A four foot fish, and a shop that lists it at 300 gallons
A redtail catfish is an Amazon predator that reaches four feet in a tank and nearly five in the wild. Our five sources publish minimum tank sizes from 300 gallons to about 2,700, and the smallest figure is on the page selling the fish.
Seriously Fish gives a maximum standard length of 1340 mm, 53 inches, and records the largest scientifically measured specimen at 53.2 inches and over 40 kg. It is present throughout much of the Amazon and Rio Orinoco basins in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Brazil, in habitats from rapids to flooded forest.
The same source is the only one on this site that declines to recommend a species at all: we do not recommend keeping this species in the home unless you are one of the select few with the facilities available. It asks for something in the region of 12 by 8 by 4 feet, 10,368 liters, for a fully grown fish.
This record exists because that sentence and a product page can both be true at once. LiveAquaria publishes a minimum tank size of 300 gallons and, in the same specification list, a maximum size of 55 inches. Nothing on that page is hidden; the two figures are simply printed next to each other.
Why this record was written now
- The gap
- Four thousand one hundred searches a month, and the map has us at position nine with no AI overview on the page.
- What it changes
- The largest animal on this site by more than twice the next one, the largest minimum tank by a factor of twenty two, and the record that now caps the temperature band the rest of the site shares, at 76 °F.
- What it does not
- No sexing and no breeding, because the most technical source says unknown and not thought to have been achieved in the hobby.
Redtail catfish tank size, from 300 gallons to 2,700
| Source | Minimum tank | Adult size | Lifespan | What it says about keeping it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seriously Fish | 12 by 8 by 4 ft, 10,368 L, about 2,700 gal | 1340 mm SL, 53 in | Not published | Does not recommend it in the home |
| Tankora | About 10,000 L for an adult, 500 L under 20 cm | 120 cm, 47 in | 15 to 20 years | Names the surrendered fish problem |
| Aquarium Source | 1,500 to 2,000 gal | 3 to 4 ft in a tank, 5 ft wild | Around 15 years | Not for everyone |
| Pet Zone | A minimum of 1,000 gal | 3 to 4 ft, 5 ft or more wild | Potentially exceeding 20 years | For the most dedicated and experienced |
| LiveAquaria | 300 gal | 55 in | Not published | Care level: moderate |
A factor of nine, and which end this record carries
Read the tank column down: 300 gallons, 1,000, 1,500 to 2,000, about 2,640 and about 2,700. The row prints the figure for a grown fish, because the animal on sale becomes one. Tankora is the only source to publish both ends of that, 500 liters for a fish under 20 cm and around 10,000 liters for an adult, which is the honest shape of the answer: the tank a juvenile needs is not the commitment.
Three hundred gallons is a tank about six feet long. The fish in it is published at 55 inches by the same page. That is a fish as long as three quarters of its aquarium, and it is the arithmetic this record is built on rather than an opinion about a retailer.
Twenty two times our next largest record
Before this record the largest minimum tank on this site was 120 gallons, on our clown loach record. The stocking calculator holds every figure we publish, and this one will not fit in any volume a reader is likely to type into it. That is the correct answer rather than a broken tool.
The growth rate, which is the whole argument
Tankora is the only source with a rate: a juvenile purchased at 8 to 10 cm can reach 30 to 40 cm within its first year, and by the age of two to three years many specimens will be 50 to 70 cm long. Four times longer in twelve months.
Put that beside the lifespan figures, 15 to 20 years on three sources and potentially more on a fourth, and the shape of the problem is clear. A four inch fish in a shop tank is a two decade commitment to a volume of water most houses cannot hold, and Tankora names the outcome: this accounts for the large number of redtails that end up surrendered to public aquaria or rehomed under difficult circumstances.
What our own records look like beside it
Every fish record on this site is smaller, and most of them by an order of magnitude. The table in station 05 puts the five largest side by side, and the fish in this one is longer than three flowerhorns.
The water, and the ceiling that moved the site band
| Source | Temperature | pH | Hardness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seriously Fish | 70 to 79 °F | 6.0 to 7.5 | 2 to 12 dGH |
| Tankora | 68 to 79 °F | 5.5 to 7.2 | 3 to 12 dGH, 2 to 8 dKH |
| Aquarium Source | 68 to 80 °F | 6 to 7.5, below 7 ideal | Not published |
| Pet Zone | 72 to 80 °F | 6.0 to 7.5 | Not published |
| LiveAquaria | 70 to 76 °F | 5.5 to 6.8 | 9 to 10 dKH |
| This record | 72 to 76 °F | 6.0 to 6.8 | 54 to 214 ppm |
72 to 76, and what that does to the rest of this site
Five bands, meeting in five degrees. The ceiling is the interesting end: 76 °F is now the lowest ceiling among the records here that share a band, one degree under our platy and water sprite records at 77.
