Leopard Catfish

[PhunFishGuy]

I was at my pet shop today and found a cross between red tail cats and tiger shovel nose cats... it was called the leopard catfish. Does anyody know anything about these?

 

[Raechal]

Know nothing about them but sounds awesome! I've always wanted a red tailed cat )

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

They grow faster and larger than either one of their counterparts (RTC or TSN), I beleive that they max out at somewhere around 5 feet in length... they would be best avoided by the average hobbyist (as would either RTC or TSN).

 

[PhunFishGuy]

Thanks anyway... I have a red tail cat right now, and if you live in Houston you can have that S.O.B.

 

[PhunFishGuy]

Five feet huh? Maybe I'll pass.

 

[trimacdevilconvict]

Five feet huh? Maybe I'll pass.

i have had one and i find that it has grown alot slower than rtc and tsn i found out that it was wider thantns but not as wide as a rtc looked cool but had to give it to an aquarium in the end about 2 years of having it in a 8ft as he cracked the tank

ps i think the 5ft mark is a bit excessive but i never grew it out fully id say he is about 3.5ft at the moment and is in a 5000gal with 2 red tails that are bigger and younger he is now 3 yrs maybee max size in a huge lake would be 5 ft as max sige of a rtc is 6ft in such circumstances i dont think that these cats should be sold in the first place even if they are like dogs when older


justin

 

[andywg]

The RTC X TSN was a lab created hybrid to try and provide a fast growing food fish for (I believe) South America. The belief is that they may well max out at more than either parent (as a nubmer of hybrids do). AS can be expected, this hybrid of two of the hobby's favorite giant catfish has found its way into LFS recently (though, just as with the RTC and TSN I don't know why they stock it, there can't be that many people with absolutely massive tanks, can there?)

The same level of care and size needs to be awarded to them as with RTC and TSN. (Huge tank/pond; massive filtration; very few tank mates that won't "disappear" by morning).

The max size of both parent fish is not exactly known. In aquaria the RTC often ends up around the 3.5 to 4 feet mark and the TSN can often breach 4 feet. However in the wild both are often seen over 5 feet and there have been reports of sightings of both approaching the 8 foot mark.

Needless to say I'm looking into buying one, but not until I can house one (probably around 3 years time). I believe a safe guidance given, to ensure the fish is happy, is around 3,000 gallons for one and around 1,000 to 1,500 gallons for each extra one (with corresponding increases in filtration). You probably can house them in smaller size tanks but you have to ask if it's really fair on the fish...

 

[PhunFishGuy]

Thanks for that information. I don't know about the rest of the world, but in Houston, Texas it is very common to find 55 gallons stocked with everything from Oscars, to Pacu's, to Red Tails... at the same time.