I am posting this as a warning to other pacu owners....
While I was home (thank God) I heard a massive commotion in my living room and ran to find an 18" pacu flopping around on the floor!!!!!!
There was water, blood and pacu poo EVERYWHERE. I tried about 5 times to pick him up, but he kept sliding out of my hands and thrashing, when I did get a hold of him and had him 1' off the floor I kept thinking I can't lift this thing 4' in the air to get it back in its tank with out dropping it from that height!!!
Ohhh man,panic, panic, panic... how do you pick up a 4Lb pissed off pacu?!?!?! Wrap it up in something, grabbed a t-shirt out of the laundry (It was my husbands shirt unfortunately, but oh well) Wrapped him and threw him back in..... oh crap, he floating upside down... bad, bad, bad.
He's back in the tank, slow down, look around...what the hell just happened?!?!?! He hit the glass top of his tank hard enough to break it into 2 large sections, one section was slid over the top of the other creating a gap in the top of the tank about 18" wide and 3' long. He's still upside down.... ohhh this is soooooo bad.
By now I am starting to choke up, the sick feeling in my guts was starting....I held him upright and he flipped again, so I just held him upright for about 20 min, while I stood there choking back tears.....and then he swam the length of his tank (7') right side up before flipping upside down at the other end. Its a start. I go to the other end to hold him right side up.
I am holding this fish and just looking around the room, there was water dripping off the ceiling, the light fixtures, the ceiling fan.... there is blood (despite no obvious wounds on the fish) splattered up the entertainment center, the couch, the walls, I am completely covered in blood and then I realized there is also poo every where. The sheer quantity of poo splattered around the house would have made a 2 year old jealous!
This darn fish exploded when it hit the floor!!!! No way is going to live... ohhh man, come on buddy, take another lap, swim little buddy swim, you can do it.... and he did.
This was Monday (7/5). When I tried to feed the tank on Tuesday, neither of my pacu would eat, I wasn't surprised. Yesterday I let them eat a small meal, which they both gobbled up and begged for more. Today I will actually give them a pacu sized meal. He's going to be fine.
Let this be a lesson to all of us...... they jump. They jump hard, and they can blow right through the glass lids of their tanks!
He looks a little beat up, missing a few scales in a few places...but he is just as smiley and happy as ever.
They are in a 210 awaiting the finish of a 540 gallon that is in construction. My Father -in-Law took the saw we were using back (Its his saw) to finish a project of his. I have made arrangements, that saw will be back here this weekend, and construction of this 540 WILL get back under way immediately! I hope to be leak testing before the month is over.
While I was home (thank God) I heard a massive commotion in my living room and ran to find an 18" pacu flopping around on the floor!!!!!!
There was water, blood and pacu poo EVERYWHERE. I tried about 5 times to pick him up, but he kept sliding out of my hands and thrashing, when I did get a hold of him and had him 1' off the floor I kept thinking I can't lift this thing 4' in the air to get it back in its tank with out dropping it from that height!!!
Ohhh man,panic, panic, panic... how do you pick up a 4Lb pissed off pacu?!?!?! Wrap it up in something, grabbed a t-shirt out of the laundry (It was my husbands shirt unfortunately, but oh well) Wrapped him and threw him back in..... oh crap, he floating upside down... bad, bad, bad.
He's back in the tank, slow down, look around...what the hell just happened?!?!?! He hit the glass top of his tank hard enough to break it into 2 large sections, one section was slid over the top of the other creating a gap in the top of the tank about 18" wide and 3' long. He's still upside down.... ohhh this is soooooo bad.
By now I am starting to choke up, the sick feeling in my guts was starting....I held him upright and he flipped again, so I just held him upright for about 20 min, while I stood there choking back tears.....and then he swam the length of his tank (7') right side up before flipping upside down at the other end. Its a start. I go to the other end to hold him right side up.
I am holding this fish and just looking around the room, there was water dripping off the ceiling, the light fixtures, the ceiling fan.... there is blood (despite no obvious wounds on the fish) splattered up the entertainment center, the couch, the walls, I am completely covered in blood and then I realized there is also poo every where. The sheer quantity of poo splattered around the house would have made a 2 year old jealous!
This darn fish exploded when it hit the floor!!!! No way is going to live... ohhh man, come on buddy, take another lap, swim little buddy swim, you can do it.... and he did.
This was Monday (7/5). When I tried to feed the tank on Tuesday, neither of my pacu would eat, I wasn't surprised. Yesterday I let them eat a small meal, which they both gobbled up and begged for more. Today I will actually give them a pacu sized meal. He's going to be fine.
Let this be a lesson to all of us...... they jump. They jump hard, and they can blow right through the glass lids of their tanks!
He looks a little beat up, missing a few scales in a few places...but he is just as smiley and happy as ever.
They are in a 210 awaiting the finish of a 540 gallon that is in construction. My Father -in-Law took the saw we were using back (Its his saw) to finish a project of his. I have made arrangements, that saw will be back here this weekend, and construction of this 540 WILL get back under way immediately! I hope to be leak testing before the month is over.