So the band the rest of this site shares narrows again, and it narrows because of the largest fish on it. That figure is recomputed from the database after every record rather than edited by hand, and our water and health topic prints it with the records that set both ends.
It is a strange result and it is what the arithmetic says. A fish that no domestic aquarium can hold is now the reason a community of our records cannot be run at 77 degrees.
pH, and two sources putting the preference below the range
The five published ranges meet at 6.0 to 6.8. Aquarium Source says somewhere between 6 and 7.5 is fine but staying below 7 is ideal, and LiveAquaria stops at 6.8, which is the same value our discus record prints as a single number.
Hardness, in two units again
Seriously Fish gives 2 to 12 dGH and Tankora 3 to 12, so the row prints the 3 to 12 they share. Tankora adds 2 to 8 dKH, and LiveAquaria publishes only dKH, at 9 to 10, which is carbonate hardness and cannot be compared with the others. Aquarium Source and Pet Zone publish no hardness at all.
That trap has now appeared on three consecutive records here, our rabbit snail, our german blue ram and this one. It is the single most common measurement error in the sources this site reads.
The full record
| Field | Recorded | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum tank | 2,700 gal (10,368 L) | This is the row the record exists for, and the published figures run from 300 gallons to 2,700. Seriously Fish asks for something in the region of 12 by 8 by 4 feet, 360 by 240 by 120 cm, which is 10,368 liters, and says the fish requires a phenomenal volume of water if it is to be housed long term. Tankora gives the same order of magnitude, around 10,000 liters for an adult, and 500 liters for a fish under 20 cm. Aquarium Source asks for 1,500 to 2,000 gallons and Pet Zone for a minimum of 1,000. LiveAquaria, which sells the fish, publishes a minimum tank size of 300 gallons on the same page as a maximum size of 55 inches. The row prints the figure for a grown fish, because that is the animal you are buying, and station 03 has the arithmetic: 300 gallons is a tank about six feet long, and the fish in it reaches four and a half. |
| Temperature | 72 to 76 °F | Five bands, meeting in five degrees. Seriously Fish gives 21 to 26 C, 70 to 79 F. Tankora gives 20 to 26 C, which is 68 to 79. Aquarium Source gives 68 to 80 F, Pet Zone 72 to 80, and LiveAquaria 70 to 76. The row prints the 72 to 76 all five contain. That ceiling is the lowest on this site among the records that share a band, one degree under our platy and water sprite records at 77, so this record now caps the temperature every other record here can be run at. It is a strange thing for the largest fish on the site to be the one narrowing a community band, and it is what the arithmetic says. |
| pH | 6.0 to 6.8 | Seriously Fish 6.0 to 7.5, Aquarium Source 6 to 7.5 with the note that staying below 7 is ideal, Pet Zone 6.0 to 7.5, Tankora 5.5 to 7.2, LiveAquaria 5.5 to 6.8. The five meet at 6.0 to 6.8, which is the row, and it is one of the narrower pH windows here. Two of the sources put the preference lower than the range: Aquarium Source says below 7 is ideal and LiveAquaria stops at 6.8, which is the same value our discus record prints as a single number. |
| Hardness | 54 to 214 ppm | Two sources publish general hardness and they nearly agree: Seriously Fish 2 to 12 dGH and Tankora 3 to 12 dGH, so the row prints the 3 to 12 both contain, converted. Tankora adds 2 to 8 dKH and LiveAquaria publishes only dKH, 9 to 10, which is carbonate hardness and measures something else. Aquarium Source and Pet Zone publish no hardness at all. Three sources, two units, and the retailer’s figure is the one that cannot be compared, which is the same trap our rabbit snail and german blue ram records carry. |
| Adult size | 47 to 55 in (120 to 140 cm) | The largest animal on this site by more than twice, and the margin narrowed the day our common pleco record landed at 24 inches. Seriously Fish gives a maximum standard length of 1340 mm, 53 inches, and notes elsewhere that the largest specimen recorded by science measured 53.2 inches and weighed more than 40 kg. LiveAquaria publishes a maximum size of 55 inches. Tankora gives 120 cm, 47 inches. Aquarium Source and Pet Zone both split it: around 3 to 4 feet in captivity and closer to 5 feet in the wild. The row prints 47 to 55 inches, and the comparison worth making is inside this site: our flowerhorn record tops out at 16 inches and our clown loach record at 13. This fish is longer than three of those laid end to end. A sixth source goes further and measures differently: A-Z Animals publishes up to 180 cm total length, about six feet, with a typical size of 3 to 4 feet. Standard length is measured to the base of the tail and total length to its tip, so on a fish with a strongly forked caudal fin the two figures are not directly comparable. The row carries the aquarium figures. |
