Animals
Bunnies
Bunnies II 
Chinchillas
Degus
Ferrets
Ferrets by BOB
Gerbils
Ground Squirrels
Guinea Pig
Hamsters I
Hamsters II
Hamsters III
Hamsters IV
Hamsters V
Hedgehogs
Kittens
Kids & Kittens
Mice
Mice Pets II
Parasites
Rats I
Rats II
Rats III
Rats, Hairless
S-T Opossums
Siberian Chipmunks
Sugar Gliders
Sugar Gliders II
Water Bottles

Bugs
Crabby 500
Crab 04 Results
Centipedes
Cray/Lobsters
Crayfish II
Crayfish III
Cray, Yucatan
Fiddler Crabs
Shrimp, Algae
Shrimp, Aqua
Shrimp, Red
Shrimp, Flower
Shrimp, Ghost
Shrimp, Rudolph
Hermit Crabs
Hermit Crabs II
Madagas Roach
Mantids
Mini-Clams
Mini-Crabs
Patriot Crabs
Giant Millipedes
Red Claw Crabs
Reiman Butterfly
Snail, Apple
Snail, Colombian
Snail, Land
Snail, Malaysian
Snail, Mystery
Snail, Trapdoor 
Scorpions
Tarantulas
Tarantulas II
Tarantula Night 2006
TarantulaWeen VII
TarantulaWeen 9
Misc. Bugs
Misc Bugs II  

Birds
Breeding Tips
Button Quail
Canaries
Cockatiels
Dove, Diamond
Dove, Ringneck
Finches
Love Birds
Parakeets
Pelleted Foods
Quaker Parrots
Parrot Pictures
Parrot Pix II
Parrot Pix III
Dave's Parrots

Lizards
Alligators
Anoles
Bearded Dragon
Beardies II
Calotes
Chamel, Jackson
Chamel, Panther
Chamel, Veiled
Crested Geckos
Gecko, Golden
Gecko, House
Gecko, Leopard
Gecko, Tokay
Horned "Toads"
Iguana New
Iguana Dragons
Iguana Q&A I
Iguana Q&A II
Iguana Training
Iguana Update
Cool Iguana Pics
Knight Anoles
Monitors, Nile
Monitors, Savana
Monitors, Water
Salmonella
Skinks
Skinks Blue-Tongue
Tegus
Uromastyx maliensis
Water Dragon
Misc Lizards
Misc Lizards 2
Misc Lizards 3
Misc Lizards 4
Misc Lizards 5
Misc Lizards 6
Misc Lizards 7
Misc Lizards 8
Misc Lizards 9


Snakes
Anacondas
Boa, Rosy
Boa, Red-Tail
Corn Snake
Garter Snake
Green Snake
Kids/Corn Snakes
Kids/Red-Tail Boas

Kids at Pet Expo 1

Kids at Pet Expo 2

Kids at Pet Expo 3

Kids at Pet Expo 4

Kids at Pet Expo 5
King & Milk
Python, Ball
Python, Burmese

Snakes Alive
Snakesgiving
Snakesgiving II
Misc Snake Pix
Misc Snakes II
Misc Snakes III  

Turtles/Tortoises
Box, Asian
Box, USA
Races
Snapping

Sulcata
Water
Western Painted

Live Foods
Blackworms
Blood Worms
Br Shrimp I
Br Shrimp II
Crayfish 1
Crayfish 2
Crayfish 3 
Crickets
Daphnia
Earthworms
Feeder Goldfish
Fruit Flies
Ghost Shrimp

Glass Worms

Grindal Worms
Infusoria
Mealworms
Microworms
Rosy Reds

Super Worms

Wax Worms
White Clouds

Decorating
Bubbles
Driftwood
Gravel
Plastic Plants
Rocks
Slow Growing Plants

Miscellaneous
Bob's Acclimation

How to Start
How to Add New Fish
How to Keep Healthy
Which Fish Get Along?
10 Questions to Ask
What is Ich?
Under Gravel Filters

Sponge Filters
Cloudy Water
Cool Water Tanks
Gravel Vacuums
Preventing Disease
Feeding to the Max
Frozen Foods
Green Water
Nasty Chemicals
Overfeeding
Power Filters
Rift Lake Salts
Quarantine Tank
Mini-Tank
2nd Av Bait

Pet World Visit
Dandelions

Aquatic Plants
Amazon Swords
More Swords
Sword Plants III
Anubias
Aponogetons
A. boivinianus
A. fenestralis
A. ulvaceous
Aquarium/Bog
Banana Plant
Bolbitis
Bunch
Bunch Plants II
Cryptocorynes
Crystalwort
Dwarf Lily
Grassy
Grassy II
Hornwort
Hygrophila
Lace
Java Lance Fern
Java Moss
Moss Balls
Onion
Vermiculite
Watersprite

LA Pic
Very attractive four-inch red-tail catfish.

