Will it be big enough after all??

[waynes world]

Hi all, now after much reading mainly on this site as its the best for tank buster fish and good info, i still find a lot of different opions on tank size for certain fish being it catfish, rays pacu etc

Now in the next 12 months max i will have a tank of around 1200g (uk) size being 10 x 6 x 3.

Fish i have at the minute is 2 motoro rays 5inch disc, 1 TSNCxRTC at near 2 inch, 1 oscar 2 red spotted severums and 3 silver dollars.
On the shoppin list for early next year is an arowana, not decided on which yet but it will be a young one of around 4-6 inch.

That is all i will be gettin g i think.

So, i have put on a poll to see what i get back on if the tank above mentioned will happily home these fish also listed above.

Either yes or no to it being big enough. and i mean big enough to house for life as it is unlikley to be a bigget tank along the way.

Now i dont want to be getting rid of any fish later on as i would rfather do it now before i get much more involved with them.

Its a poll but i welcome suggestions.

wayne

 

[TheRealAndyCook]

i've seen videos of huge RTC's ...so no matter what size tank you have, if it can fit indoors its probably too small.

If you get that tank set up I'm sure he'll enjoy it tho.

 

[Dark Jester]

I've seen posts on here if I remember right of RTCxTSN eating arowana as well. Might want to reconsider the cat. If it fits in his mouth, it's just a feeder. The severums and Silver Dollars might end up as snacks as well. Even the Oscar.

10'x6' footprint should be able to house it for life though, and that's your biggest fish. Think they max around 3-4 feet, though could potentially grow a bit bigger.

A general guide to tank sizing: Tank length should be at least 3x the max length of the biggest fish, tank width should be at least 1.5x the max length, and tank height should be at least as tall as the the fish is long. Bigger is always better, but those are the general minimums.

 

[waynes world]

Thats just it i have read that tsnxrt will only grow to just over 3 foot in an aquarium, but then some say upto five foot maybe this is in the wild?

So who has these that have grown say over 4 foot?

Not forgetting hnere that the rays will get to 2.5 foot in disc.

I could maybe go another foot or to long to 12 foot but not deeper than 6 foot.

Oh and 4 foot high is not realy a problem either.

 

[Dark Jester]

My estimate mostly comes from looking at the parents. RTC get 48"+, TSN get 60"+. Offspring should have the potential to reach 48" at least. Might need to post in the catfish forum to find someone that has grown some to adulthood.

Even a 3 foot cat will probably be big enough to swallow an oscar though. If it can manage that, then every fish listed except for the rays would be on the menu. Up to you if you want to risk it since it's your tank. 10x6x3 would probably be ok, adding more is never bad though. I bet it's a lot more than most RTC, TSN, or Hybrids get in captivity.

 

[waynes world]

Am i correct in thinking that if you feed a young cat non live food it is less likely to eat tank mates if fed enough on other foods?

And poll isnt doing to bad

 

[Dark Jester]

Keeping it well fed (on live or non-live food) will lessen it's desire to munch on tank mates, but they are opportunistic feeders. If they ever get hungry, they are going to look for food. Some people can keep them housed with smaller fish for a year or more, then they snap one day and you just provided them a $50 feeder fish. As mentioned, it's your tank so it's up to you if you want to take the risk. Just know that the risk is there.

 

[waynes world]

I know the risks, its mainleyt he cat and rays i am bothered about in having enough space, i will be keeping the 150g they are in and more than likely keepiong the oscars etc in there and moving the rays and cat with a few gars into the big tank.

 

[lungfishlover]

lose the tsnxrtc and everything will be fine - imo there are better looking cats ut there, a school of lima cats looks great!