41-year old pacu
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justonemoretank;3502265; said:That's not what you say in your initial post. How was she supposed to know that if you didn't say it? You say you were feeding them cold cuts, hamburgers, and hot dogs. Now, their menu has changed drastically, because someone called you out on the impact your bad choices had on your fish. In addition, how large was your tank? 1,000 gallons? Because that's about what you'd need for 4 Pacu. Any fish gets aggressive and irritated in a tank that's too small, and a Pacu has big teeth. So, it's no surprise that they turned on tankmates and each other. I'm not saying that they won't eat smaller fish, but the reason they turn on larger fish and each other is normally due to tank size. I realize that they eat anything; they are fish. However, you are supposed to be responsible and feed them what they should be eating. They did not drive to the store and buy hamburgers and hot dogs. That's what you fed them.
Edit: And here, when I say "you," I am addressing Mac 100. Just for clarification.
yeah I guess you're right but I didnt say thats all they were eating, I was basically pointing out...to my suprise these fish were eating whole hamburgers and hot dogs! as part of their diet, I didnt say thats all they were eating. I was feeding them all kinds of veggies from the fridge and mussels shrimp hamburger hot dogs I cant even remember all the food but they happily ate all of it. The tank was a 110, thats pretty big, but when i got these pacus they were 1 inch, they grew to almost 18 inches each in 18 months. I started feeding them large tropical fish pellets when they were tiny and they greedily to my surprise wolfed them down. I never expected the fish to grow so fast, that was part of the problem. I knew they would get big, but not in such a short period of time. I wasnt overfeeding them either, they were big and thats what they ate 2 hamburgers a day split for the 4 of them or 2 hot dogs or a handful of brocoli, colliflower, a varied diet throughout each week. When attempting to keep them on strictly veggies, (because I thought they were only vegetarians at first) they were eating the other fish in the tank even when they were less than 6 inches and the gouramis cichlids were 3-4. They wanted to eat meat.
Have you ever owned these fish before?
1. Fish should not eat large amounts of mammal fat. They are cold-blooded, and cannot digest mammal fat very well. Mammal fat (like butter) is solid at colder temps, so the body temp of the fish, which is lower than that of a mammal, causes the mammal fat to congeal inside of the digestive tract. Whether or not that's what caused your fish to become mean, one cannot say, but they should not eat hamburgers and hot dogs.
2. Yes, you are correct that Pacu are not vegetarian. But, the foods they should be fed include shrimp and fish fillets, as well as some pellets, which contain fish meal. Not hamburgers or hot dogs. They also enjoy veggies. As you said, they'll eat anything.
3. A 110 is painfully small for 4 fish which are 18 inches. Surely you realized, after the first couple of months, that they WERE growing that fast. At that point, it was your responsibility to research, which you did not do. You could have attempted to rehome them, which you did not do. You could have built or purchased a pond, which you did not do.
4. Yes, I have 3. Photos are in my gallery. These fish were ALL rescues.
2. Yes, you are correct that Pacu are not vegetarian. But, the foods they should be fed include shrimp and fish fillets, as well as some pellets, which contain fish meal. Not hamburgers or hot dogs. They also enjoy veggies. As you said, they'll eat anything.
3. A 110 is painfully small for 4 fish which are 18 inches. Surely you realized, after the first couple of months, that they WERE growing that fast. At that point, it was your responsibility to research, which you did not do. You could have attempted to rehome them, which you did not do. You could have built or purchased a pond, which you did not do.
4. Yes, I have 3. Photos are in my gallery. These fish were ALL rescues.
justonemoretank;3502448; said:
the stuff you suggest is easier said then done. I loved the fish, but there was nothing I could do. Here were my options once they got to over 12 inches each(and still growing fast) 1. Let them go in the wild(pond, lake) which is a big no no and they wont live in the cold of winter. 2. Try to give them away to someone or back to the petstore. (which I tried a ton of times.) No one wanted them or had a tank big enough that I knew, the pet store I got them fom and all the other ones around could not take them either...they refused when i asked. So where was there another option.
Honestly though, they were attacking eachother even when they were smaller and younger, even after eating. They are very aggressive towards eachother at times, more so than other species of fish.
