to RTC or not to RTC

[mercury904]

I think they are a very cool looking fish, though one would not be for me...

suggestion=pond

 

[tfaceon]

yeah, um, in leu of those 3 pictures oddball posted in thread above, I'll probably not get it. The CK and aro are the other 2 favorites, and seeing an rtc as big or smaller than the fish it consumed which happen to be the same two fish this guy would be living with, I think I'll pass.

I knew they were predatory, and pretty predatory at that. I didn't realize they ate fish that are bigger than they are. Thanks for the info.

the rtc hes liveing with a 4 inch pitcus cat and a 5inch gold fish they hang out like buddys my friend who just got a 265g with a 24 inch rtc has a 12 inch oscar in the tank dozent brother him if you keep the rtc feed he wount eat his friends but if you dont feed him for a few days well you seen what can happen and the rtc is 11 inchs now

 

[Killerhap]

While they are very cool looking, they really don't make the best pets IMHO, since they get so freakishly huge, but that is a huge tank, LOL.

 

[wizzin]

the rtc hes liveing with a 4 inch pitcus cat and a 5inch gold fish they hang out like buddys my friend who just got a 265g with a 24 inch rtc has a 12 inch oscar in the tank dozent brother him if you keep the rtc feed he wount eat his friends but if you dont feed him for a few days well you seen what can happen and the rtc is 11 inchs now

he's growin good eh? I'll decide by the time the tank is filled. Glass is going in Saturday and sealing should be done Sunday night. I'm still on the fence. I'm sure he's nice now. My concern is when he gets into the 30" range, which will probably only be a year or 2 away.

Any other experienced RTC owners out there want to chime in?

 

[wizzin]

I just had a conversation with a guy at the pittsburgh aquarium. They have 2 4' rtc's in their amazon display. He said they won't take them, and that they're actually trying to get them out of the hobby. I guess they get asked all the time from what he said. He also told me he's personally seen them take down full grown arowanas when they get up to the 24" to 36" mark. He actually recommended the fish be put down. He said. If you want to risk it, you could keep him for a little while, but eventually you're going to have to put him down. He suggested clove oil BTW....

I think I'm going to pass. I'd try to call some other aquariums or TheFishGuy maybe.

 

[johnptc]

i think they will outgrow your tank and eat anybody they can.

just returned from dallas world aquarium where they have several in their 200000 gallon tank.....they get huge about 5 or 6 feet and their head is approaching the size of a soccer ball !!! the problem would be what to do when they get big....... tsn cat might be marginally a better choice but they also get huge !!!

so, one of the members here has an RTC that I was planning on getting for my 1200. I love rtc's, but I know they get HUGE! I have personally seen them over 5ft in length at our local public aquarium. I also want to keep oscars, and I think at some point the rtc would see them as lunch right? So, should I get the RTC or not? I'm not sure the fate of the fish if I don't. I think he's been trying to get rid of him for a while. He's a nice looking fish at about 10".

 

[cichlaguapote]

I just had a conversation with a guy at the pittsburgh aquarium. They have 2 4' rtc's in their amazon display. He said they won't take them, and that they're actually trying to get them out of the hobby. I guess they get asked all the time from what he said. He also told me he's personally seen them take down full grown arowanas when they get up to the 24" to 36" mark. He actually recommended the fish be put down. He said. If you want to risk it, you could keep him for a little while, but eventually you're going to have to put him down. He suggested clove oil BTW....

I think I'm going to pass. I'd try to call some other aquariums or TheFishGuy maybe.

Wise choice. There are alot of people keeping these, rarely does anyone really have a tank big enough. Even though I can't speak for him I doubt even thefishguy would take a full grown rtc as it would put his other fish at risk, create a huge bio-load and take up alot of room. And pretty much no aquarium is going to take such a fish.

Sadly this is one of the fish that should be harder to obtain.

 

[johnptc]

Wise choice. There are alot of people keeping these, rarely does anyone really have a tank big enough. Even though I can't speak for him I doubt even thefishguy would take a full grown rtc as it would put his other fish at risk, create a huge bio-load and take up alot of room. And pretty much no aquarium is going to take such a fish.

Sadly this is one of the fish that should be harder to obtain.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ again its the fish keeper and not the fish that are to blame.......... wizzin did the right thing by getting enough info to make what i believe is the approriate decision.............@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

I am asking myself the same question for the 5000 gallon tank I have and am still undecided..........rtc tsn or none of the above !! ??

 

[wizzin]

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ again its the fish keeper and not the fish that are to blame.......... wizzin did the right thing by getting enough info to make what i believe is the approriate decision.............@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

I am asking myself the same question for the 5000 gallon tank I have and am still undecided..........rtc tsn or none of the above !! ??

The public aquarium keeper suggested 5000 gallon minimum for one of these. Also, he mentioned that the 2 they have now were 12" when they got them in 99, and by 2002 they were 36". 2006 they're 4'. They slow down at 36".

 

[ethnics]

johnptc, get one... ur have a 5000gal tank and an arapaima. perfect mix. you can grow even 1 rtc and 1 tsn in that ******. huge rtc barely even move. they jus sit there n cruise around every so often... i think they get lazy as hell when there big which is why i want one. and have one. since you guys backed out on gowing one lol, you'll see updates of mine in the 400 as often as possible. he'll go to a pond in like 10 years possibly.