# Red-Tail Barracuda



## taylorhedrich

Red Tail Barracuda 
(Acestrorhynchus falcatus) 
Quick Stats 
Minimum Tank Size: 70 gallons 
Care Level: Difficult 
Tank Conditions: 76-82°F; pH 6.8-7.4; KH 8-15 
Max. Size In Aquarium: Up to 1' 3" 
Color Form: Silver 
Temperament: Aggressive 
Diet: Carnivore 
Compatibility: View Chart 
Origin: South America 
Family: Acestrorhynchidae

The Red Tail Barracuda is an ominous looking fish with a long, slender, silver body with a bright red tail. The most distinguishing characteristic of this fish is the large sharp teeth that are easily seen. Often referred to as the Dog Characin, Freshwater Barracuda, Spotted Cachorro, or the Amazon Cachorro, this fish is a Characin related to both tetras and the piranha.

A 70 gallon or larger aquarium that is well established is ideal for this species. Provide the Red Tail Barracuda with driftwood in order to maintain a neutral to slightly acidic pH and soft water. There should be plenty of open swimming areas. A vicious predator, the Red Tail Barracuda should only be housed with other more aggressive predacious fish of similar size. Ideally, it is best to not place this species with territorial species of Cichlids.

The breeding habits of this species are unknown, and the Red Tail Barracuda has yet to be spawned in the home aquarium.

The Red Tail Barracuda is a carnivore and should be fed a variety of live foods such as small fish and crustaceans.

Approximate Purchase Size: 3" to 4-1/2"

I copied and pasted this information from another site. What do you think about me putting one in my 130 gallon aquarium that just finished cycling. Are any of you familar with this breed of fish? Will they eat pellets? From the description, it sounds that they need live foods, which can get quite expensive. Do you think that $49.99 is a lot for their size as described above? Thanks for your thoughts.
~Taylor~
[email protected]


----------



## Scolopendra

I see the prices range from $35-$55 depending on availibility....the latter being a bit high in my opinion. I had no problems raising one in a 45 long by itself.


----------



## hiphopn

lets see a pic


----------



## moeplz

hiphopn said:


> lets see a pic
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [snapback]936422[/snapback]​


yeah seriously


----------



## taylorhedrich

This was the only pic I could find when I googled it. Sorry it is so small. Here is the link:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/images/thumbnails/th_89857.jpg
I hope it works. Thanks for your input so far.
~Taylor~


----------



## Ccoralli

wait till Acestro reads this, he knows alot about them, listen to him


----------



## taylorhedrich

Great!! I'll be looking forward to Acestro's reply. Thanks for the referral. I wasn't sure if anyone would know much about them, because they seem to be uncommon.
~Taylor~


----------



## hiphopn

taylorhedrich said:


> This was the only pic I could find when I googled it. Sorry it is so small. Here is the link:
> http://www.liveaquaria.com/images/thumbnails/th_89857.jpg
> I hope it works. Thanks for your input so far.
> ~Taylor~
> [snapback]936562[/snapback]​


thats not a pic... thats a little dot on a big white page :laugh:


----------



## taylorhedrich

Really? Nobody knows anything about these fish? I thought that ya'll would.
~Taylor~


----------



## jamesdelanoche

these fish arent very common, at least not on the internet. They are an interesting fish and I want them, I want to get a large tank to have a few of them. go with a 6 foot tank and get like 3-6 and i think you'd be good. They are jumpers so yeah, but some species actually get more spooked when they have a cover, because they are open water fish. The ones i've seen, arent skittish at all, i went and stared one in the eye for like 5 mins and it just stared back at me, twitching, i instantly fell in love with these fish.


