Redtail Catfish

About

The redtail catfish (Phractocephalus hemioliopterus) is one of the most recognizable large catfish in the hobby, with its bold dark-and-cream body pattern and vivid orange-red tail making juveniles almost irresistible at the fish store. In the wild it roams the Amazon and Orinoco River basins, where adults are formidable predators that consume fish, crustaceans, and even fallen fruits. The problem is that those charming kittens grow into fish that can exceed four feet in length, and the hobby has a serious problem with keepers underestimating that trajectory. Public aquariums across multiple countries have been overwhelmed with donated specimens, and worse, some have been released into the wild, where established populations now exist in parts of the United States and elsewhere. In captivity, a redtail will eat anything it can fit in its mouth, making most so-called tankbuster species viable targets. It is territorial toward its own kind and toward other large pimelodid catfish, so tankmates need to be chosen with real care. Think large doradids or similarly scaled, robust fish in an enclosure approaching public aquarium dimensions. Breeding has not been documented in the hobby. This species is included here for informational purposes, but it is genuinely one of the least suitable fish for a typical home setup, regardless of experience level.