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FAQs on Phractocephalus, Redtail Catfish

Pond on covered porch... but will it work? 8/20/08
Hello Crew--
I appreciate the invaluable service that all of you provide, and hope you'll have some tips to offer as my husband and I plan our next, larger endeavor. We have four Oscars, about ten inches each, as well as three Plecs, from thirteen inches to about seven inches, and (the real reason for this entire project) a (currently small and really cute) three inch South American Redtail Catfish.
<"Egads what a monster"... Dune, in ref. to Shai-Hulud>
Not all are in the same tanks currently, and Guido (catfish) is in a 125, which should give us about six to eight months to complete this. What we would like to do is build a 1000 gallon concrete pond on our back porch, which is covered and has this weird screen/plywood deal that the previous homeowners probably thought was a grand idea. Anyway, it's there, and it basically creates a thin wall against the elements. And we want to build this pond for these fish, in coastal Virginia. I have several questions that I haven't been able to find answers to on the site, and I hope you have some pointers for us.
1. We are prepared to heat the pond; however, we're wondering about the maximum temperatures these fish will collectively thrive at.
<The upper 60's F is likely the most reasonable lower limit for the Pimelodid>
I know they are warm water fish. There are about two or three summer months where temps could reach 85-87 degrees in this pond; would this work?
<Mmm, yes... with plenty of aeration, should be fine>
2. With this gallonage (calculated to allow us to still be able to navigate about the porch and get to the laundry room, so kind of important) could we add any additional fish? (More Oscars, or a Pacu?)
<Could, but I'd be careful re overstocking... Should something go wrong (power outage, overfeeding...), your "window" of possible recovery will be too small...>
3. Do we need to cover this pond at 3.5 feet deep?
<I would, yes... the catfish is a very powerful jumper>
I am prepared to figure out some sort of screen/weight thing to do so, but I was hoping to get a turtle, and I can't imagine him wanting to bask under a piece of screen.
<Not a problem, I assure you. Get, use screen of larger diameter openings>
Again, I appreciate any help you can give, and if I've missed anything on the site that applies to our situation, please direct me to that location. I hope that with the correct (read: HUGE) filtration and stable temp (even if a little higher than ideal) we can offer these fish a large, happy new home. Thanks again.
--Melinda
<Sounds/reads like a very nice project indeed. Have seen some very nice ponds with these animals in them. Most recently the Moody Gardens in TX. Bob Fenner>

A BIG Catfish, sys.
1.. We have a South American Redtail Catfish that is about 20" long and has outgrown our 90 gallon tank. We need any advise that you can give us as he really needs a larger environment than a home tank. We can't get any response from the closest fish aquarium.
>>
Ahh, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus... don't I remember my pimelodid catfishes... Yes this fish does get at least 80 pounds (have seen them in the wild this big... and at least half that in captivity)... Other than pleading with people to not keep these too-big animals... feed them sparingly (to limit their rapid growth)... And then, at your stage: to call their local BIG fish stores, and public aquariums... to see if they can use (another) Red Tail Cat, Arowana, Pacu...
So, I'd either get a humongous tank (with a very sturdy top... most of these cats perish from jumping out), feed the animal sparingly from now on... and/or call those shops, public institutions.
Bob Fenner who really likes large fishes... but whose wife won't let him silicone glass over the front door and fill the house up with water...