LA Pic
Even cuter at two inches.

LA Pic
Another cute two-incher.

LA
Very cool at nine inches.

Origins:  Apparently you can find these red-tailed Brazilian flatheads in much of the Amazon and its tributaries.  They call them mighty tasty pirararas locally.  They use pirañhas for bait.

Name:  Phracto = flat, cephalus = head,  hem = red, pterus = fin.  Or red-tailed flathead.  Same as our local flatheads plus a red tail and a less finicky appetite.  Our flatheads eat only live fish.  Red-tail catfish fish eat ‘em dead or alive (or plastic).

In the Wild:  Red-tail catfish eat crabs and fruits.

LA
Red-tail catfish rasslin' with a nightcrawler a couple inches longer than himself.

LA
Still working on it.

LA
Eventually, he will get it down.

Foods in Captivity:  Not known as picky eaters, red-tail catfish love fish, worms, and crustaceans (which bring out their reds).  They also eat enough pellets to bulge their bellies if given the opportunity.  Large red-tails also eat rocks and can apparently spit them out at will.

LA Pic
He's hungry so he's swimming around looking for food.

Occasional Fasts.  Any critter that “carbo-loads” at every meal needs an occasional meal off.  Give him a meatless Friday and let his digestive system catch up.  He’ll start swimming around when he gets hungry again.

Water:  Any water close to neutral works.  Red-tail catfish need frequent water changes because of their massive food intake. 

LA Pic
Fourteen-inch red-tail catfish in 55-gallon tank.  Pretty.  Pet Playhouse in Marion, IA.

Grows Huge:  The cute two-inch red-tail catfish you bought grows to three or four feet – 18-inches in the first year.  They live for 15 years.

LA Pic
Three 3-foot S.A. Red-tail catfish at Omaha zoo.  Stingrays in back.  Dark tank.  

LA Pic
Local (alright, Kansas) flathead for comparison.  Similar except for color.

LA
Nicer smile on our hero.

Housing:  You can start a red-tail catfish in a ten.  You soon need a 55 and way on up.

LA Pic
Hiding in a one-inch PVC pipe.

 LA Pic
Two-inch red-tail cat "hiding" under a piece of slate leaned against front glass.

LA
This guy thinks he's hiding in a "ghost house."

Security:  Small red-tail catfish will spend their days hiding in caves.  As they grow, they need no security.

LA
Once your red-tail keys in on your hand, they learn to come up out of the water.

Friendly:  Red-tails make great pets.  They quickly learn to eat from your fingers.  Start by feeding them in the evenings.  They also put up with being petted.  We don’t recommend this, however they seem to like rubbing against your hand.

Bad Substrates:  Don’t put a lot of marbles or rocks on the bottom.  Red-tail catfish will eat anything swallowable.  What else would you expect from a critter that swallows crabs whole?

LA Pic
He was beaten up by an Asian red-tail catfish.

Mixers?  Not many other fish will mix with these critters -- especially smaller fishes.  Asian red-tail catfish tend to beat up South American catfishes of the same size.

Temperature:  As you might extrapolate from a fish that lives in the world’s second longest river, red-tail catfish adapt to a wide temperature range.

Breeding:  No breeding reports yet.  Here’s the way I’d do it … I'd give an Asian fish farmer 10 red-tail catfish.  Then come back in five years to pick up half the babies.

Shedding?  Red-tail catfish exude a mucous film occasionally.  It reminds you of caecilian worms in this respect.  You need to remove crud like this.

LA Pic
Two-inchers.

Fights:  Some keepers of red-tail catfish say the big ones fight.  We’ve seen some lunkers in zoos getting along just fine.  Still, one flathead is better than two flatheads.  Two would eat you out of house AND home.  One would just eat you out of house OR home.

Plants/Decor:  Sturdy plastics will work.  Root-looking pieces of wood will decorate and stay in one place (usually).

LA Pic
14 incher deciding whether you are food or not.

LA Pic
Four incher with nice full belly.  White snail eggs on glass.

LA Pic
Nice whiskers.

LA Pic
At 30 inches, he eats out of Randy Davison's hand -- Wet Pet Outlet, Eldora, Iowa.

LA Pic
Great big mouth with little, bitty teeth you can barely see.

LA
18-incher at Aqualand.

LA
We shall now make a goldfish disappear.

LA
Ta-DA.  We'd like to thank our helpful assistant.

LA
We bid him farewell Nov 25, 2005.  He went to Fort Dodge.

Here he is in his new 150-gallon tank.

LA
Pick one with a nice smile.

LA
Now hitting the market at two inches, it's hard to imagine just how large these guys grow.