----------



## weidjd

Copyright Tom Lorenz 2k2


----------



## Ashfury

amazing i want one


----------



## taylorhedrich

Maybe I brought ideas to ya'll. Maybe anyone out there can use this information now, because I decided to get a shoal of Pygocentrus nattereri (red bellied piranha) instead for my 130 gallon tank.
~Taylor~


----------



## freakgasolinefightaccident

damn i shoulda taken a picture of mine...it just got eaten two days ago by my girlfriend's shovelnose cat. One of my tanks sprung a leak and the end result was those two living together. Anyways,i think it would be good to mention that as they mature these fish are extremely hard to wean on to anything but live fish. The freshwater 'cuda, although predatory and dangerous towards smaller fish, i'd say should not be housed with larger more agressive predators. In my experience these fish are actually very timid and are easily stressed by more outgoingly agressive fish. At the lps i was working at we sold them for 34.99 canadian and 14.99 when on sale. I'd also add that this fish should be kept in well oxygenated water with a relatively strong current. That's all, nice work taylor.


----------



## acestro

weidjd said:


> Copyright Tom Lorenz 2k2
> [snapback]941857[/snapback]​


Always nice to see my fish again!

See this link:

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=9881

I'd do a school of them if I were you, much more interesting that way.


----------



## acestro

taylorhedrich said:


> Maybe I brought ideas to ya'll. Maybe anyone out there can use this information now, because I decided to get a shoal of Pygocentrus nattereri (red bellied piranha) instead for my 130 gallon tank.
> ~Taylor~
> [snapback]952537[/snapback]​










another tank wasted on _those _characins...


----------



## $PiRaNhA MaN$

Scolopendra said:


> I see the prices range from $35-$55 depending on availibility....the latter being a bit high in my opinion. I had no problems raising one in a 45 long by itself.
> [snapback]936395[/snapback]​


They dont have to b that pricey if u buy them small but if ur talkin bout like when u have to but them feeders nd what not they ur right!!! Cuz there bout like 9.99 here in springfield pa when there bout 1 or 2 inches!!


----------



## $PiRaNhA MaN$

But else wise the red-tail barracuda yea its cool, so go wit it!!~!!!


----------



## taylorhedrich

$PiRaNhA MaN$ said:


> But else wise the red-tail barracuda yea its cool, so go wit it!!~!!!
> [snapback]961461[/snapback]​


I already decided that I'm gonna get a shoal of 6 Pygocentrus nattereri (red bellied piranha) for my 130 gallon aquarium, so this post is information for anybody else who is interested in these fish. 
~Taylor~


----------



## benJii

from what ive heard that fresh cudas are fairly non-aggressive and very skittish, they will just hide like the whole time.


----------



## taylorhedrich

Tibs said:


> from what ive heard that fresh cudas are fairly non-aggressive and very skittish, they will just hide like the whole time.
> [snapback]962017[/snapback]​


Yup, that's one of the reasons I turned them down. They aren't even fun if they are gonna hide all the time.


----------



## benJii

why would u get 6 rbp's?get a shoal of pygos wit srbp,terns,caribe,piraya, and rbp


----------



## MR.FREEZ

nice profile, add it to the link acstro put up there


----------



## acestro

MR.FREEZ said:


> nice profile, add it to the link acstro put up there
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [snapback]962923[/snapback]​


A lot of it is good info but it is (admittedly) copied and pasted from somewhere else.



> the Red Tail Barracuda should only be housed with other more aggressive predacious fish of similar size


This is a dangerous statement that shouldn't be included. No aggressive fish need to be mixed with these guys. It can work in large systems sometimes, but only by experts. Some of the more peaceful cichlids do work with them as well.


----------



## MR.FREEZ

acestro said:


> *A lot of it is good info but it is (admittedly) copied and pasted from somewhere else.*


awww, ok


----------



## taylorhedrich

Tibs said:


> why would u get 6 rbp's?get a shoal of pygos wit srbp,terns,caribe,piraya, and rbp
> [snapback]962733[/snapback]​


I'm sticking with 6 Pygocentrus nattereri (red bellied piranha), because that's all that my local fish store carries, and I'm not really close to any other pet stores, as I'm in the Boonies in MI. I'm too cautious about ordering piranha through the mail as well. It sounds real risky, and stressful. If I had my choice, I'd go with a shoal of 6 Pygocentrus Cariba, as they are my favorite, unfortunatly, I can't find a fish store near me that sells them.