"Brown tailed" Red Tailed Catfish
Hello, how is everyone. Good I hope.
<much better now that Bob has recovered from that bizarre accident that he had with a safety razor when trying to shave his belly for a finger painted living portrait to be displayed in an act of performance art>
Everything's fine here (thanks to your website, you guys really are a godsend. I read over your faq's every night.)
<outstanding!>
I've written a couple of times with saltwater questions but tonight I've got a freshwater question. In my 120 gal. long tank I have a baby red tailed catfish.---I know, I know, way too small a tank for this guy.
<yep <G>>
I'm working on an 8ft by 6ft pond in the "office" in my house.
<that will be wonderful! And not a Chihuahua to be seen for miles once it is up and running. The housecats better get hip to it too>
And for now, I do a 75% water change at least twice a week to keep everyone in there happy.
<look for excessive yawning by this species to indicate poor water quality and nitrogen poisoning>
Mondee (as my two year old calls the sea monster) has grown from about 6 inches to a little over a foot in a month and a half. These fish grow incredibly fast!!! I'm amazed, he makes my Oscar look like a guppy!!
<They get huge indeed... perhaps over six feet long>
Anyway, I was wondering, when (if ever) can I expect his tail to start to turn red? It's a dirty faded brownish maroon color right now. I feed him floating cichlid pellets, frozen krill, silversides, and bloodworms, and earthworms and waxworms etc. from the bait shop. Is this diet okay?
<overall very good... but you could make your own food for color enhancing with paprika or carotenoid pigments, or feed a lot more crustacean foods with shells on (cocktail shrimp, crayfish)>
Do I need to feed him something different to enhance his color or is he just not a very colorful catfish?
<no... should actually be easy to enhance its color. Hikari brand pellet foods also have super color enhancing varieties of pellets ("Bio-Gold")... do consider>
The rest of his color is pretty good. Dark sooty almost black on his back and head with black spots and the white areas are well defined and a nice cream color.
<enjoy it while its small... they get muddier in color with age>
Even if he never does color up, he's still my favorite fish in the world--- dirty brown tail and all. He really is an awesome fish.
<yes... they have great personalities>
I just want to make sure I'm giving him the best possible care. thanks for your help once again. Kristen:)
<best regards, Anthony>

Red tail catfish
Two weeks ago yesterday, I moved a red tail catfish from a 55 gallon tank into a new 125 gallon tank. The fish is approximately 20 inches long and had a great appetite prior to the move. Since the move, it has eaten almost nothing and has made the tank a relatively safe place for the goldfish now swimming with it. Other than the loss of appetite and associated weight loss, the fish seemed perfectly healthy and active until yesterday. While
still active, it now has what seems to be a reddish growth or swollen gland above and to the right of its mouth. The ph is between 7.2 and 7.4. It was higher, but I've been using ph Down to lower it. The water temperature is between 78 and 80 degrees.
In addition to the goldfish, I've tried to feed it shrimp, silversides and floating cichlid sticks. I don't know what to do next. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Joe Agresti
<Joe, this is a large fish (4+ feet), at 20in he has pretty much out grown the 125gal. This fish may have been/still be suffering from nitrate poisoning, did he ever exhibit any yawning behavior? Water quality is always going to be an issue with big messy fish in small tanks. Large weekly water changes and larger tank will be needed. As far as the feeding issue, he should come around in time, it is not uncommon for large predatory fishes to refuse food after a move. Best Regards, Gage>

Re: red tail catfish
Thank you. What size tank would you recommend?
<To live a long happy life it would need over 1000 gallons. I'd go with a large rubber lined pond in the basement with good filtration. That way if the neighbors cats get out of line you can make them disappear. -Gage>
Thanks
Joe Agresti

