what to do with pacu

[philc21]

this is the first fish i bought without researching first and what a mistake it was ive got a pacu in my tank now its incredibly aggressive stealing food even from my turtle who attacked this fish the first day i put it in hes fine in the tank hes not violent to the other fish its just i hear he gets enormous does n e one have any idea on what i can do with him when he gets to big to my tank i doubt my lfs would take him if n e one knows n e thing help would be appreciated

 

[William]

How big is he?

and how big is the tank hes in?


Call around to all your LFS's, someone should be able to take him. If not, check around.. see if any big business or anything have larger southamerican type tanks that they may want a pacu for.

If nothing else try the classifieds

 

[BrianNY]

Ahhhhh Pacus. I really like em . They don't big at all, they get huge!!!! And they are voracious eaters. Many of the lfs here on LI keep them in show tanks. I'm sure there's one in NJ that would be happy to make you a trade.

 

[TankGirl]

Don't feel bad! We have all done this, and that's how we learned about researching first.

I like Brian's idea about trading the fish for store credit. Also many restaurants maintain large show tanks and keep pacus, so there is a market for them.

 

[ferret]

Find a pond

 

[dustybrannum]

I had a pacu in my 180 that got to where he could barely turn around easily but he was like 15 years old. he finally passed on but a great fish, he ate from my fingers.

 

[madasafish]

--> 30 inches in the wild!!!!!

Measure that out with your hands! That's almost half my height!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[D-DAY]

Find a pond

Exactally.

I did the same thing. I had an 80 gal and it got ruined by a 13" Pacu I got from Wally World. He was put in a pond, where he was shortly thereafter caught. I miss that monster. When I was taking him out the tank I had to put on those high voltage electric gloves to get a good grip on him.

I want another one, but I would definately need at least a 150 gal tank before I attempted it again. Maybe in a couple years I'll try again.

 

[ferret]

Find a pond people don't fish at

 

[William]

Dig a 1000gal pond in your back yard and put the Pacu in there with some koi.

 

[D-DAY]

ferrett, In a few years that pond will have 2 foot long ill-tempered bream with teeth.

 

[Sati]

Maybe I have a bad sense of humor right now but let's not joke too much about putting this fish in a pond. The invasion of non-native plants and animals can turn into a very large, very expensive, potentially irreversible environmental hell.

 

[William]

Home made pond, not a natural pond.

 

[ferret]

Home made pond, not a natural pond.

Roger.. Although Oscars and pacu's are already in tons of natural ponds too. I'm seriously not joking about putting them in a manmade pond... I know a LFS that keeps their oscars and pacu's in a big indoor pond instead of tanks. I'm gonna have an oscar and/or pacu pond one day. Koi are too typical. And when the neighbor's dog falls in, I'll protest innocence.

 

[Fruitbat]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Sati. People who dispose of unwanted tropicals in outdoor ponds (manmade or natural) are the ones who prevent us from keeping pirhanas, snakeheads, walking cats, etc., etc. I've kept pirhanas, snakeheads and a walking cat before and surely would again if I had large enough tanks AND if I could get them LEGALLY! Unfortunately because of folks who get tired of their tank-buster pets and dump them into the wild...I can't legally possess ANY of the above named (and a whole giant list of others).

 

[christerrell2k3]

You think a Red Devil would live in a pond or creek?

 

[philc21]

this things growin fast i bought it about 2 weeks ago it was probly 2 inches then its already at least 3 iinches i was just makin sure i found sum info b4 it was too late and i was stuck with this huge fish with nuthign to do with it thanx guys ill look around for lfs

 

[D-DAY]

I have to agree wholeheartedly with Sati. People who dispose of unwanted tropicals in outdoor ponds (manmade or natural) are the ones who prevent us from keeping pirhanas, snakeheads, walking cats, etc., etc. I've kept pirhanas, snakeheads and a walking cat before and surely would again if I had large enough tanks AND if I could get them LEGALLY! Unfortunately because of folks who get tired of their tank-buster pets and dump them into the wild...I can't legally possess ANY of the above named (and a whole giant list of others).

As a rule of thumb, anytime an agressive non-native species is imported into a new country, trouble will ultimately follow. This goes for animals and fish alike. The above named fish for all practical purposes should have never been imported in the first place (and should never in the future). They are a plague and a nusiance in their native lands and would be an environmental disaster here.

 

[deli_conker]

I had a tank way back and when I had to tear it down I took all my fish to a lfs and traded them for store credit. I had since lost the receipt for it, but I'm pretty sure that the fish didn't up flushed or in a pond (natural) somewhere. I think it's the next best thing to do aside from giving the fish to a friend with a bigger tank...

I have no objections to somebody digging up thier backyard and stocking it how they like. To each thier own. There's a big difference in building a pond and adding what you like versus throwing exotic fish into an already established natural habitat.

Fruitbat: Is that a Texas law that prevents you from owning fish like that?

 

[D-DAY]

I have no objections to somebody digging up thier backyard and stocking it how they like. To each thier own. There's a big difference in building a pond and adding what you like versus throwing exotic fish into an already established natural habitat.

Even if you dig a pond specifically for exotic fish the problem still remains. Birds, floods, and other natural carriers easily transport these fish to other established aquatic environments. All you need is time and to allow nature to take it's course and the end is the same as someone dumping their fish in a random pond.