Red-tail catfish

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Femalefishkeeper

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Hi :)

I have a red-tail catfish that Iā€™ve had for nearly 2 months. We feed it king prawns cut up into little pieces, and it wonā€™t eat anything else.

About 3 hours after feeding, itā€™s spitting some of the food back out, as if itā€™s being sick, but the food looks like it hasnā€™t been touched afterwards. It will not eat anything else.

Any suggestions on what else I can do? We have tried with pellets but it just wonā€™t touch them. Itā€™s healthy, happy and growing it just seems to be a fussy eater!

I will attach videos. P.S. I know my glass needed cleaning, I did it right after taking this video donā€™t worry!

Thank you in advance


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How often are you feeding it? They don't need to eat twice a day. One feeding at dusk every few days is plenty. Try worms, meal worms, fresh meat (no fat) in addition to shrimp. Do you have a cave or some place for it to hide? Also, I can't tell from your picture, but you do have a one to two thousand-gallon tank for it to grow up in, right? They can grow to four feet.
 
That's a very cool-looking fish! I wouldn't worry as long as it's eating most of the time and otherwise acting normal. Sometimes fish will taste something, carry it around for a while, and spit it out. He might just be full, or he might be bored with shrimp and ready for some variety.

Archer is right--these things get HUGE, as you probably know. Before long you'll be throwing in whole lobsters...
 
Another thought: If the catfish doesn't eat the prawn chunks right away, or if it spits them out and doesn't show anymore interest, I'd remove them after a few minutes. Decomposing inverts can cause surprisingly big ammonia spikes.
 
How often are you feeding it? They don't need to eat twice a day. One feeding at dusk every few days is plenty. Try worms, meal worms, fresh meat (no fat) in addition to shrimp. Do you have a cave or some place for it to hide? Also, I can't tell from your picture, but you do have a one to two thousand-gallon tank for it to grow up in, right? They can grow to four feet.
Ive been feeding it twice a day so it is possible that I have been giving it too much. Yeah it does have a cave to hide also. At the moment itā€™s not in a tank that big, Iā€™m my partner is building a new task as well speak today stretches across my living room so there will be more than enough room for it. Thank you very much for your help, i really appreciate it
 
That's a very cool-looking fish! I wouldn't worry as long as it's eating most of the time and otherwise acting normal. Sometimes fish will taste something, carry it around for a while, and spit it out. He might just be full, or he might be bored with shrimp and ready for some variety.

Archer is right--these things get HUGE, as you probably know. Before long you'll be throwing in whole lobsters...
Thank you! Yes I think I have been over feeding it possible. Iā€™ll try feeding it once today and see how it gets on, and I do get any of the food out straight away so it doesnā€™t mess up my water levels. I really appreciate your help though thank you so much
 
So are we Jekyll or Hyde today? It doesnā€™t matter. Either way, youā€™ve ā€œdone your researchā€ so youā€™ll know why you shouldnā€™t feed King Prawns to fish.
 
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So are we Jekyll or Hyde today? It doesnā€™t matter. Either way, youā€™ve ā€œdone your researchā€ so youā€™ll know why you shouldnā€™t feed King Prawns to
So are we Jekyll or Hyde today? It doesnā€™t matter. Either way, youā€™ve ā€œdone your researchā€ so youā€™ll know why you shouldnā€™t feed King Prawns to fi
So are we Jekyll or Hyde today? It doesnā€™t matter. Either way, youā€™ve ā€œdone your researchā€ so youā€™ll know why you shouldnā€™t feed King Prawns to fish.
Enlighten me then please, and then Iā€™ll explain what research I have done
 
Enlighten me then please, and then Iā€™ll explain what research I have done
Theyre de-shelled, gutted, cleaned and isolated from any other food products. Theyā€™re defrosted and are cut up into small pieces before they are put into the tank. Please donā€™t take that tone with me, there is just no need. I even asked if we could be friends yesterday.
 
You took it with me for giving you the advice you asked for. It works both ways.
You said that Iā€™m keeping an illegal fish? Which Iā€™m clearly not. My father works for trading standards and I have notified him of all of this.

It wasnā€™t from pier aquatics either, you seem like a very angry man whoā€™s clearly very passionate about fish. I would suggest that you turned that passion into something positive rather than putting other people down who you see as less knowledgeable or lack experience.
 
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