View Full Version : Red Pacu
matty150
10-20-2003, 8:41 PM
about how long will it take before my pacu outgrows my 150??? or how big before he gets uncomfortable, he's about 7 to 8 inches now???? also when i get rid of him whats a good fish to replace him, im looking for something that gets about a foot long max and nonaggressive????
OrionGirl
10-21-2003, 8:14 AM
I don't know the growth rate of pacus, but with most fish it is a combination of food, temperature, water quality, and stressors. If everything is in good shape, early growth is fast, while larger growth (beyond about 1 year) will be slower.
For replacement--are you looking for a single fish, or more? Tinfoil barbs or silver dollars would be a close fit, but will be happier in groups of 3 or more.
matty150
10-21-2003, 10:47 AM
i was looking for just a single fish that will grow to be descent size but not too big. i would like the fish to be non aggressive and pretty active if possible.
oscar(s)?
pacus are skittish.
Rare Cichlids
10-22-2003, 5:28 PM
Another Pacu destined to live a tormented life. If not in your tank, then in someone elses after you drop it off at walmart.
ChilDawg
10-22-2003, 6:28 PM
Well, there is always fileting them. They do taste pretty good...but seriously castigating someone this late after the purchase isn't all that helpful.
matty150
10-22-2003, 6:40 PM
wow so quick to draw stupid conclusions, i work in a pet store so im sure he'll do fine in our 800 gallon display tank. ya and the question still remains......
Rare Cichlids
10-23-2003, 8:48 AM
Sorry Matty. Perhaps I'm just a little upset after having seen nearly a dozen 8-14" Red Belly Pacu that have been returned to just 2 LFS's in my area, this week alone. And when questioned as to what they were going to do with them, I got the ignorant response of "Sell them". Niether place even realizes how big they will get.
I recently adopted a Red Belly that was nearly a 2 ft. and had been kept in a 150g for 5 years. This fish was in terrible shape. His fins were destroyed and he had a massive sore on his nose. So I know first hand what kind of torment most Pacu will go through.
You have to admit that having never talked to you before and then reading your post in which you state "about how long will it take before my pacu outgrows my 150???" and "when i get rid of him whats a good fish to replace him", it would be a stupid conclusion to think that you had a suitable sized aquarium availble for this fish. I'm mean, you said plainly, "when I get rid of him".
Anyways, expect more than 1" per month (possibly 2"). I wouldn't keep a Red Belly Pacu much larger than 12" in a 150g. Assuming you want the fish to remain in perfect condition. I would say 4 months tops before he reaches 12"+. And I'm very glad that this fish will be kept in a suitable sized aquarium.
Good luck
Originally posted by ChilDawg
Well, there is always fileting them. They do taste pretty good...
BAD advice, even in jest. any fish that has been kept in aquarium chemicals is unedible. i'm pretty positive some of the stuff like dechlorinators are carcinogens.
ChilDawg
10-23-2003, 10:43 AM
Hmm, now I'm wondering about the water that they used to raise the tilapia and pacus in my high school. I know the city water was dechlorinated, but I never saw the source pipes nor did I know of any filtration on them. I'll withdraw my comment on eating them, then.
matty150
10-23-2003, 10:56 AM
sorry i snapped at you rare cichlids, i know how you feel i see it happen all the time as well. it will be hard to let him go, i already had to give up my gar. i would love to keep him but i eventually he'll have to go a better home. as far as eating my pet, i dont think i could do it. its the 'killing him' part i would have difficulty with not the eating.
Rare Cichlids
10-23-2003, 11:26 AM
No problem, Matty.
BTW, what fish are currently in the 800g? Is your Gar in that tank?
matty150
10-23-2003, 10:44 PM
no the gar went to another store with a huge tank. the display is stocked with other large oscars, tinfoils, silver dollars, and a couple large pacu. there are many other small assorted tropicals.
MyRequiem
10-24-2003, 12:04 PM
Originally posted by ewok
BAD advice, even in jest. any fish that has been kept in aquarium chemicals is unedible. i'm pretty positive some of the stuff like dechlorinators are carcinogens.
Me and my roomates a an oscar and a couple of crawfish from my friends fish tank and it didn't taste that bad.
my 50 cents
matty150
10-24-2003, 7:47 PM
hehe thats awesome!!!!
yashinfan
10-24-2003, 9:35 PM
My cat drinks the fish tank water all the time and he's still alive (*checks on Jake the cat*). I know Melafix and a lot of other meds say not to use on fish meant for eating. But I don't know how dechlorinator would make a fish unedible. Kinda weird that we're talking about this tho.
matty150
10-24-2003, 11:15 PM
YEAH our cat drinks form our fish tanks all the time to and he's in good health, i thought most medicines were broken down by the liver anyway. remnants in the water would be continually dilluted by water changes. and all dechlor does is break the chlorine bond, or so i thought.
SimonWoodstock
10-24-2003, 11:44 PM
haha, you ate an oscar. i have ate lots of boiled crawfish, but not an oscar before! hmmm, i have to admit after looking at my friends 10" oscars he used to have i did wonder how they would taste:D
speaking of which, i hear they sport fish for oscars in florida. i think people let them free in the wild and they reproduced until they became abundant? similar to snakeheads i guess.
*just read what OG said in the native fish post. i guess what i heard was right if she said it!;)*
sorry to carry the post off the topic further, but i had to comment when i read that! i dont know how fast they grow, but ive seen some full sized ones at the New Orleans aquarium and im sure the big tank at your store will suit him just fine. as for replacing him, i would look into the silver dollar...but that is just me, i like the looks of them.
good luck
i have to partially retract the earlier statement. it wasn't meant to target dechlorinaters specifically, and i did a couple of quick websearches and all i found was an msds for sodium thiosulfate as being an irritant. i KNOW i read something on it somewhere tho, unfortunately it was in my old bookmarks that were lost in a crash. :(
i have also seen bottles of aquarium chemicals of some sort or another that say "not for human consumption" or "not for fish intended to be consumed by humans". there are plenty of chemicals out there that are bad for you and one of the websites i also landed on was an epa website admitting that they didn't regulate the chemicals very well. they also discussed the fact that alot of algae controllers should be labled "pesticides" and treated as such.
i know we have also discussed this topic in the past, and there might be more references for it in a site search. i'm not going to spend all night trying to prove or disprove this theory tho....
i know it's a bad practice for some reason that i encountered previously, good luck if you think otherwise.
sorry for the confusion.
yashinfan
10-25-2003, 4:34 PM
Apparently, down south clown loaches are quite the delicacy!