| Diet | Predator, and it eats fruit in the wild | Seriously Fish: quite an opportunistic feeder in nature, feeding on fish, invertebrates and fallen fruits, and in captivity it relishes meaty items such as prawns, mussels, cockle, lancefish or earthworms. Tankora names large sinking pellets, whole prawns, mussels, cockles, squid and white fish fillets, asks for adults to be fed two to three times per week and juveniles daily or every other day, and names two things to avoid: live feeder fish and mammalian meats such as beef heart or chicken. Aquarium Source names small fish, worms, shrimp and cut up meat. LiveAquaria calls it an omnivore, which is the fallen fruit half of the wild diet doing a lot of work in one word. Nothing our sources publish makes this a fish fed on flakes. |
| Water column | Bottom, and awake at night | It is a large pimelodid catfish and every source puts it on the bottom. Pet Zone calls it nocturnal and describes territorial behavior, especially as they mature; Seriously Fish records adults as generally solitary. Aquarium Source recommends a sandy substrate at most and says a substrate-free tank is probably best, which is a floor decision rather than a foraging one on a fish of this weight. LiveAquaria asks for a reinforced aquarium because of the weight of the fish, and that is the only source we hold that discusses what the animal does to the furniture. |
| Lifespan | 15 to 20 years | Tankora gives 15 to 20 years, Aquarium Source around 15 in captivity, and Pet Zone says potentially exceeding 20. The row prints the span the three cover. Seriously Fish and LiveAquaria publish no lifespan. Read that against the tank row and the figures stop being abstract: a fish bought at four inches is a two decade commitment to a volume of water most houses cannot hold, and Tankora names the consequence, that this accounts for the large number of redtails that end up surrendered to public aquaria or rehomed under difficult circumstances. |
| Growth rate | 30 to 40 cm in the first year | One source publishes a rate and it is the most useful figure on this record. Tankora: a juvenile purchased at 8 to 10 cm can reach 30 to 40 cm within its first year, and by the age of two to three years many specimens will be 50 to 70 cm long. That is a fish four times longer in twelve months, which is the answer to why a 300 gallon minimum reads as reasonable in a shop and stops being reasonable inside a year. Nothing on the other four pages contradicts it and nothing confirms it. On this site only fifteen records carry a growth rate at all. |
The same nine fields for every animal on this site are in the A to Z index.
Where our sources disagree
Every record here names a disagreement. On this one it is the difference between a care sheet and a product page.
LiveAquaria, which sells the fish
Minimum Tank Size: 300 Gallons. Maximum Size: 55 inches
Seriously Fish
we do not recommend keeping this species in the home unless you are one of the select few with the facilities available
What we record: we carry the second and print the first. Both figures are on the retailer’s own page, and read together they describe a four and a half foot fish in a tank about six feet long.
Three other sources sit between them at 1,000, 1,500 to 2,000 and 10,000 liters, and the only source publishing a growth rate says the fish reaches 30 to 40 cm in its first year. This record prints the volume a grown fish needs, because that is the animal on sale.
What the animal looks like, and what it costs
The body, and the tail it is named for
A-Z Animals is the only source we hold that describes the fish. It gives a wide, flat head with long whiskers, long maxillary barbels plus shorter mandibular barbels, dark gray scales with a bold darker pattern on each side, a brown-spotted back and yellow sides, and countershading: a dark dorsum for camouflage from above and a pale belly from below, with a crisp boundary between the dark upper body and the white underside.
The tail is the name. It is strongly forked and conspicuously orange-to-red, alongside a bright red dorsal fin. Seriously Fish publishes no description at all beyond the common name, which is unusual for that source and is the reason this station cites a different one.
Two more figures, and a measurement problem
A-Z Animals also publishes the two largest numbers on this record: up to 180 cm total length, about six feet, and a maximum weight of about 80 kg, some 180 pounds. Seriously Fish gives 1340 mm standard length and records the largest scientifically measured specimen at 53.2 inches and more than 40 kg.
