Got a big fish!

[rhetor]

Hello all,

i'm new here! I'm joining because i've revived my somewhat dormant fish tank.

I've had a 55 gallon tank sitting in my kitchen, almost as a main display, and the only fish we've had for the past year have been 3 fish no greater than 3" long.

So, being that me and my friends are half way insane, we dropped $50 on a 17" fish. It's a Pakoo, or something, i have no clue how to spell it. It's from south america according to the fish store.

I appropriately named him, The Fish. He likes eating chunks of peach and pineapple. He's not too interested in the feeder fish i'm tryin to give him, but he's only been in the tank for three days, and was fed at the pet store right before i took him home.

I'm excited to get this fish tank hopped up with some sweet lookin freshwater fish!

 

[astroguy]

looks like your three small fishes will make a good meal for the Pacu!

You will also face a big problem with the nitrogen cycle, since the pacu is quite a heavy bioload...

Wish you luck, but I fear you may face problems...

 

[Menagerie]

My stepfather kept a Pacu for a long time--the only thing I remember is he lived a solitary life and when it died, my stepfather kept saying we should eat it 8O.
I wish you lots of luck with The Fish.

 

[DaPony87]

that Pacu is gunna get HUGE! I suggest you return it to the petstore its only gunna eat everyhitng u put in that tank and then outgrow your tank

 

[Allivymar]

Hiya rhetor and welcome to Aquariumadvice

LOL You ARE insane! Pacus laugh at 55g tanks; these suckers can reach sizes of 3 feet long, and they are almost as wide! In case you're skeptical, this is a pic of my nephew and a pacu at a aquarium; figure the pacu is even larger then it looks as its a good foot behind the kid. Worst part is, they are schooling fish and really need buddies to be happy 8O

As astroguy mentioned, keep a close eye on your water parameters. Pacus are messy eaters and add a lot of waste to the tank as well.

 

[Sati]

Geez Alli, that's nuts! lol. The red belly pacus don't get as large as that one. I think that's a black pacu, right? But still... they're freakin huge.

What everbody else said! I see these fish at Petsmart every time I go there and it just pisses me off. It says on the tiny tag that their max size is 22" but I know they get even bigger than that. Plus I really, really doubt that the pet store is explaining exactly what will be required of this fish. And it's not like you have time to prepare that huge pond or giant tank you're going to need cause they can grow to 1 foot in 6 months. You'd need at least a 200g aquarium. They're very skittish fish too... not a good idea.

 

[BrianNY]

I believe that the red belly Pacus are juveniles of the black Pacu. There is only the one species I think. Before I knew any better (and in a galaxy far far away), I kept 2 in a 55g. They were absolute pigs and ate lettuce, spinach, and earth worms. I must admit they were a fun fish to keep.

The key to keeping them heallthy and happy rhetor, is water changes. Every other day about a third of the tank. Do a good gravel vac with each water change and add a sponge filter to your tank.

 

[Sati]

Really Brian? I thought that the black is Colossoma bidens and the red is Piaractus brachypomum. Gah, I don't know, lol.

 

[Madame_X]

Either way, they're too big for a 55 gallon tank. I think you'd need about 150 gallons just to give one enough space to move around.

Even at his current size, I don't think 55 is enough room for him. Aren't 55's only 13" deep? That isn't even enough room for him to turn around.

 

[grimlock3000]

Ok, everyone is playing a bit too nice...

That fish is way to big for a 55g. It needs to go back to the store, or into a bigger tank (180+). Keeping a fish that large in a 55g is not humane, and the fish will live a shortened and dissapointing life.

 

[BrianNY]

Well Grimlock you are probably right but try and look at it this way. So many LFS sell these fish. Their life will be much less happy and short lived in the lfs. At least rhetor bought the fish and came to AA to find out how he could best care for it.

My 2 lived well over a year in my 55. I doubt they would have lived that long either at the lfs or if someone else had bought them. Granted, I didn't know squat about them at the time, but neither do most people who just go out and buy them.

The really humane thing would be to start a movement requiring any "fish seller" to verify that the person they sell to have the means to support the fish. But I think we all know where that would go. JMO

 

[grimlock3000]

"My 2 lived well over a year in my 55."

Were they 17 inches long though? 8O

Remember, buying "tankbuster" fish at high prices just encourages retailers to stock more of them. Saving one fish from retail might be good, until they order 4 more to replace it

 

[rhetor]

well! thats a big fish!

Maybe a bigger tank is in store.

He deffinitly is a pig. He just doesn't seem to be too interested in the feeder fish.

Thanks for all the advise guys!

It's a red belly, by the way.

 

[BrianNY]

They topped out at about 10 inches Grimlock.

And Holly, I'm not too sure about this but I think Colossoma is a piranha. Maybe Fruitbat can help here. I just know that I've never seen a a juvenile pacu without a red belly and I've never seen a large one with a red belly. Has anyone?

 

[deli_conker]

Wow. That IS a big fish. Do you have any pics yet? How does he turn around? My 55 is 48" wide by 22" high by 12" deep (front pane to back pane). If he's 17" long then he's making some pretty tight turns. I'd say you're going to need a bigger tank...A much bigger tank for that monster.

 

[ferret]

Take it back, and buy an oscar. They're a very similar fish in many ways, but stay under 13" or so .. If you want a big personable fish, this is about the best you'll do with a 55 gallon.. and its still technically pushing it, so you'll have to keep a very careful eye on the tank's water parameters.

Oh, and those 3 small fish are goners either way

 

[PlatyLady]

Wowee! Silly me with my tiny platies and guppies... I forgot fw fish could get so gigantic! How in the world would you net one of those suckers?

 

[QTOFFER]

Rhetor, first of all, I agree with everyone who says that a pacu is way too big for a 55 gal. I don't know why lfs sell these fish since they are nearly impossible to house for all but the most wealthy aquarists.

Secondly, please never use feeder fish unless you have bred them yourself. In the petstores, they are kept in overcrowded unsanitary tanks and almost always carry disease. In addition, they are fed the cheapest, crappiest food, and are therefore devoid of nutrition.

 

[Thaiboxer]

I agree completely with Grimlock. I have a 125 gallon tank that I know isn't big enough for a Pacu. Bring him back to the LFS and get yourself a pair of Oscars. They'll be a lot happier in that tank - the Pacu will eat everything you give him, then he'll eat the glass, then he'll eat the kitchen... pretty soon you'll have a house full! Of just 1 Pacu!

You need a way bigger tank if you're going to keep that fish.

 

[Fruitbat]

There are indeed different fish that go under the name 'Pacu'. All of them are close relatives of the piranhas but do NOT have the razor-sharp teeth of their carnivorous cousins. Pacus are primarily vegetarians and have blunt, peg-like teeth.

The Red-bellied Pacu, Piaractus (Colossoma) brachypomus, is an Amazonian fish that grows to about 24 inches (according to a couple of sources that I have available). This is a commonly sold Pacu that grows too large for most home aquaria.

The Black Pacu, Colossoma macropomum, is also an Amazonian fish but gets larger than the Red-bellied Pacu, growing to 90cm (3 feet) or more and reaching weights of up to 65 pounds. Obviously THIS character is also WAY too big for almost any home aquarium.