LFS + Pacus!!!

S

sardesign

AC Members
Sep 28, 2005
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Phoenix, AZ
Get this... I walked into the LFS I don't go to often anymore and noticed one of the front tanks had 15 red bellied pacus in it. I walked to the back of the store to find some rock and check out the other tanks... and they have another four tanks with about 25 to 30 pacus in it. No one was really around to talk to so when I checked out at the counter I asked the women there about the pacus. She said it was a few shipments... apparently people are buying these things by the masses. How in the world can that many people in one area handle a fish like that? Just figured I would share. It kind of scared me.

P.S. All of the pacus were at least 8". They were in gigantic tanks but I think they were way overstocked.
 
How in the world can that many people in one area handle a fish like that? Just figured I would share. It kind of scared me.
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Unfortunately most people can't handle them and most either don't know or don't care. The list of fish that folks shouldn't buy goes on and on, but people still buy them. Irredescent sharks sell in every pet store big box and mega-lo-mart I go into. In many cases the store employees don't know what they are selling either. I recently stopped at an LFS that had tiger shovelnose cats listed as medium size when they were 6 inches long. That in itself would give most folks the impression that they topped out at 12 inches or so. When I asked about it I was told that TSn's don't usually get too large. It's just one of the things that happens too often in our hobby and all we can do is keep trying to educate folks and treat our fish well.
dave
 
That is really sad. I wonder if they inform people of the fish at their time of purchase?

I asked recently at my LFS what the most "returned" fish are...which ones people try to bring back the most when grown...their answer was "Pacu's, Oscars, Bala Sharks, Common Pleco's and Blood Parrots"

The blood parrots surprised me. I don't know why it surprised me. I have 2 in my 75 gallon. Just FYI- I didn't purchase the blood parrots nor choose them. My friend purchased them right after my tank cycled for a bday present for my daughter. I know what they are, but have grown attached to them. I guess it's a good thing I will be getting my 125 sooner rather than later.
 
I'm surprised the blood parrots are on the list, they seem popular. I wouldn't return mine by any means.
 
Onikun said:
maybe they buy the big ones and eat them.
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I can only hope so.
 
Hrafnkel said:
I'm surprised the blood parrots are on the list, they seem popular. I wouldn't return mine by any means.
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It surprised me too. But..then again, if you look at a full grown one and consider a lot of people try to shove them into 10 or 20 gallon tanks, I can see why they are returned. They do get rather large. I also asked what they thought their average customers tank size was and they say around 10-15 gallons. Imagine trying to shove a Pacu or a Blood Parrot in that!!! Yikes.

As for the Pacus...I really don't think they should be sold so readily. I wish there was some way to prevent those without appropriate housing from purchasing them. I know that won't happen though.

Perhaps they are just a new delicacy in that area?? LOL. Eating them would be a much kinder fate than cramming them in inappropriate tanks! :rant:
 
Oversized Fish

What most people don't understand is that fish are not "low maintenance" pets. Then there's always the "fish will grow to fit their environment" myth...
 
Well the bright spot of hope for that LFS is that they do have a sticker on the tank saying... "Pacus can grow to 3 feet. They need a minimum of 200 gallons to house them". At least they have that much... although I think they should say "500 gallons" instead of the 200 they stated. I would hope the "200" would scare most people off anyway since tanks that size can start to become expensive. From what I've read, it seems they can grow larger than that too... somewhere in the range of 3-5 feet.
 
graphicdesign_r said:
What most people don't understand is that fish are not "low maintenance" pets. Then there's always the "fish will grow to fit their environment" myth...
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Why do you think there are so many goldfish that die every year. They stick them in bowls and think they will only grow to the size of the bowl.
 
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