Are pacu supposed to spook this easy?

Status
Not open for further replies.

brown_snake

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 4, 2013
115
1
18
Australia
I have a red-bellied pacu living in an outdoor pond. At over two feet long, he's hardly what you'd call a baby, but he still seems rather timid nevertheless. I occasionally feed him grapes and walnuts which I toss into the pond. Sometimes, when he's in the midst of swimming towards the treats that I toss to him, he'll suddenly veer away as if he's alarmed by the fact that I'm watching him. Whenever that occurs, I move back a few feet so that he feels brave enough to resume swimming towards the piece of fruit or nut that I've given him. Are pacu supposed to be generally that skittish or is mine something of an exception? Thanks in advance.
 

that_fish_Guy

Peacock Bass
MFK Member
Jul 29, 2013
2,087
313
122
27
CA
Yeah, my yellow belly dwarf pacu bangs the glass when he gets spooked. They are some of the more easily spooked fish. I think it goes away a little bit as they get bigger

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 

tlindsey

Silver Tier VIP
MFK Member
Aug 6, 2011
23,253
24,112
1,660
Ohio
Personally think most Characin are skittish like some of their piranha cousins. :)
 

pacu mom

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2006
3,310
2,105
179
northern CA
My pacu have very vivid imaginations. They spook and freak out on a regular basis. My fish are quite large, but still freak out over some imagined predator. Only slamming into a tank wall or tank lid will bring them back to reality. They always have scrapes from slamming into the tank lids. They slam so hard and move so much water, that I find dried fish scales on top of the tank. Years ago I stopped running into the living room to check the tank every time there was a boom that sounds like an explosion. Thankful for acrylic tanks. They have hit the heavy lids so hard, that they knocked one into the tank. One of my pacus managed to slice off his lower lip by hitting a tank lid that I forgot to put into position.
 

brown_snake

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 4, 2013
115
1
18
Australia
Ouch! That looks like it must have hurt like hell. Did your pacu's lower lip ever grow back?

Yeah, I've heard that pacu are very accident prone due to their tendency to panic easily. So many pacu lovers have posted stories about their giant fish smashing their tanks to smithereens after freaking out. Fortunately, my red-belly lives in a pond rather than a glass tank. Is there anything that you can do which might tamp down their propensity for becoming easily alarmed? Just curious, thanks.
 

brown_snake

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 4, 2013
115
1
18
Australia
I always thought piranhas were supposed to be the bad-asses of the freshwater fish world. Never knew they were supposed to be timid and shy like pacus.
 

pacu mom

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2006
3,310
2,105
179
northern CA
Fortunately, his lower lip did regenerate, and he lost his zombie look. Our pacu are not timid and shy. They are very friendly, extremely curious and enjoy watching everything happening outside their tank. Their spooking out is not related to anything (like shadows), and sometimes we will hear a loud explosive sound at night as one of them slams into a tank lid. I had read that baby pacu should be provided hiding places and coverage. That's not possible for big pacu. Anything introduced into their tank will be eaten or destroyed, or will be something for them to scrape and cut themselves on. If any fish needed to live in a padded cell, it is pacu.

I also have the problem of them smashing/crashing into the tank walls when they are in freak out mode. In their new tank, we are going to put backgrounds on the sides of the tank which hopefully will be a deterrent to them slamming into the sides. I have a theory that they don't see the tank walls and are just trying to swim upriver when they slam into a wall.

My Leonardo de Fishio had such a beautiful grin before he sliced off his lower lip
 

brown_snake

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 4, 2013
115
1
18
Australia
Glad to hear that!How long did it take for the lower lip to grow back?

Also, how did you get your pacus to overcome their instinctive fear and become more friendly and sociable? I'd like to have the same relationship with my red-belly someday, but he still seems somewhat anxious in my presence. Oh well ,at least he doesn't swim away in terror anymore when I approach the pond. Once again, thanks so much.

I was actually thinking of investing some money and getting a plastic cave big enough for my pacu to hide in. After hearing what you have to say on the subject though,I think I'll give it a pass. Never knew that pacus were so destructive towards tank ornaments. I sort of guessed though that they enjoy interacting with their physical environment since mine keeps changing the location of the driftwood that I keep in the pond.
 

pacu mom

Goliath Tigerfish
MFK Member
Jun 8, 2006
3,310
2,105
179
northern CA
His lip regenerated within a few months. Our pacu were 15" when we acquired them in their 55 gallon tank along with their four oscar brothers and two 12" plecos. They were always friendly, in fact, they would push each other out of the way to be petted--just like dogs, so I've never seen the timid shy stuff. Is your pacu intentionally moving the driftwood around, or is he slamming into it during one of his freak outs?

Pacu are extremely curious and check out everything. Not having hands, they only have their mouth and teeth to explore their world. An MFK member's pacu swallowed the suction cup for a thermometer. The pacu required a little assistance in pulled the rubber suction cup out of him. Mine are such idiots, they kept biting through any air lines in their tank. I don't trust my pacu with anything placed in their tank.
 

brown_snake

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 4, 2013
115
1
18
Australia
Ah, that means your pacus were already accustomed to having people in close proximity to them before you even purchased them. I acquired mine when he was extremely small, just about the size of a quarter or so. Maybe that has something to with the fact that he gets a bit nervous when people are around. Regarding your question, I'm not too sure to be honest. Every morning when I'd feed him his algae wafers, I'd notice that the individual bits of driftwood had been shifted all the way to the other end of the pond and also that they had been arranged close to one another. Since I also have an African cichlid who enjoys landscaping her surrounding physical environment, I assumed that my pacu had a similar attitude when it came to interacting with his immediate surroundings.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store