11.5" RTC

[bboy]

I have a 11.5" blind RTC that eats like crazy. The other day, he had my 5" Red Devil in his mouth. Luckily, the RD did escape. He enjoys bloodworms, brine shrimp,feeders and frozen shrimp. Truthfully, I do not think he would turn down any food.
Back to the topic, has anyone ever bred RTC?
How do you determine the sex of RTC? Thanks all.


bboy

 

[svetlana]

WHo's RTC?

 

[Aaron]

My guess is a redtailed catfish.

 

[f8fan]

How big of a tank is that Red Tailed Catfish in? Just curious, they get HUGE!

 

[phOOey]

rtc get to like 5 feet i think, so i hope you've got a hell of a big tank or indoor pond to keep him in when he gets bigger.

 

[bboy]

I have a 135g tank. Yes, RTC is redtail catfish.
I know that he will soon outgrow the tank.
This morning I fed him 10 shrimp, and he acted as though
he was still hungry. What do you all feed to satisfy your fish?
Is anyone able to sex Catfish? Has anyone bred catfish in captivity?
All help is appreciated.


BBOY

 

[wayne]

They're captive bred as food fish in ponds in S America. When you've seen a full grown adult you'll realise that for most people captive breeding is a non starter. I don't know how to sex them - planetcatfish?
They have five of them in with the crocodiles in Kristiansand zoo - having seen that I'd guess you'd want at least a 30 foot diameter pond to have a go.

 

[bboy]

Thanks Wayne. I'll keep searching for more information.

 

[wayne]

I would also note that when they talk about captive breeding it probably doesn't mean 2 fish together in a nice big tank. They would be more likely to kill a spare fish, use the hormones from a removed pituary gland to stimulate male and female separately, and then hand stripping.

By the way, how long have you had him, I hear they grow like crazy till they're about 2 feet long...

 

[bboy]

I have had him since late May and he was 3" then. I never noticed that he did not have eyes at the time. However, that has not prevented him from eating. This fish eats everything. I just measured him last nite and he is now a little over 12". What a monster. Bad news though; he just ate my 5" female Red Devil. He had tried before and failed. I suppose I should have gotten her out of there sooner. With him being blind, I think he took her for a large feeder. The last thing I saw were her rear fins dangling in his mouth.


BBOY