fish agression

Question
hi
4 months ago, i bought a 5 inch redtail catfish and a tiger shovelnose catfish.
4 months later, the redtail is now 10 inches long and the shovelnose is 6.
since the redtail is double the size, it bullies the other fishes and has gotten
to the point that it is actually trying to bite the shovelnose. i cant divide up
the tank because it is too small if divided and  i dont have a second tropical
fish tank for the shovelnose. what should i do?

Answer
hi Harris:... you are going to have to separate those fish...that redtail can grow to four feet long... it sounds like he/she is well on the way to getting there... It sounds like to me with the massive growth... that it is probably really hungry....you can try to feed it more but you are eventually going to have to get rid of it or buy a huge tank... 300 plus gallons just to keep it.... on the other hand your shovel nose should grow to a max size of about 15 inches... much more... manageable... what I would do if I were you is to contact an aquarium store and see if they will exchange the catfish for store credit so you can buy other fish to keep.... let me know if you have Additional questions... dave....