I am telling you that none of it was the fishes' fault. You continue to be the victim. The fish are dead, so nothing can be done for them now. However, you can take this, and realize that you should research every single fish before you buy. It was your responsibility! They're just fish, and you seem to be blaming them for growing too large for your 110. Research and planning is not "easier said than done."
As for their aggression, I have never observed this. Now, others may have. I know that their much smaller cousins, the Silver Dollar, of which I have 10, are constantly nipping each other's fins (they're in a 180). They're nippy fish. Fins grow back quickly in good water quality. So, I'm not sure what you're terming "aggression" but I have never witnessed this in a Pacu at all, and even in the Silver Dollars, nothing that would cause me to call it "aggression". They're simply nippy fish, and they have teeth, and they use them.
As for their aggression, I have never observed this. Now, others may have. I know that their much smaller cousins, the Silver Dollar, of which I have 10, are constantly nipping each other's fins (they're in a 180). They're nippy fish. Fins grow back quickly in good water quality. So, I'm not sure what you're terming "aggression" but I have never witnessed this in a Pacu at all, and even in the Silver Dollars, nothing that would cause me to call it "aggression". They're simply nippy fish, and they have teeth, and they use them.
justonemoretank;3502481; said:
I'm curious how big your pacus are because they start off nipping and banging into eachother but as they grow (quickly) those bangs and nips become much more violent and rough. They liked to fight with eachother even from the getgo, but as they built more growth on their bodies they became tougher and able to inflict more damage, like an adult would be stronger than a child. The fights were never about food. Territory... maybe but no one pacu was ever trying to claim any particular part of the tank, they were just swimming all over and banging into one another as if they were raged at times and wanted to fight. At other times(most of the time) they were peacefully and calmly floating next to eachother and looking relaxed.
They were four eighteen inch long fish in a four foot tank. They were bound to run into each other at some point. My Pacu are 20 inches, 18 inches, and 14 inches. They live with a 24 inch Red Tailed Catfish. If you take a look at my gallery, you can see them. They like each other, and do not eat each other. My point is that you have no place to speak on the behavior or temperament of these fish if you confined them to such a small space and subjected them to such dismal conditions. If you had taken it upon yourself to reserach, you would have learned that in one way, most characins are alike: They swim to get away from things. They don't fight. The majority of them are schooling fish, and they swim, fast, to get away from danger. You can't take the instinct to swim fast in another direction away. That's probably what they were doing, and they needed more room to do it. They ran into the sides of the tank a lot, right? And as they got larger, their noses were all mashed up from hitting stuff. It's what they do. This goes back to research. Take some personal responsibility. Just research before you buy. As I said, nothing can be done. You can argue with me all you want, but I spend at least an hour a day researching fish, even if I don't plan to buy them, but just because I want to know. Add to that the time I spend on MFK, learning about different experiences with different fish. And I'm an English major, which has nothing to do with fish. I have plenty of things to read, but I take the time to learn about the other thing I love. If you truly care about something, you'll learn about it. If you truly have personal responsibility, and want to do right for your fish, you will. I bought a 2 inch RTC with no idea of how large he would grow. 2 years later, he's two feet long, and we built him a pond to live out his life in. It's not impossible.
Mac-100;3502495; said:
The banging each other was because their tank was too small and because they are naturally skittish fish they'll dart away and again in a tank that small, it's inevitable for them to hit each other....Like others have said DO RESEARCH even on small neons. It's a beginners mistake and I don't think there is anyone in this forum that hasn't made at least one....Unless everyone in the world starts doing research from the get-go "We Never start out as Experienced Fishkeepers"
(And yes the fish were victims as they didn't jump out of their tanks and order McDonalds & Oscar Myer for Lunch-you did)
Darth Scohin;3502524; said:
Mac 100 does not see the point. He still thinks the fish were out to get him. He doesn't realize that, at some point, he could have prevented the whole mess.
Edit: And I did make a beginner's mistake! I bought an RTC. But, now, I get to enjoy my friendly, happy fishy mistake for 20 years, or however long he lives. Not a bad mistake, overall, if you take the right steps. I love Guido, and I wouldn't trade him for any fish in the world. He's amazing.
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