For the Love of Pacu
- Thread starter kdrun76
- Start date
Actually, our pacu are fed primarily pellets. We feed them veggies or fruit for photo ops or to entertain guests. The uneaten bits of veggies fouls the water too much and raises the nitrates faster than we want to do water changes. Once we fed them so much watermelon, that we had an ammonia reading. We also stopped feeding them nuts. They would inhale and swallow almonds without bothering to chew at all. I didn't want to risk an undigested nut clogging up the filtration system.
biboybaka;3597856; said:
Yup!!! When I got to the tank it was a 20 long that contained the pacu a common pleco, a single clown loach and 2 tetras.
I wanted to cry. I was not able to test the nitrates or the GH, they were off the charts. With the water the pacu came home in watered down to 1/4 his water and 3/4 mine I could measure the nitrates at the max on an API test.. 160ppm and a GH of 17 degrees. The original nitrates had to have been in the 5-600 range.
I could not talk the guy into giving me any other fish, only the pacu as "it was the only one that had out grown its tank." I gave him a buisness card for a forum that addresses regular tropical fish and encouraged him to join. He didn't.
I spent 6 weeks acclimating the fish to clean water in a 30 gallon QT tank before putting him into the 210 he lives in now. I didn't think he would grow much, but has grown 1" a month to reach the 15" he is at now.
pacu mom;3596183; said:Their permanent home is being built right now and is a 15' x 4' x 4' Tenecor tank. We won't have to worry about space constraints any more.
Today I was contacted by a Tenecor rep on this forum. It turns out that the tank I purchased through Fishtanksdirect is not a Tenecor tank as I was led to believe. The first quote I received was for a Tenecor tank. Later, some revisions were made, and discounts given for "the" tank. I failed to notice that the new quote no longer said "Tenecor". Tenecor was the only builder ever mentioned to me. Anyway, I paid out $$$$ for a tank that I don't even know who the builder is. I'm posting this because I wrote the Tenecor rep that I would.
That is a little unsettling PM, I do hope it all works out for you.
My tank will be built by my husband who after I posted this asked, why can't I build the tank as a "sectional"? He spent some time on Solid works making me a drawing so I could understand and making sure the gaskets would hold as we want.... its all good.
Looks like he's made up his mind. The tank will have a seam running the length of it and a monsterous pair of gaskets in the seam. The current plan is for a 8x3x3 which will give us a little over 500 gallons. The beauty of the design is that it can be taken apart if we ever decide to move, and if we ever decide its stimply not large enough he can add an extension into the seam and make the tank as wide as 5'. An 8x5x3 tank would hold closer to 900 gallons. I don't need or want one that big right now, but its nice to know I have options for the future.
Now we just need to find the money for building supplies.
My tank will be built by my husband who after I posted this asked, why can't I build the tank as a "sectional"? He spent some time on Solid works making me a drawing so I could understand and making sure the gaskets would hold as we want.... its all good.
Looks like he's made up his mind. The tank will have a seam running the length of it and a monsterous pair of gaskets in the seam. The current plan is for a 8x3x3 which will give us a little over 500 gallons. The beauty of the design is that it can be taken apart if we ever decide to move, and if we ever decide its stimply not large enough he can add an extension into the seam and make the tank as wide as 5'. An 8x5x3 tank would hold closer to 900 gallons. I don't need or want one that big right now, but its nice to know I have options for the future.
Now we just need to find the money for building supplies.
Awesome that you saved those pacu. I have 2 red belly pacu and I love mine. Soon, I will have a 3rd one that I am saving from a pet store. This poor pacu was in the store for 3 months and I decided to take him. Good luck with your pacu and everybody else that has pacu. They are great fish.
