# 55 Gallon Freshwater Tank(Possibly major issue)



## Rakunio Kewn (May 9, 2013)

Hello, I am new to these forum's so bare with me,I am planning on having a Redtail Catfish move into the new 55 gallon when it's time but I have a slight issue,my Alligator Gar(in 30 Gallon Tank) is growing at a sorta quick rate,will it be fine if I let my Redtail grow somewhat to a decent size and will my gar grow out a 55 gallon?xD Note: The 30 gallon fish tank I have currently hold's a Blue African Cichlid,Clownknife,Polypterus,and the Alligator Gar of course.(I will do anything to keep my gar until it passes away)


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## fishkeeper66 (Feb 27, 2013)

WOW.......Alligator Gar AND a Redtail Cat.....lol I honestly don't have an answer to your question but I do know one thing....You are gonna need an aquarium the size of a house when those monsters are fully grown. Anyways, good luck! I've always wanted a Redtail Catfish. Hope all goes well for you.


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## ratbones86 (Jun 29, 2012)

Gonna need around a 200 gallon tank for them and a long tank at that. I caught an alligator gar that was 15" when I was down in Louisiana.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Fish will not stop growing when they reach the size of your tank. If they are kept in a tank that is too small for them to reach their maximum size, the stress caused by being in a too confined environment will eventually kill them. If you look at the photos below, I think you will realize that you have a serious problem, and I am sorry to say that I can not think of many solutions I can suggest to you. Maybe contact a few public aquariums in your area to see if one of them might take the fish off your hands. Before buying any more fish, do your research about their maximum size first, to see if you can accommodate them in the long run.



Rakunio Kewn said:


> will my gar grow out a 55 gallon?












More info on alligator gars: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_gar



Rakunio Kewn said:


> I will do anything to keep my gar until it passes away


In a 55G, I would expect it to pass away rather quickly. I have read they can live up to 70 years when kept right, so don't think it has died of old age if it swims belly-up after a couple of years.



Rakunio Kewn said:


> I am planning on having a Redtail Catfish move into the new 55 gallon












More info on redtail catfish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redtail_catfish

Last but not least, I have moved this threat to General Aquaria, because the main subject is not cichlid related.


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

Rakunio Kewn said:


> Hello, I am new to these forum's so bare with me,I am planning on having a Redtail Catfish move into the new 55 gallon when it's time but I have a slight issue,my Alligator Gar(in 30 Gallon Tank) is growing at a sorta quick rate,will it be fine if I let my Redtail grow somewhat to a decent size and will my gar grow out a 55 gallon?xD Note: The 30 gallon fish tank I have currently hold's a Blue African Cichlid,Clownknife,Polypterus,and the Alligator Gar of course.(I will do anything to keep my gar until it passes away)


Most of these fish shouldn't be kept in a 55 gallon aquarium on their own, let alone with other fishes. You are going to have to make a decision shortly as to what you want to do, and please do research your fish before getting them in the future.

Do you have a real Alligator Gar? These grow from 6-8 FEET long. You'll need a huge tank to keep this. Think in the neighbourhood of 12 feet x 6 feet x 4 feet.

The redtail can outgrow a 180 gallon tank.

As I said earlier, do some research before making any future fish purchases, and decided what sized tank you can do in the future and base all future stocking on that tank.

edit - somehow I missed your post Frank.. nice post and pictures.


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## Rakunio Kewn (May 9, 2013)

Thank's o.o


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## letsgoflyers6387 (Jul 19, 2010)

As a general rule of thumb, fish that are featured on River Monsters shouldn't be kept in aquariums. They are cool fish, but I'd throw in the towel.


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