The redtail catfish is an extremely large and very fast-growing freshwater fish. It is one of the most beautiful members of the catfish family. Due to its size, it is unsuitable for most home aquariums, but it continues to be sold in fish and pet stores.
In this article, we will give you all the information you need to make an informed decision about whether you can successfully house and care for a redtail catfish.
| Category | Assessment |
|---|---|
| difficulty of care: | Difficult |
| Temperament: | Aggressive |
| Colour form: | Dark gray/brown, |
| Lifetime: | 15+ years old |
| Size: | 4-6 feet |
| Diet: | Carnivorous |
| Family: | Pimelodidae |
| Minimum tank size: | 1000 gallons |
| Tank Configuration: | Sparse/Bare Tank |
About the Redtail Catfish
The redtail catfish is the only known remaining species in the genus Phractocephalus. It is also known as the flat-nose catfish, antenna catfish, and banana catfish.
It is native to the rivers of South America and the Amazon and is found in Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, and other neighboring countries. If properly maintained, it has a long lifespan and can live for over 15 years.
Although they start out quite small, they quickly outgrow most aquarists’ tanks and are often donated to public aquariums. Given how often this happens, it is difficult to find a zoo or aquarium that will accept large fish kept privately.
So before we continue, if you are unsure whether you can care for a fish of this size for its entire life, we recommend avoiding this fish.
redtail catfish are mainly kept by professional and experienced aquarists.
Redtail Catfish Appearance
The redtail catfish is large and colourful. They have long whiskers (i.e. barbels ) on their mouths and a beautiful red tail. They are mostly dark grey/brown along the upper side of their bodies, with small scattered dark spots and a wavy white stripe running down both sides.
The top of the dorsal and caudal fins is reddish-orange in color, and it has three pairs of long barbels: two on the lower jaw and one on the upper jaw.
Typical size and growth
When juveniles are imported into pet stores, they are usually about 5 cm long. Your pet store may have told you that this fish will only grow 12 inches in your tank. This is not true. The myth that a fish will only grow to the size of its tank is really dangerous among aquarium hobbyists.
When young, these fish can easily grow an inch per week; most reach two feet in a year. In-home aquariums can reach lengths of over four feet and are left in the wild. They grow even larger. The largest recorded redtail catfish, measuring 63 inches long, was found in the Amazon River in 2010.
Redtail Catfish Diet
Redtail catfish are not picky eaters. They are omnivores but prefer meat-based foods. Ideally, the RTC’s diet should consist of sinking carnivore pellets, cut-up fish and meat, shrimp, crayfish, and worms.
You may also want to prepare your own food to ensure they are getting the best possible diet. They could also carry diseases and parasites that can infect them. Additionally, live foods are expensive compared to healthier, more nutritional alternatives.
These fish become sluggish after each meal and need time to digest their food properly. Juveniles should be fed every other day, but as they grow, they will only need one large meal per week. You will notice when they become active again, and you will know when to feed them.
When we say they will eat anything they can get their mouths on, we mean that literally. They will eat gravel, rocks, filter parts, and basically any loose parts. We will cover this in the tank requirements section.
Cat Behavior and Companions
A juvenile catfish can be very shy. Here are some suggestions to help them overcome their shyness: provide cave areas for them to hide in (make sure they are not small enough to eat) and keep the tank in an area where you spend a lot of time so they get used to interacting with you.
Ideally, you should house redtail catfish alone. If you really want a tank mate, make sure whatever you put with him can’t fit in his mouth. They can easily eat anything half their size and will even try to eat things larger than half their size.
Tank mates should be similar in size; suitable fish include Gars, Stingrays, and Datnoids. However, you should also be aware that there are no distinguishing characteristics to determine their sex at the juvenile stage.
Tank requirements
Redtail catfish require huge tanks, such as those in aquariums and zoos. If there is only one piece of advice about the tank, only buy fish when you have a huge tank. Don’t buy them thinking that you will buy a bigger tank in a year or two because people very rarely do that.
Much debate surrounds the size of an acceptable tank for this species.
We recommend that this fish need a minimum of a 1000-gallon tank. Even this size would not be suitable for a fully-grown catfish. Many people opt for indoor ponds for this species instead, which is a more suitable housing solution.
We have already mentioned that this species will eat literally anything that fits in its mouth, so it requires very sparse tanks.
In terms of substrate, they will eat rocks and gravel, so ideally, you should have a bare-bottom tank, but if you really don’t like the look of bare-bottom tanks, you can use a layer of sand. Keep in mind that a bare-bottom tank is easier to clean.
Redtail catfish environment
Redtail catfish typically live in tropical environments, so their tank conditions should match that. Their water should be kept between 20 and 26 o C (68 and 79 o F).
If you live in a climate where temperatures regularly drop below these levels, you will need a water heater to keep the temperature as stable as possible.
The pH should be between 6.0 and 7.5. Given the size of the tank, a traditional filter will be almost impossible to find effective, so a sump filter is the best option.
Should You Keep a Redtail Catfish?
There is really only one question to ask yourself to help you decide whether to keep a redtail catfish. That is, can you provide them with the best possible life for the duration of their life?
This includes a large enough tank, preferably a pond, time spent feeding and changing the water and preparing to find and care for the fish.
If you are determined to provide all of this in an RTC and like the idea of caring for such a huge fish, the redtail catfish is a beautiful and unique fish to keep.
