the week when I change 500 gallons of water which we pay for every drop... my nitrates are rarely over 5ppm.
Prove to me i'm doing something "wrong" and I am more then happy to learn and improve my ways.. but telling me to put my fish in a glass box 1/2 the size of a lined pool ( I was advised to line it from the get-go but I learned my lesson and learned it well) and I'll tell you exactly how backwards you have your priorities for your pets. I would also love to know how to bring a 1k gallon glass or acrylic tank down a basement flight of stairs ect.... I simply would not be able to get anything remotely as large as the pool in our basement unless I built it myself or paid someone else to do it. ( and since this is our last child we do plan on something much more permanent and plan on doing most of the work ourselves, But right now its not doable.)
I've spent more in "careing" for my fish in the past 3 monthes then what the initial set-up cost... funny how people think the tank and equipment is the expensive part.
/rant off
Not trying to fight or argue but had to get that off my chest... I like how people assume things.
OH and running duel dehumidifiers 24/7 is very inexpensive I might add
I can't imagine my fish back in a small cramped tank now that I've seen them actually swim more then a few paces and back again in a glass box.
but to be distinctive, let's just go to the average time span, means how many months to years and size they take up as they grow, we do know it's in genetics, water quality, food, etc. but on the average growth of an average RTC, could someone help? I don't have any catfish yet, but we do on the dining table so I can't give any info.