Those are not necessarily in conflict. Standard length is measured to the base of the tail and total length to its tip, and on a fish with a strongly forked caudal fin that difference is large. It is the same trap our german blue ram record carries on a two inch fish, and here it is worth 40 cm. The weight figures do differ, and the record carries neither, because weight is not one of its nine fields.
Why the tank figure and the price point in opposite directions
Seriously Fish publishes the sentence that explains everything above it: the price of red-tails has fallen considerably in recent years and kittens are readily available at very low prices.
Put that beside the only published growth rate, 8 to 10 cm to 30 to 40 cm in the first year, and the shape of the problem is complete. A cheap four inch fish, a tank figure of 300 gallons on the page selling it, and an animal that needs about 2,700 gallons and lives two decades. Tankora names the outcome: a large number of redtails end up surrendered to public aquaria or rehomed under difficult circumstances.
What the tank needs beyond volume
Seriously Fish on decor: strictly speaking, decor is not necessary for a tank containing an adult, provided the lighting is fairly dim, though bogwood, beech branches or smooth rocks are optional additions. And on filtration: a large and efficient biological filter is needed to cope with the amounts of waste produced by a fish of this size. Tankora puts a number on the same requirement, four to six times the tank volume per hour, which on 10,000 liters is 40,000 to 60,000 liters an hour.
LiveAquaria adds the only structural note anybody publishes, asking for a reinforced aquarium because of the weight of the fish. Three sources, three different parts of the same sentence: the volume, the turnover and the floor under it.
The five largest records here, and what the sixth one changes
| Record | Adult size | Minimum tank | Diet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Redtail catfish | 47 to 55 in | 2,700 gal | Predator |
| Common pleco | 15 to 24 in | 75 gal | Omnivore, and it eats wood |
| Flowerhorn | 9.5 to 16 in | 70 gal | Omnivore, and a heavy one |
| Clown loach | 6 to 13 in | 120 gal | Omnivore, and a snail eater |
| Oscar fish | 10 to 12 in | 75 gal | Predatory omnivore, and it eats fish |
What the size row means for the grid
Our tank mates topic says plainly that adult size is a weak proxy for danger, and it has the numbers to show it: the goldfish carries the most refusals on this site and not one of them is about aggression. This record is the exception that proves the rule from the other side.
Seriously Fish: while it will not hesitate to gobble any smaller fish, it is actually quite peaceful and can be kept alongside other similarly-sized species in suitable surroundings. Tankora calls it generally a placid, even docile fish and an indiscriminate predator in the same paragraph. LiveAquaria simply says aggressive.
The three refusals this record carries are therefore about size and nothing else: our corydoras, guppy and angelfish records are all on the list of fish Tankora says not to keep with it, alongside the neon tetra, discus, goldfish and dwarf gourami.
The tank mates that are the same problem again
Tankora’s suitable list is a catalog of fish with the same difficulty: arapaima, pacu, tiger shovelnose catfish, giant gourami, common pleco, silver arowana, ornate bichir and Florida gar. Pet Zone names large South American cichlids, arowanas and other large catfish. Aquarium Source says pretty much anything nonaggressive that is the same size or larger.
Not one of those is a record on this site, and the reason is the same reason this record was hard to write: the sources that cover fish this size are not the sources that cover a ten gallon tank. The one near miss is the common pleco, which our bristlenose pleco record is not: that is a 4 to 6 inch fish in a 20 gallon tank, and the grid carries it as one setting only rather than as a pairing.
Two sources pointing opposite ways on one fish
Tankora names the oscar among the fish to avoid. Pet Zone names large South American cichlids among the suitable tank mates, and our oscar record is exactly that. The bands share a single degree, 75 to 76 °F, so the grid carries it as a caution with both sentences printed under it.
What this record will not answer
How to sex one
Seriously Fish gives sexual dimorphism as unknown, and none of the other four sources publishes a mark, a measurement or a method.
How to breed one
The same source: reproduction is not thought to have been achieved in the hobby. No temperature, no clutch size, no fry figure exists on any page we hold, so this record carries no breeding station at all. Every redtail catfish on sale is a wild or farmed fish rather than a hobby-bred one.
A growth rate anyone confirms
One source of five publishes one, and it is the figure the record turns on. Nothing contradicts it and nothing repeats it.
Whether 300 gallons is defensible for a juvenile
Our sources do not settle it, and we will not either. Tankora is the only one that scales the tank to the fish, giving 500 liters for a specimen under 20 cm, and it still asks for around 10,000 liters for the adult. What this record can say is that both figures belong to the same animal, twelve months apart on the only growth rate anybody publishes.
