Get the best deals for red tail catfish at eBay.com. In the wild, this can be closer to 5 feet. The average lifespan of a redtail catfish is around 15 years in captivity. This will give them enough room to swim around and be active without feeling cramped and unhappy. Redtail Catfish Appearance. Some good suggestions include: Besides this, there are other pellets and frozen food options you can try to provide a good nutritional baseline. They will eat smaller tank mates. Within one year it can reach 24″ or more. This is something you’ll definitely need to keep in mind when it comes to tank mates (more on that in the section below). For the most part, redtail catfish owners tend to keep these fish by themselves. South American Red Tailed Aquarium Catfish | Arizona Aquatic Gardens South American Red Tailed Catfish aka: RTC Cat, Red Tail Catfish, Cajaro, Pirarara Phractocephalus hemioliopterus The South American Red-Tail Catfish is a gorgeous fish to own. Redtail catfish have a rather thick body that tapers off a bit toward their tail. Live feeders, specifically, are often grown in unsuitable conditions. In this article, we will discuss all you need to know about this catfish so that you can make informed decisions on whether or not to keep it in your home. It is native to the Essequibo river basins and the Amazon Orionoco of South America. In Venezuela it is known as cajaro and in Brazil it is known as pirarara. It is a beautiful monster fish, with the capability of growing to huge sizes. It is not an overly aggressive fish, but it will eat anything that fits in it’s mouth. When she's not writing about fish you can find her hiking, swimming, and doing yoga. These South American fish hail from the Amazon and grow to be humongous. The red tail catfish eat literally anything that can fit in its mouth. This is not nearly enough. This is where they get their rather straightforward name. The Redtail Catfish belongs to the Phractocephalus hemioliopterus species and is a member of the pimelodid catfish family, which are the long-whiskered catfish. There is a lot of respect for the redtail catfish in South America. A. Period. It’s a very different experience trying to heat a tank that’s almost 2,000 gallons compared to a tank that’s only 20! It will make a marvelous pet that requires a bit more care and commitment that an average fish owner may be used to. That is why you should not include much in your tank. With that said, juveniles should be fed each day. Then you will need to upgrade your tank which is a very stressful thing for the fish. Required fields are marked *, Fish keeping and aquariums has been my hobby for almost 20 years. Even better, you can introduce friendly tank mates such as Stingrays, Gars, Black Pacu, Iridescents, and Datnoids. Size is about one inch to an inch and a … There are a lot of things to consider and when you add more large fish to the equation it brings the minimum tank size up even more. The average size of a redtail catfish in captivity is around 3-4 feet in length. They are often referred to as an RTC, the flat-nosed Catfish, the banana catfish, as well as the antenna catfish. Even though redtail catfish are considered hardy, we always recommend doing everything you can to make sure the water situation is as good as it can be. Due to the amount of food that red tail catfish eat, they release a lot of waste, which presents another challenge with regards to water quality. If that describes you then feel free to go for it! Any subpar care for such a large fish will quickly shave years off its life. Being middle to bottom-dwelling fish, you might not need to provide so much lighting. It is the only extant species of the genus Phractocephalus. The redtail catfish is a massive freshwater fish that only the most experienced aquarists should attempt to keep. Very gorgeous and rare fish! Why should a fish owner who keeps 5 guppies in a 20 gallon tank have the right and support to do so, and the fish owner who keeps a red tail catfish, two stingrays, and a florida gar in a 5000 gallon tank be treated as an irresponsible bad person who should not be allowed to keep HIS choice of fish? While in the right circumstances redtail catfish can display this behavior as well, it’s far less likely. With the right conditions in a home aquarium, the red tail catfish can grow to over 4 feet, and when left in nature, they can grow even larger. Some people will say they’re hyper-aggressive, and others will say they’re actually rather peaceful. Basically, it depends on the circumstances it is exposed to. Author Note: There’s a lot of misinformation about redtail catfish online. Pretty much anything nonaggressive that’s the same size or larger can work if they’re introduced to each other early on. The most striking features of the Redtail Catfish are its white throat, speckled body and deep red tail. There are videos online of people feeding them feeder fish and this is not recommended. The fish can break them or split its dwelling with their help, wagging its tail unsuccessfully. It can also be shy and inactive. But if