Just bought a 2.5" red tail baby Amazon catfish 3 days ago,
<decided to get a tank buster eh?  These grow to be enormous fish in a relatively short amount of time.  I've wanted one myself for a long time, just haven't had a tank that could house them properly. >
he was fine the first 2 days, then started 'floating around' the tank, without swimming.. kinda like he's dying...kinda letting the current take him,
<these fish are bottom dwelling, and floating of any kind is not good.>
this is a small 5 gallon tank, was setup 1 month ago, 3 weeks ago got 3 zebra tetras / 2" Pleco / whole bunch of good established gravel and they are doing great.
<They maybe doing great but that tank is way too small for all of those fish.  Pleco's and Catfish are very messy fish!  The water parameters can become bad fast with the amount of waste these fish are producing!>
75-78 degrees, ph 7.0-6.8..he is also kinda breathing harder, if you try and touch him with your finger, he'll try to escape. but he just floats around. when he looks more coherent sometimes he is upside down. Hadn't eaten, but looks like he just ate a shrimp (freeze dried 1 cm long shrimps).
<I suggest you get your larger tank up and running very soon! This tank is not going to work for these fish! What you need to purchase is Freshwater Test Kits.  These will tell you the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels in your tank.  With high ammonia and nitrite levels it effects the fish's breathing.  Ammonia damages the gills, and nitrite hinders the fish's body from using the oxygen from the water.  The water parameters must be at Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0, Nitrate being as close to zero as possible.>
I'm calling the fish store, but was wondering if this is totally bad. the tank should be ok
<No, it's not okay.  way to small.  It's like keeping an elephant in spare bed room.  Just because it fits inside doesn't mean it's okay.>
(by the way, he's moving in 2 months to a 55 gallon and then a 200 gallon at least to start with, then a pond eventually.)
<that is a good plan, but you should have gotten this fish when you had the larger tank ready.  Don't put the cart before the horse.  have the environment ready for the animal, it's easier on you and the fish.>
Have wanted one of these for years, please help, only 3 days in !!!
--Dave
<I've wanted these myself, but realized that they can become monster sized, and need a home to fit their needs.  See if your Local fish store will hold the fish for you as you get your larger tank set up. You will need to do some water changes on this 5 gallon to help bring the water levels back to normal this will help.  during this time you will need to start setting up the larger tank  for him.  good luck and remember to research and have things ready well in advance before purchasing any animal. -Magnus.>

Red-tailed Catfish
Hello, I bought a baby redtail catfish about 4 weeks ago and it doesn't seem to be eating much. My catfish is about 3 inches long and it seems to only eat earthworms and hotdogs. I have tried feeding it a number of other pellet form foods and it still will only eat the earthworms. I have tried withholding the earthworms for a couple of days and it still doesn't eat any of the other foods that I feed it. I have tried feeding it Hikari sinking pellets, Algae wafers, and a few other types of sinking pellets but they all seem to not get eaten. Is this a problem? Would there be any other types of food that you would suggest feeding my baby redtail catfish?
<Hotdogs? Let's do a few water changes to remove the grease and spice from your water. Then try some frozen fish food like Mysis Shrimp and Bloodworms. You can also try any human saltwater seafood. Small shrimp, scallops, squid and the like, cut bite size of course. No land mammal meats. Try teasing him with a worm held up to the glass. When he gets interested, remove the worm from view and throw in whatever you are tying to feed him. Right now he does not recognize unnatural foods. Soon enough he will eat anything, and anyone, in his tank. Please test your water often. He can make a mess of things very quickly. Do as many water changes as needed to keep ammonia and nitrite at zero, nitrates below 20ppm. That will become a real chore as this fish grows. But there is a bigger problem here. That is the keeping of this fish in captivity in the first place. In my personal opinion no one should keep a redtail. They are awesome fish, striking colors with personality to boot. But there is simply no home aquarium that can house an adult. Your baby will grow to over 5 feet and will need thousands of gallons of water. Unless you have a large pond in a warm weather climate, you can't keep one into adulthood. They should therefore be left in the wild. Don>

Redtail Catfish death, is a GSP the Culprit?
Our South American Redtail Catfish looked like it went into shock, and eventually died awhile later. We have a green spotted puffer in the tank too, is the puffer poisonous, and could he have killed the catfish? The catfish was a very good size, a lot larger than the puffer.
Ricardo & Stephanie
<GSP's are not "that" toxic... the cause of death very likely unrelated. Most often Phractocephalus die from mis-feeding (feeder goldfish, or choking on another too-large, spiny fish), or "jump out"... Bob Fenner>

RTC with bloat or dropsy? HELP!!! Phractocephalus 12/20/2005
I have a 2 ft long RTC in a 400gallon aquarium. Recently his stomach has swollen many times its original size and I do not know if this means that he is suffering from dropsy or bloat.
<Could be n/either... but... from what cause? Most such symptoms are from mis- and over-feeding in this large pimelodid>
He is still very hungry and the distended stomach appeared just one morning, subsided the next, and reappeared at night, all while I did not put any food in the tank!
<Are all tankmates accounted for?>
He appears distressed and has turned rather dark in colour, and there is some bleeding at his stomach. How do I treat him or tell if he has been infected by bacteria? Help please!!!
<This fish can/could be injected with antibiotics... in a timely manner... but need to know much more re the system, water make-up, maintenance, foods/feeding to proffer an opinion. Bob Fenner>