Last Word:  Red-tail catfish make great specimen fish.  However, since the largest red-tail catfish caught on a hook and line weighed 97 pounds, few normal people should attempt to keep them.  LA.

LA
Just some more pix of these attractive catfish.

LA

LA

LA
Red-tails learn to eat out of your hand almost from day one.

LA
Third goldfish in a row.

LA
Red-tails do like to eat.

LA
4-foot red-tail catfish at our Des Moines Blank Park Zoo.

© 2004, © 2005, © 2006, © 2007, © 2008, © 2009  LA Productions

Jaguar Spawning II
Jewel Fish
Keo's Flowerhorns
Keo's Flowerhorns II
Kribensis
Odd Couple Spawn
Oscars 1
Oscars 2
Oscars 3
Oscars 4
Oscars 5
More Oscar
More Oscar II
More Oscars III
More Oscars 2007
More Oscars 2007.5
Oscar Spawn
Peacock Bass
Red Devils
More Red Devil
Red Parrots
Red Parrots Spawn
Red Parrot Spawn II
Pikes
Pink Tilapia
Rams
Red Bay Snooks
Red Bay Snook Spawn
Roger Stephen's Cichlids
Severums
More Severums
Severums III
Tanganyikans
Texas Cichlid
Texas Spawning
Texas Spawn II
Uarus
Misc Cichlids I
Misc Cichlids II
Misc Cichlids III
Misc Cichlids IV
Misc Cichlids V
Misc Cichlids VI
Misc Cichlids VII
Misc Cichlids VIII
Misc Cichlids IX

Livebearer  
Guppies
Half-Beak
Mollies
Moons/Platys
Swordtails

Minnows/Tetra 
Barbs
Barbs, Black
Barbs, Gold
Barbs, Rosy
Barbs, Tiger
Barbs, Tinfoil
Danios
Danio Egg Saver
Distochodus
Fathead Minnows
Headstanders
Killies, Econ.
Killies, Golden
Killies, Peat
Killies, Plant
Misc Mini-Fish
Pacús 
Piranha, Black
Piranha, Red
Rainbowfish

Rainbowfish, Dwarf Neon
Rainbowfish, Irian
Silver Dollar
Tetras, Larger
Tetras, Smaller
Tetras, Spawn
Tetra, Vampire
White Clouds

Pond Fish
Carp
Channel Cat
Gold. Comets
Gold. Fantails
More Fantails
Gold. Oriental  
Gold Oriental II 
Gold. Spawn
Kloubec Koi Farm
Koi
Koi II

Koi III
Oranda Spawn
Plecostomus
Shubunkins

Oddballs  
Af. Butterfly
Af. Lungfish
Af. Mudskippr
American Eel
Archer Fish
Arowana
Bichirs
Borneo Suckers
Brackish I
Brackish II
Brackish III
Brackish IV
Brackish V
Michael Troung's Pix
Butterfly/Wasp
Chameleon Fish
Chromides
Chin Alg Eater
Crazy Fish
Crocodile Fish
Datnioides
Dojo
Dwarf Puffers
Electric Cat
Electric Eels
Elephant Nose
Exodon paradoxus
Flounder
Gars  
Glassfish
Goby Bumble
Goby Butterfly
Goby Dragon
Goby Misc.
Half-Beak
Knife African
Knife Clown
Knife Ghost
Loach Botias
Loach Clown
Loach Kuhli
Loach Weather

Longear Sunfish
Moray Eel  
Peacock Gudgeons
Polypterids
Puffers
Ropefish
Scats
Siam Algae Eater 
Spiny Eels 
Snakehead
Stingray
Stonefish
Wasp Fish
Wolffish
Wrest Half-Beak
Misc Mini-Fishes
Misc Odd
Misc Odd II
Misc Odd III
Misc Odd  IV

Misc Odd V
Misc Odd VI

Sharks  
Bala
Black
Bull
Chinese Hi-Fin Banded
Iridescent
Red-Tail
Siam Algae Eater

Pond Info 
Blank Park Zoo
Bob Humphrey's Ponds
Cattails
Maffett Reservoir
DMACC's Pond
D.M. Botanical Center
D.M. Water Works
Dr. Ervanian's Garden
Duckweed
Dwarf Lily
Ewing Park "Pond"
Jan & Chris's Water Garden
John McDonald's Pond
Hall's Four Acres
Klines' Water Garden
Landscaper Effects
Mini-Pond Pics
Pioneer Corn's Pond
Pond Fish Predators
Pond on 38th Street 
Pond Pics
Pond Plants
More Pond Plants
Pond Plants III
Reiman Ponds
River Scenes
Riverview Island
Selin's Water Gardens
Selin's Japanese Garden
Tom's Used Cars Pond
Urbandale Duck Pond
Water Hyacinth
Water Lettuce
Wild Ponds