I picked this cat up at my lfs. Its a RTC/TSN. This little guy is really neat. The energy, attitude and personality reminds me of a baby oscar.
So far platty fry, blood worms and tropical flakes have been gobbled up.



He/She is right at 3 inches. Swims all over, top, mid, bottom and loves to hunt.
If anyone has any advice or info please feel free to post it.
Hey Alex (Big Severum Fan) I think you were talking about one at last Saturdays chat. If so any advice would be greatle appreciated.

Fast growers, eat a lot, get pretty big....but that is all I know form my limited experience.....just what I have read.

Thanks for the info Mostlycichlids.

Nice yeah they get huge... hence the Name RTC AND TSN!!! They will need a tank bigger than 125 when above 5'' as they like to swim.

TSN's can push 4', and female RTCs can push 5'. Haven't found any info on the adult size of the hybrid, in fact very little info is out there other than it is a hormone induced hybrid developed in SA as an attempt to produce a high yield, high quality food fish. But it's gonna get big without a doubt. If it shows hybrid vigor, a phenomenon where the hybrid offspring of two species are larger than either parent species, then that little guy has the potential to be huge.

WYite

I took one in at two feet, after they eat, the one here anyway, likes to grunt. Kinda like a bullfrog sound but not exactly. Totally messed with my head the first time it did it.

It does it almost every time after it eats, so I'm hoping that means it's happy/full/content.

saint_felony wrote:

I took one in at two feet, after they eat, the one here anyway, likes to grunt. Kinda like a bullfrog sound but not exactly. Totally messed with my head the first time it did it.

It does it almost every time after it eats, so I'm hoping that means it's happy/full/content.

thats awesome



Good luck with rtc 1nevrkwitz

Nice looking fish.
Do you have a big tank lined up for him? they need 1000g+.

krytan wrote:

Nice looking fish.
Do you have a big tank lined up for him? they need 1000g+.

or a catfish pond

Cool looking fish!

Nice bit of information about the grunting thing SF. I never would have guessed that.

Nice pick up! Since there is little known about the hybrid you should keep a log over its life span and then turn it into an article or even a profile.

No I dont have a 1000+ home or a large pond. My lfs is in the process of constructing a freshwater "LARGE FISH DISPLAY" room in the basement of the store mostly for koi. He expects to be done by mid May and open to the public by July. I know that the two largest tanks are 10" long by 5" wide, by 5" tall. I dint think to ask how many gallons. Im really excited about the addition! There is nothing like that around this area. Anyway he told me he wouldnt have any problem with me swapping the cat out for store credit when it gets to large for me to house.

So my plan is to keep the cat in the 30 until it 4 inches, then in the 55, then move it to the 125 at 6 inches. When it reaches the 10 inch mark I plan on taking it back to Ronnie and getting something different and starting the process over again.
If this is a bad idea please let me know.

Thanks for searching and seeing what you could find out about the cat saint_fellon, BSF, Wyite and Mike D. I didnt find much out about it either. Some info about the fast growth rate and some stuff on diet but thats was it.

A pet should be for life not just until it becomes a problem.

WOW! I never thought of the cat as being a problem. Just thought it would be interesting and enjoyable to abserve and learn about the little guy. Like I mentioned in my post, I just worked out a deal with the owner to grow it out for his display tank. I dont think this will be any different than anyone else that grows out a large fish for thier own display tank.

As a matter of fact I see it as a win, win ,win for all. The cat will get more person care and attention. Ronnie gets a well cared for healthy catfish for his display, and I get the oppertunity to learn about and enjoy the cat while he/she grows up.

1nevrkwitz wrote:

I know that the two largest tanks are 10" long by 5" wide, by 5" tall.

You mean 10'x5'x5' right cuz that would be a small tank the other way around

Except for needing warmer water like the RTC. The one here is currently living in Pond Pacu, around 80 degrees, I've been doing just fine with the same diet and care that the channels and plain RTCs get.

That is, earthworms, large pellets (I have a sinking carnivore type pellet) and now and again, when I remember to quarantine them long enough a big comet or two. This one also likes the bait live eels that the fish farm has.

Also, on a very very rare treat, since I have no clue what the hell is in it, a small ball of catfish dough. Catfish Dynamite brand (it's the one they have it at the fish farm). It smells like old fish and old socks in paste form, but the cats do seem to love it.

You are right Mike D. Thanks for catching that. A 10 inch tank would be a bit of a tight squeeze!

Thanks for the info saint_felony!

Then you could add him to a 225 after the 125.

A 225 would be great but ATM I dont have the room for one. Thanks for the suggestion though!

how is he doin?

Hes doing great jsorensen. Ill post some updated pics as soon as I can.

ok thanks it looks just like the one i had until he got too big

Mine grew impressively fast. Didn't help that the kids were quite generous with the feeding.

Some updated pics.

The bottom pic looks crazy it almost looks dead....Nice and fat though!