you don’t like the appearance of the bare bottom tanks, you can use a layer of sand. The water temperature should always be kept within 22-28 ° C, moderate flow, rigidity 3-13 degrees, pH 5.5-7.2. We love these fish though and would enjoy hearing any stories or feedback from redtail catfish owners. This huge tank size is obviously quite a lot compared to most freshwater home aquariums. This means that you also will want to limit your substrate to a sandy variety if that. It is a beautiful monster fish, with the capability of growing to huge sizes. If you are feeding them with pellets, make sure they are sinking carnivore pellets because catfish love to spend time at the bottom. Sadly, maintaining optimal water parameters can be challenging, especially with such a big tank. Caring for such large fish is a very different experience, so it’s always fun to learn more about! With such large and aggressive fish the stakes are always a lot higher and mistakes are punished more as well. Description: The Red-tailed catfish has a broad head with long whiskers, dark black body and white underneath that extends from the mouth to the caudal fin.The tail is red and sometime the dorsal, pelvic and anal fins are also red. Due to its large size, it might be unsuitable to most home aquariums. The red tail fish exhibit a rather contradictory behavior. Our recommendation would be to avoid tank mates for the sake of convenience and peace in the tank. We would define aggression as non-hunting actions that can harm another fish. Your email address will not be published. While choosing what to give your red tail catfish, make sure to use clean and safe food. Alison has been interested in fish and aquariums for over five years. These fish aren’t picky! Redtail catfish can be so hungry that you never know what they’ll try to chomp down on! A standard 10-gallon aquarium suits moderate or peaceful species such as the albino corydoras catfish. Keeping these fish is definitely not impossible and will be quite rewarding once you put the time in. They make great pets and will take food from your hand. Redtail Catfish In the Aquarium The redtail catfish is an extremely popular fish in public aquarium Amazonian themed exhibits, in which they are often housed with other large fish such as Colossoma macropomum or pacu, and other large catfish. You’ll want to keep this in mind when coming up with their diet in captivity. The South American Red-Tail Catfish is a gorgeous fish to own. This means if you’re going to attempt to find redtail catfish tank mates the main factor you should consider is size. Unfortunately, you might not be able to find a suitable traditional filter that will suit the size of the tank. This tank size is obviously quite a lot when compared with most home aquariums. Caring for the red tail fish is not particularly hard, only that it requires space. They are mostly dark grey/brown along the top side of their body with small dark scattered spots, and a paler yellow/white wavy white band which stretches down both sides of its body. That is why many people prefer to keep them in indoor ponds. Not only do they get extremely large, but they have voracious appetites and swallow anything they can. But since they love to spend most of their time at the bottom of the tank of hiding in caves, you can encourage them to interact. Also the fish was acclimatized in waters of Thailand and Florida state (USA). You need an effective filter. Your local fish store’s owner is not correct about a red-tailed catfish growing only 12 inches in your aquarium. Like for any freshwater fish, the red tail catfish requires that you maintain specific water parameters. Your email address will not be published. In the aquarium Phractocephalus hemioliopterus in aquarium The redtail catfish is an extremely popular fish in Amazonian themed exhibits at public aquaria, where they are often housed with other large fish such as Colossoma macropomum or pacu, and other large catfish. They prefer water that is between 20 and 26o °C (68-79 °F). The fish is undemanding when it comes to taking care of it, but the massive size could pose a challenge for an aquarium hobbyist. The dark body of this fish has scattered spots and white/yellow bands that are stretched down to both the sides of the body. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items! At about 3" they should be moved into a 40 to 60-gallon aquarium. The good thing is that red tail catfish can be trained to accept food from your hands. One of the more concerning trends is that many new aquarists think that keeping these fish in tanks at an early age will significantly stunt their growth. So, you may want to give something that mimics their diet in captivity. Lovingly referred to as “dwarf suckers” or “otos,” the Otocinclus Catfish is a popular fish … As a member of the Pimelodidae family, the red tail catfish is long whiskered, with a beautiful white belly and red tail. So, they could be carrying parasites and diseases, which, in turn, affect your catfish. 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