Where the fish goes afterwards
One source names the outcome, that a large number of redtails end up surrendered to public aquaria or rehomed under difficult circumstances. None of the five publishes a rehoming route, a public aquarium that accepts them, or a figure for how many. The one thing every source we hold agrees on is that releasing an aquarium fish is not the answer, and on a fish this size the point needs no elaboration.
Redtail catfish questions, answered from the record
What does a redtail catfish look like?
A-Z Animals is the only source we hold that describes it: a wide, flat head with long whiskers, long maxillary barbels and shorter mandibular ones, dark gray scales with a bold darker pattern on each side, a brown-spotted back, yellow sides and a white belly with a crisp boundary between the dark upper body and the pale underside. The tail is the name, strongly forked and conspicuously orange-to-red, beside a bright red dorsal fin. Seriously Fish publishes no description at all.
How heavy does a redtail catfish get?
Our two heaviest figures do not agree. Seriously Fish records the largest specimen measured by science at 53.2 inches and more than 40 kg; A-Z Animals publishes a maximum of about 80 kg, some 180 pounds, alongside a total length of up to 180 cm. Weight is not one of the nine fields on a record here, so neither figure is in a row. What both explain is the one structural instruction any source gives: LiveAquaria asks for a reinforced aquarium because of the weight of the fish.
Why are redtail catfish so cheap?
Seriously Fish says so directly: the price of red-tails has fallen considerably in recent years and kittens are readily available at very low prices. That sentence is the mechanism behind this whole record. A cheap juvenile grows from 8 to 10 cm to 30 to 40 cm in its first year on the one published growth rate, reaches four feet, lives 15 to 20 years, and needs a volume of water our most technical source puts at 10,368 liters. The price at the point of sale is the least informative number on the page.
How big does a redtail catfish get?
Four to nearly five feet. Seriously Fish gives a maximum standard length of 1340 mm, 53 inches, and records the largest scientifically measured specimen at 53.2 inches and more than 40 kg. LiveAquaria publishes 55 inches, Tankora 120 cm, and Aquarium Source and Pet Zone both give 3 to 4 feet in captivity against about 5 feet in the wild. It is the largest animal on this site by more than twice, against our common pleco record at 24 inches, which is the next longest.
What size tank does a redtail catfish need?
Our sources publish 300 gallons, 1,000, 1,500 to 2,000, and about 2,700, which is a factor of nine. This record prints 2,700 gallons, the 10,368 liters Seriously Fish asks for as 12 by 8 by 4 feet, because that is the volume a grown fish needs and a grown fish is what you are buying. The 300 gallon figure is on the page selling the fish, beside a maximum size of 55 inches.
Can you keep a redtail catfish in a home aquarium?
The most technical source we hold says no. Seriously Fish: we do not recommend keeping this species in the home unless you are one of the select few with the facilities available, and it requires a phenomenal volume of water if it is to be housed long term. Pet Zone calls it a challenging choice for all but the most dedicated and experienced aquarists, Aquarium Source says it is not for everyone, and Tankora names what happens when the answer turns out to be no: a large number of redtails end up surrendered to public aquaria or rehomed under difficult circumstances.
How fast does a redtail catfish grow?
One source publishes a rate and it is the figure this record turns on. Tankora: a juvenile purchased at 8 to 10 cm can reach 30 to 40 cm within its first year, and by two to three years many specimens will be 50 to 70 cm long. That is four times longer in twelve months. It explains why a 300 gallon minimum can look reasonable in a shop and stop being reasonable inside a year, and it is the only growth figure on any of our five sources.
What temperature does a redtail catfish need?
72 to 76 °F, the span all five published bands contain: 70 to 79, 68 to 79, 68 to 80, 72 to 80 and 70 to 76. That ceiling matters beyond this page. 76 is now the lowest ceiling among the records on this site that share a band, one degree under our platy and water sprite records, so the largest fish here is also the one that caps the temperature a mixed tank of our records can run at. Our water and health topic recomputes that band whenever a record lands.
Are redtail catfish aggressive?
Three sources give three answers, and the useful one is the middle. LiveAquaria says aggressive. Seriously Fish: while it will not hesitate to gobble any smaller fish, it is actually quite peaceful and can be kept alongside other similarly-sized species in suitable surroundings. Tankora calls it generally a placid, even docile fish and an indiscriminate predator in the same breath, and Pet Zone describes territorial behavior especially as they mature. So the risk is size rather than temper: anything that fits in the mouth is food.