~Taylor~


----------



## benJii

taylorhedrich said:


> Tibs said:
> 
> 
> 
> why would u get 6 rbp's?get a shoal of pygos wit srbp,terns,caribe,piraya, and rbp
> [snapback]962733[/snapback]​
> 
> 
> 
> I'm sticking with 6 Pygocentrus nattereri (red bellied piranha), because that's all that my local fish store carries, and I'm not really close to any other pet stores, as I'm in the Boonies in MI. I'm too cautious about ordering piranha through the mail as well. It sounds real risky, and stressful. If I had my choice, I'd go with a shoal of 6 Pygocentrus Cariba, as they are my favorite, unfortunatly, I can't find a fish store near me that sells them.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ~Taylor~
> [snapback]964502[/snapback]​
Click to expand...

LOL find em in a store, thats unlikly. i think if u ask everyone on this site there LFS only carries RBP, with the occasional really good pet store that MIGHT carry a rhom. Maybe if u get a good LFS they can order u one.


----------



## taylorhedrich

Tibs said:


> taylorhedrich said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Tibs said:
> 
> 
> 
> why would u get 6 rbp's?get a shoal of pygos wit srbp,terns,caribe,piraya, and rbp
> [snapback]962733[/snapback]​
> 
> 
> 
> I'm sticking with 6 Pygocentrus nattereri (red bellied piranha), because that's all that my local fish store carries, and I'm not really close to any other pet stores, as I'm in the Boonies in MI. I'm too cautious about ordering piranha through the mail as well. It sounds real risky, and stressful. If I had my choice, I'd go with a shoal of 6 Pygocentrus Cariba, as they are my favorite, unfortunatly, I can't find a fish store near me that sells them.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ~Taylor~
> [snapback]964502[/snapback]​
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> LOL find em in a store, thats unlikly. i think if u ask everyone on this site there LFS only carries RBP, with the occasional really good pet store that MIGHT carry a rhom. Maybe if u get a good LFS they can order u one.
> [snapback]964533[/snapback]​
Click to expand...

I know that my pet store has ties to breeders around the country, so maybe I can specially order a shoal of 6 baby caribas. That would be awesome. That would be a really good idea, because then they could order extra for other people around, and then the fish would have time to recover in the store tanks, and if a few died, it would be to no affect to me, because they would have extra anyway, to sell after I made my purchase. In other words, I'd have a good chance at getting healthy babies. As you already know, I don't like the idea of having my babies shipped. That's something that I'm definatly going to check out the next time I am in town......








~Taylor~


----------



## benJii

best of luck to ya, generally if u want something enuf bout any LFS can order u some, but some stores(like myn) refuse to carry highly aggressive or large fish


----------



## elTwitcho

Tibs said:


> i think if u ask everyone on this site there LFS only carries RBP, with the occasional really good pet store that MIGHT carry a rhom. Maybe if u get a good LFS they can order u one.
> [snapback]964533[/snapback]​


I've seen rhoms, gold spilos, sanchezi, red bellies, manuelli and now elongatus at my lfs


----------



## benJii

elTwitcho said:


> Tibs said:
> 
> 
> 
> i think if u ask everyone on this site there LFS only carries RBP, with the occasional really good pet store that MIGHT carry a rhom. Maybe if u get a good LFS they can order u one.
> [snapback]964533[/snapback]​
> 
> 
> 
> I've seen rhoms, gold spilos, sanchezi, red bellies, manuelli and now elongatus at my lfs
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> [snapback]965102[/snapback]​
Click to expand...

omg lucky. i wish myn was that way. u have one good LFS there.when i asked them if they could order me some p's, they didnt even know there was more than one species lol


----------

