red pacu

[midcuk]

is there anything these fish wont eat, they are the smallest fish in my large community tank and yet they eat everything in site its a job for the rest of the fish to get any, i put grapes, cucumber, cherry tomatoes in for the pacu all gone algae wafers and flake for others, frozen krill , bloodworm beefheart, live brineshrimp, even cheese , bacon , (not recommended i know but i have good filtration) they never leave any of it and they never seem to fill up **** them fish can eat, any reccomendations on how much you should feed because i dont want to overfeed and plllute the tank

ps the tank is heavily planted with swords, crypts vallis etc and they dont seem to eat them thank goodness

what is there favourite food ?

they were about 1" across when i got them 2 months ago and they are now 3" and looking very healthy

[demon_surfer]

most fish will eat just about everything that you put in the tank with them. well everything that they DO eat if you get what i mean.
some people recommend you take 5mins and put in a little bit of food and when they eat it abit more, untill 5mins have gone by. But just so long as you see that everyoen is getting some food then you are probably feeding them enough

I just though to would mention in case you dont know that red pacu can get up to 3 feet long in aquariums and they do so pretty fast. just a heads up incase you were unaware

[brianfl]

There is a reason they are eating everything in sight. They won't be the smallest fish in your community long. They get very large.



Red Pacu (http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/fw/profile.asp?filename=pacu&404=redirect)

[cdawson]

I hope you plan on getting a 500g tank soon because that's what they're gonna require dude.

[Andy16]

or even better, a 500 gallon indoor pond.

[Tightdog1]

What size tank are they in?

yes i hope you have big tank i mean big!! bkuz i got 2 "red hook silver dollars" petsmart only to later realize they were red bellied pacus!! so now im screwed and so are the pacus, i got 2 in a 55g and i cant get a bigger tank and none of the lfs want them and im not gonna put them into a lake or stream. so usut dont get screwed like i did!

[Andy16]

I bet some body will take then tight dog. Maybe in the classified ads section you could make a new thread.

[ChilDawg]

You must be feeding well, because Pacu do tend to KO plants, according to my research and reading. I would recommend a much larger tank for them, for reasons elucidated above.

[cdawson]

I still fail to understand how local governments don't regulate the sale of animals like the red pacu and red tail catfish. They're obviously monsters and very few people can actually house them. However, I see red pacus and red tail catfish at fish stores on a regular basis. They should be the type of animal that needs a special permit to own.

[750t]

Walmart has a tank thats always full of little pacus. The sign says will reach 6 inches Ha. Walmarts need to hire a fish expert. Your very correct these fish need to be regulated. My lfs has 14 inch pacu a great looking fish,oh if I just had a three hundred gallon tank.

[ChilDawg]

I dislike the idea of allowing the government to regulate those types of fish because it gives them power that might be abused over other portions of our hobby...

[brianfl]

Agree with you cd, I wish the lfs would let the consumer know. I once bought an Irid Shark and the other day bought a pacu. Neither time did the lfs (two different lfs) warn me of potential size. Fortunately, I have a tropical pond where they are housed. However, the lfs didn't know that.
Interestly enough, I saw tank full of Irid Sharks at a national pet chain and they listed potentail size at 8". Maybe in the first six months :) I don't want government intervention, but I do encourage responsible business practices.

[ChilDawg]

Interestingly enough, I remember a convo with cdawson where the U.S. govt wouldn't let Canadians import Bio-Spira...

Hopefully, businesses will catch on that they are wrong and need to do a little more research...or else people like us won't buy there any more! :)

[biba]

hi biba here i have a 6foot tank and a pacu red bellied who i have had for 2 years he was 5 inches when i got him and is now 24" eats everything in the vegetable line but we feed him crab sticks 4 everyday as they are full of protein and seem to keep his hunger at bay if any of the smaller fish get ill he will eat them straight away! but is friendly and loves to be petted probably the softest fish i have ever had but am desperate to rehome in a larger tank but not a store as they give people the idea that they dont grow too big or try to sell them off as piranhas if you have any advice please forward but if you have a pacu believe me he is going to grow at a fast rate

[biba]

I still fail to understand how local governments don't regulate the sale of animals like the red pacu and red tail catfish. They're obviously monsters and very few people can actually house them. However, I see red pacus and red tail catfish at fish stores on a regular basis. They should be the type of animal that needs a special permit to own.

yes i live in cornwall england and our stores sell them off and as a owner of a large 26" rb pacu which was 5" 2 years ago it makes me mad that they dont let people know the extent of care these fish need and the growth rate of them

[Sammie7]

This is why they sometimes end up in local waterways, because people just throw them out when they get too big. I heard of a story where a man caught one while fishing somewhere in the mid west, I believe. Totally out of the native/ natural waters where pacus should be located.

[Mahorela]

It's frustrating that stores don't properly inform people of the potential for the fish they buy, but it's even more ridiculous that people buy these animals without knowing a darn thing about them.

[Shocker6966]

The same is true in any area of pet hobbies. Dogs get have needs that aren't met by every dog owner, macaws are kept in cages intended for conures, burmese pythons are sold to 13 year old kids with earnings from their paper routes. Education is what needs to be pushed, not regulation.

[midcuk]

soz just saw this thread again been of the net for ages stupid isp, its a 200gallon tank and all the plants have gone now , thought it was too good to be true and yes they are growing very fast :)

[TimmyB42386]

Whats frustrating is that people don't research animals before hand. Responsible Business Practice is one thing, but the fault most certainly doesen't fall on the business alone. There are a million threads about this, but unless you want the government to intervene in which species hobbyists can and can not keep in a home aquarium, it is ultimately up to the consumer to research an animal before they purchase it and responsibly home it. And then you can say, "well the local fish store said it would only get this big..." I say it is irresponsible to listen to the local fish stores suggestions on size, because they make $8.00 an hour and the majority know nothing any more complex than 1 inch per gallon rule, (not all, I have come across some VERY knowledgeable employees). Point is, Ichthyologists will not be frequently working as aquarium shop employees, and unless you want to pay 15 dollars per neon tetra for excelent advice, do your own research, don't impulse buy, and don't expect to get flawless information from your local fish store employees.

[jm1212]

The same is true in any area of pet hobbies. Dogs get have needs that aren't met by every dog owner, macaws are kept in cages intended for conures, burmese pythons are sold to 13 year old kids with earnings from their paper routes. Education is what needs to be pushed, not regulation.
and they break out of them too! their beaks are like wire cutters and probably twice as strong.

back on topic
there are numerous places in Florida and other places in the southern US that have ponds full of tropical fish, probably because the owners didnt do their reasearch and didnt realize that their black pacu and common pleco would get to big for their ten gallon tank.

[Marinemom]

While it is unfortunately true that some employees of the lfs do not know thier stuff and either give the wrong information or no information at all, it is also true that some or more of the resposibility for obtaining the info is on the consumer. I cannot stress enough how important reserch before purchase is. I have also run across several customers in the lfs that no matter what you tell them, they do what they want anyways. Case in point when I was at work last night I told this one couple that they were in the middle of a cycle and they would have to wait before adding more fish. I also told them based on the info. they gave me to bring me a water sample in and we could see where in the cycle they were. They said that was fine and walked away only to go to someone else in the place and unbeknowest to him got the fish they wanted. There are usually two sides to every coin and tell me this is not frustrating.

Marinemom