Pacu doubled in size

[amerpatrt]

I got this Pacu about two weeks ago and it has doubled in size. Mostly in the belly area. I don't know exactly what variety it is, it has an orange belly, and I don't know what gender it is either. Is there a chance that this Pacu came from the store pregnant? I have no other Pacus in the tank. If it's constipated then it doesn't show any other symptoms, and I have fed veggies regualrly from the get-go; peas, spinach & zucchini along with the other fishfood. Maybe this is normal growth for a Pacu? I've never seen anything grow so much so fast. Thank you for your time,
~Dawn :eek:

[SimonWoodstock]

By doubled in size, mostly in the belly....do you mean it appears to be bloated? About how long did it take it to reach this size?

It may be a parasite or some other type of infection. Also, its probably a red belly pacu. Just do a search for red belly pacu on google if you want to identify it.

[petcrazy213]

How big a tank do you have it in? How big is the fish? How often and how much do you feed it? Did it's belly get wider or longer? You do know that these fish get HUGE? Like you will eventually need a couple hundred gallon tank for a Pacu ... ANY pacu.

[Seattle206]

when I first got my red belly pacu it was about the size of a half dollar. The thing was tiny. I've had it for 3 and a half months now and its almost 8inches. Whenever it ate when it was young its belly would get fat, it looked like a fat slob laying floating around. If you have a red pacu it would do good in a 150gallon because its not going to reach anymore than 18inches unless you have a several hundred gallon tank.

[amerpatrt]

Thank you for responding!
Okay, I had no idea he/she was going to get so big! Wow- another excuse to get bigger aquarium! That explains it all- I feed well and he/she eats well.
We have marveled at the daily growth of the Pacu, both in depth & width. I look forward to 'growing' with her (with larger aquariums). Tahnx again!
~Dawn :dance