# red tail catfish



## royal ball (Oct 19, 2011)

anybody on here have a red tail catfish. if you have i was just wondering how much you paid for your setup? looking to get one in the next couple of years and want to know roughly how much i will need. before anybody asks i know what i"m getting into and once bought the fish will have a home for life.


----------



## hippyhaplos (Jan 12, 2010)

I don't, for the simple fact that I know I could never provide what these monsters truly require. 

If you do get one, please break the trend and get a tank bigger than 6'x2'. A pond about 20'x8' should just about do it....


----------



## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

You will need quite a few thousand pounds...

An adult red tail cat will need a tank MINIMUM of 10ft long x 4ft high x 5ft deep (front to back) as they get 4ft long and are actually quite active for a large catfish...

A tiny 2" baby might only set you back £20 but the cost as it grows is amazing, i have seen a 2" red tail cat hit 1.5ft long within a year, 2ft in 18 months and so on... so even buying a baby, you cant house it long at all...


----------



## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

Moogloo said:


> You will need quite a few thousand pounds...
> 
> An adult red tail cat will need a tank MINIMUM of 10ft long x 4ft high x 5ft deep (front to back) as they get 4ft long and are actually quite active for a large catfish...
> 
> A tiny 2" baby might only set you back £20 but the cost as it grows is amazing, i have seen a 2" red tail cat hit 1.5ft long within a year, 2ft in 18 months and so on... so even buying a baby, you cant house it long at all...


I'd go further and say that your minumum size is still too small to keep them properly. A 4' fish deserves a tank wider than 5' in my book. 

I see RTC's in a wholesaler I visit. They're about 2" long and really cute. They cost less than £6 trade. I know none of them will ever be kept as they deserve to be. It makes me feel sick to some degree. 

Hopefully when you're employer and BIAZA get their arse into gear we'll see a lot fewer of them for sale. You'll learn more hopefully in the next few months.


----------



## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

You need a pond, not a tank. Think in terms of thousands of pounds not hundreds.

IMO 20 x 6 x 4 or something. Even that's only 4/5 times the length of their body.


----------



## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Boris the 3ft redtail catfish arriving at his new home a" tropical pond"....... - YouTube

Something like that I reckon. Wouldn't mind an indoor pond, but the heating costs are probably a bit high.


----------



## chris1978 (Nov 19, 2008)

I reckon a custom-made 10 x 5 x 5 would suffice but a 12 x 6 x 6 would be better, the 12 footer would allow for a few monster-fish tank-mates as well like maybe a Arowana or some other big cats like a Shovelnose or Pangasius species.

The tropical pond would be the best option but this will be costly to run and wont provide the best viewing capabilities.


----------



## blowupcavs (Sep 1, 2007)

for get it iv had red tailed and other big fish over the past decade. you will spend at least £3000 just to build a pond and another £600 at least a year to heat it. forget about them


----------



## Mynki (Mar 24, 2010)

blowupcavs said:


> for get it iv had red tailed and other big fish over the past decade. you will spend at least £3000 just to build a pond and another £600 at least a year to heat it. forget about them


Is that you Nick? (TUP)


----------



## Stan193 (May 27, 2009)

I remember chatting to a guy in the USA on fishtanktv who had one, it was 5/1/2 foot long and he fed it rabbits. He kept it in a pond so unless you can provide a tropical pond then I'd forget it.


----------