Compatible Aggressive Fish 7/24/06
I have a 100 gallon tank with 2 red devils, red tail catfish,
<Phractocephalus.... this cat by itself needs or will need more room>
5 flower horns,
<? small I hope/trust>
2 algae eaters and 2 jewel cichlids. What are other compatible fish mates?
<Umm... nothing. You're already more than "topped off" stock-wise here>
I also have a 55 gallon that I want to start as saltwater. I have been getting mixed responses on how to start it. Please give me your input!
<Take a read on WWM, fishbase.org re the ultimate likely size of these fishes... the cat will get large enough to inhale all... Bob Fenner>

P. orbignyi compatibility with Redtail Catfish? fdg., comp.... A large S. Am. Ray and VERY large Catfish... in a 29?!  Need to read... 02/17/07
Hi,
<Kev... we'll skip the epaulettes>
I currently have a 29 gallon tank with a  6 inch Redtail Catfish and a few small fish that are there just to take up a little space.
<?...>
I can assure you that I have no plan on putting any size ray in a tank that small.  I will be buying a all-glass 210 gallon tank(72Lx24Wx29H) within 2 months.
<Oh. This will still be too small in time>
I will be running 2 Fluval FX5's and sand for substrate.
<I'd use other... posted...>
I read that the P. orbignyi and the Redtail Cats are both native to the Orinoco river Basin.
<With spelling improvement, yes>
  That leads me to believe that they are compatible.
<In terms of water quality at least>
Here's my question. Would it be advisable to house these animals together?
<Mmm, not really>
From what I read, my tank will be large enough and I don't think that the filtration will be a problem.
<Will be inadequate>
I already feed my Redtail Cat bloodworms, feeders and ghost shrimp (at least 10 in the tank at all times).
<The feeders are an exceedingly poor idea... see WWM re>
Lastly, where can I find the stingray.  Price doesn't really matter.  I'm just looking for a baby.  I've tried to find them online and I haven't seen them in any local pet stores.
Thanx, Kevin from Az
<Go to the Internet, Go to the Internet... Bob Fenner>

911 Redtail Catfish losing flesh! 7/20/08
I have 3 red tail catfish. One started floating upside down so I moved him to another tank. The other two are still healthy. The sick one is now losing his flesh. It is attached but it is floating in a big chunk. His eye is cloudy and it look at first as if he had ick. I treated him with parasite medication. At first he seemed to get better but then got worse. Now he is losing his flesh but he is still alive. I'm assuming it is hopeless for this one but what could cause this?
Rochelle
<Rochelle, there are two obvious problems here. Firstly, Phractocephalus hemioliopterus is a territorial species that will attack and kill any fish it views as a rival -- especially its own species. To keep more than one specimen would require a tank something bigger than a swimming pool! So your fish may simply be attacking one another. Secondly, these fish are hugely sensitive to poor water quality, and parasitic infections are highly likely related to these fish being kept in inadequate conditions (as is almost certainly the case). These fish grow to well over 1 m in length and require massive tanks with prodigious filtration, as well as extremely careful control of how much food they receive. Please let me have more information on the size of these fish and more important the aquarium. In the short term though you will need to isolate all three specimens in their own tanks containing not less than 200 gallons of water each, provided with filters rated at not less than 2000 gallons per hour, and perform not less than 50% water changes weekly. Stop feeding. Treat all fish with an appropriate antibacterial or antibiotic such as eSHa 2000 or Maracyn. The fish with a chunk bitten off from it may need veterinarian attention depending on the damage; you will certainly need to clean the wound and determine whether it is better to painlessly destroy the fish or treat it. Let me be crystal clear about this: Phractocephalus hemioliopterus is not a viable choice for the home aquarium. Cheers, Neale.>

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