What can live with a redtail catfish?
Fish its own size, which is a short list of the same problem. Tankora names arapaima, pacu, tiger shovelnose catfish, giant gourami, common pleco, silver arowana, ornate bichir and Florida gar. Pet Zone names large South American cichlids, arowanas and other large catfish. Aquarium Source says pretty much anything nonaggressive that is the same size or larger. Tankora also names eight fish to avoid, and four of them are records here: the oscar, the angelfish, the corydoras and the guppy, alongside the neon tetra, discus, goldfish and dwarf gourami.
What do redtail catfish eat?
Meat, and fruit in the wild. Seriously Fish: quite an opportunistic feeder in nature, feeding on fish, invertebrates and fallen fruits, and in captivity it relishes prawns, mussels, cockle, lancefish or earthworms. Tankora names large sinking pellets, whole prawns, mussels, cockles, squid and white fish fillets, and is the only source to name two things to avoid: live feeder fish and mammalian meats such as beef heart or chicken. It also gives a schedule nobody else does: adults two to three times a week, juveniles daily or every other day.
How long do redtail catfish live?
15 to 20 years on three sources, with Pet Zone saying potentially longer. Read with the growth rate and the tank row, that is the whole argument of this record: a two decade commitment to a volume of water most houses cannot hold, entered into at four inches.
Can redtail catfish be bred in an aquarium?
Not on anything we hold. Seriously Fish gives sexual dimorphism as unknown and says reproduction is not thought to have been achieved in the hobby. None of the other four sources publishes a method, a temperature or a clutch size, so this record carries neither a sexing note nor a breeding station. Every redtail catfish for sale is therefore a wild or farmed fish rather than a hobby-bred one, which is a fact about the trade our sources leave implicit.
What pH and hardness does a redtail catfish need?
pH 6.0 to 6.8, which is the overlap of five published ranges, and 54 to 214 ppm, which is the 3 to 12 dGH two sources share. Two of the five put the preference lower than the range: Aquarium Source says below 7 is ideal and LiveAquaria stops at 6.8. The retailer publishes hardness only as 9 to 10 dKH, carbonate hardness, which is not the same measurement as the dGH the other two give.
Do redtail catfish need a substrate?
Less than most. Aquarium Source recommends a sandy variety if any and says a substrate-free tank is probably best; nothing else we hold publishes a substrate at all. LiveAquaria is the only source discussing the tank itself, asking for a reinforced aquarium because of the weight of the fish, which is the sort of instruction that belongs beside a 2,700 gallon figure rather than beside a 300 gallon one.
Is a redtail catfish nocturnal?
Pet Zone says so and describes territorial behavior especially as they mature; Seriously Fish records adults as generally solitary and the species as most active at dusk and night. That is why the water column row on this record reads bottom, and awake at night, which it shares with our bristlenose pleco record and almost nothing else here.
What a redtail catfish needs that no aquarium has
Three things our sources ask for, and the first one is not equipment.
- A room, not a tank12 by 8 by 4 feet on the most technical source, which is 10,368 liters and a floor no domestic stand carries
- Filtration at four to six times the volume an hourone source publishes the turnover, and on 10,000 liters that is 40,000 to 60,000 liters an hour
- A plan for the fish you cannot keepone source names the outcome directly: a large number of redtails end up surrendered to public aquaria or rehomed under difficult circumstances
Every item our records ask for is gathered on the tank setup topic.
Nothing here is a paid link. It is the shortfall between what this record asks for and what a boxed kit contains.
How this record was compiled
- By
- Verified
- Sources
Seriously Fish, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus, Aquarium Source, redtail catfish, Tankora, redtail catfish care guide, Pet Zone, redtail catfish, LiveAquaria, redtail catfish and A-Z Animals, redtail catfish
- Conflicts
Printed rather than resolved: the published minimum tank size runs 300, 1,000, 1,500 to 2,000 and about 2,700 gallons, a factor of nine, and the smallest figure is on the page selling the fish; the temperament is aggressive on one source, quite peaceful on another and placid but indiscriminate on a third; and the hardness comes in dGH from two sources and dKH from a third; and the two heaviest figures disagree, more than 40 kg for the largest specimen measured by science against a published maximum of about 80 kg
- Not recorded
How to sex one, because the most technical source we hold says unknown; how to breed one, because the same source says it is not thought to have been achieved in the hobby; and a growth rate from more than one source, though the one figure we hold is the number this record turns on