can pacu fish break tank

[abominus]

so my cousin has a pacu in a three foot tank for three months. it has grown a uge size of about 12 inches. recently it has stopped taking its meal and often swims very fast, knocking against the tank, hurting itself and splashing a LOT of water. is it fine or is it unhappy. will it break the tank. my cousin is worried

 

[Deadeye]

It would have to ram the glass really hard to actually damage it, but the potential is there. Regardless, keeping a fish that big (which will only get bigger) in a tank that small will only further hurt the pacu.

 

[tlindsey]

I agree with Deadeye .

 

[abominus]

he had it in a pond before but couldn't manage it. the water kept becoming very green and stinky. he was thinking to shift it back but doesn't know what to do to prevent that from happening again. any advice

 

[Deadeye]

How big was the pond? How often was it being cleaned?

 

[abominus]

12 foot by 10 foot. 25 percent water change every week

 

[abominus]

but the algae wouldn't stop growing. after each water change the water would turn even more cloudier.

 

[neutrino]

So it sounds like the pond was filtered? How much sun does it get? There are a lot of possible factors to water quality, but a UV sterilizer would help control algae.

 

[jjohnwm]

A foot-long fish, fast-swimming to boot, in a three foot tank for three months.

"...is it unhappy..." ????

Gee, I dunno...what do you think? Even ignoring the horribly cramped conditions, that fish produces so much waste just by breathing that it would likely require a 100% water change at least daily to hope to maintain water quality at halfway healthy levels. The thing is probably trying to break the tank just to end its own suffering.

 

[abominus]

A foot-long fish, fast-swimming to boot, in a three foot tank for three months.

"...is it unhappy..." ????

Gee, I dunno...what do you think? Even ignoring the horribly cramped conditions, that fish produces so much waste just by breathing that it would likely require a 100% water change at least daily to hope to maintain water quality at halfway healthy levels. The thing is probably trying to break the tank just to end its own suffering.

i will tell my cousin to do something immediately