Any Pacu Fans?

[beno]

If I had to decide between living in a closet my whole life and a 50/50 chance of being eaten or being able to stretch my legs.....Give me the 50/50.
That's thats just my opinion.

Unless you had access to MFK and one of those wheels you can run on of course

 

[demjor19]

dmed: regarding how that happended, I bought two thinking they would be about the size of silver dollars. Then after I learned how big they would get, about a year ago, I bought them a 75 gallon tank off some guy on craigs list. He was moving and couldn't find a home for his 12 inch pleco, so I offered to take him. After about 3 weeks with the tank up and running it leaked. All over my upstairs. Needless to say my husband was livid. I had to quickly pack all 3 fish back in the 35 and plead, beg, etc for my husband to get over it so we could put them in something bigger. Its a long story, don't get me wrong, I adore fred, but if I had it to do over I don't think I would have gotten him.

is fred the pacu or your husband. j/k

Not sure I follow the humor??? Do you mean pirhana? I'm a vegetarian, its one of the things i love about my Pacu. We jokeingly call him my vegetarian pirhana.

As for a rescue, if you know of any in the north east that will PROMISE not to use him as feeder fish then Please let me know. I have called two local aquariums and they said they would take him but they would probably wind up feeding him to a larger species.

I don't know about you but I would rather live in a cramped house than get eaten by something.

yes he is talking about keeping piranhas.

pacu are pretty much a vegetarian piranha. i love when people see my 22" pacu for the first time! they are always like "whoa...what does that thing eat"...then i throw in a carrot and just smile, while eats it. they are a very cool fish.

 

[dmed]

dmed: regarding how that happended, I bought two thinking they would be about the size of silver dollars. Then after I learned how big they would get, about a year ago, I bought them a 75 gallon tank off some guy on craigs list. He was moving and couldn't find a home for his 12 inch pleco, so I offered to take him. After about 3 weeks with the tank up and running it leaked. All over my upstairs. Needless to say my husband was livid. I had to quickly pack all 3 fish back in the 35 and plead, beg, etc for my husband to get over it so we could put them in something bigger. Its a long story, don't get me wrong, I adore fred, but if I had it to do over I don't think I would have gotten him.

I can't tell you how glad I am to hear you say that! Now for redemption, go park yourself at an LFS and warn all the shoppers!!!

 

[pwmin]

ya, I was talking about a Piranha. They need meat, but you should be able to get them off live food.


I'm not sure how many fish would need a 12" Pacu as a feeder, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

 

[FSM]

Not sure I follow the humor??? Do you mean pirhana? I'm a vegetarian, its one of the things i love about my Pacu. We jokeingly call him my vegetarian pirhana.

As for a rescue, if you know of any in the north east that will PROMISE not to use him as feeder fish then Please let me know. I have called two local aquariums and they said they would take him but they would probably wind up feeding him to a larger species.

I don't know about you but I would rather live in a cramped house than get eaten by something.

What is going to eat a 12 inch pacu? And they are nearly as tall as the are long...

 

[cichlaguapote]

ya, I was talking about a Piranha. They need meat, but you should be able to get them off live food.


I'm not sure how many fish would need a 12" Pacu as a feeder, so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

If I starved my barra for long enough he would probably try.. so would a large cat like TSN/RTC or larger.. 12" isn't really that big even when talking tall body shaped pacu. And lastly some people would have no qualms about chopping that guy up and making him food. So it's possible.

But you shouldn't let that steer you away from trying to find him a good home. I think you should at least try at this size as you'll have better luck now then if you wait til he outgrows the 90g. Sure you have to give him up which is hard but it will relieve alot of stress off of if he gets to 2ft in your 90g, darts and cracks that tank..

 

[IKeepPacu]

I have 4 year old pacu, and I have just moved him to a 90 gallon tank. He's all by himself, and not liking it. His girlfriend died durring apower outage earlier this year and I am contemplating getting him a buddy, maybe an oscar. I've had no success with putting any small fish in the tank with him, he just eats them. I'd love your thougths and suggestions on getting him a buddy. He's a little bigger than 1 foot long.

im not sure of anyone else caught onto this, but a FOR year old pacu, thats barely a foot??

all 4 pacu ive owned have grown to 12" in their first year. if you have a 4 year old pacu that small, your really not doing something right. listen to the people on here who have pacu, like myself. a 90g shouldent house a properly taken care of pacu for a few months. and two biowheel filters will do nothing against a pacu, they will clog up in days if your feeding this guy right.

what exacty is it your feeding him, that he dosent grow at all?? how often you doing water changes??

 

[vivid930]

Fred is my pacu. I had a wilma but she died . I hope he doesn't break the tank! My husband would never let me live that one down. Thanks for all the advice. I used to subscribe to a pacu forum that is now defunct and I missed it alot. Good to talk to other people who have the same interest.

 

[vivid930]

I feed him about 1/2 a cup full of mixed nuts, and 1/4 cup of dried bananas every day. he also gets two to three dates a day and algae chips. he doesnt' always eat all of this and I wind up skimming it off the top. As for water changes, only about 2 times a month. I am sure I need to do it more often, but the water stays clear.
I have tried feeding him other things, like fresh fruits and veggies, and he doesn't eat them. The only fresh stuff I've had any success with is watermellon rind, and cucumbers. He is terrified of lettuce, and hides every time I try to feed it too him.. I have also tried seaweed, and frozen omnivore cubes, which he has to be in a certian mood to eat. I have him trained to come to the top of the tank when he's hungry, and he only does this in the morning.

 

[TheFanatic]

Why are people recommending the OP buy a 200 gallon tank. That will not be big enough. 300 gallons will not be big enough. It needs a massive custom tank or a pond. Such a waste. People should have to have a license to get something like this and prove they can take care of the animal properly...