im trying to maintain a balanced diet for him and i need suggestions, i feed him currently meat, pellets, and sometime fresh vegetables but i need to know whats healthy since i cant really find much care info on them. Help?
okay i own a Pacu
- Thread starter csepeck14
- Start date
Red belly pacu! this guy is going to get HUGE some people don't know that pacus are vegetarian hence the molars for teeth if u have plants the pacu will eat the plants and u can feed it anything from vegi pellets - frozen krill
Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Sent from my SGH-T989 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
There's ton of info on Pacu's here and online but I'll give you a quick run down as well as move this into the appropriate section which is Other Characins as Pacu's are not Piranha, though the two are closely related.
First thing to know is they get big and I mean huge 30 inches long and better, between that and the deep body which is almost as tall as it is long and that's one monstrous fish. They require massive tanks in a very short period of time as they grow exceptionally fast. They're also fairly messy(high waste output and messy eaters) so your filter has to be good to keep up with them. They're probably one of the least suitable for home aquaria fish available right up there with Redtail Catfish.
As far as diet in their natural habitat they feed on a variety of food. While they'll eat anything they're really better served eating a diet high in vegetable matter and the occasional seeds and nuts(not testicles as they're rumored to eat) won't hurt as in their natural surroundings they eat seeds and nuts that fall into the water quite regularly. It's the reason for their teeth being shaped the way they are as well as their jaw structure.
First thing to know is they get big and I mean huge 30 inches long and better, between that and the deep body which is almost as tall as it is long and that's one monstrous fish. They require massive tanks in a very short period of time as they grow exceptionally fast. They're also fairly messy(high waste output and messy eaters) so your filter has to be good to keep up with them. They're probably one of the least suitable for home aquaria fish available right up there with Redtail Catfish.
As far as diet in their natural habitat they feed on a variety of food. While they'll eat anything they're really better served eating a diet high in vegetable matter and the occasional seeds and nuts(not testicles as they're rumored to eat) won't hurt as in their natural surroundings they eat seeds and nuts that fall into the water quite regularly. It's the reason for their teeth being shaped the way they are as well as their jaw structure.
im building an 800 gallon tank that will hopefully please this guy, if he doesnt seem happy he'll be moving to my grandfathers 2,000 gallon tank :3
see the 2 plants in the background? yeah he ate those, this is just a quick picture from the first night i recieved him in the mail :3 and i love huge fish hence this guy im building an 800 gallon tank for him and maybe some other big fish and if he isnt comfortable he'll be moving to my grandfathers 2,000 gallon tank 
thanks so much for the advice!!
thanks so much for the advice!!
Don't feed him meat. A quality pellet for omnivores is best for him. You can feed him an occasion carrot or grapes or just about anything you throw in the tank will be eaten. My experience has been that anything other than pellets tends to foul the water because our pacus are very messy eaters. Water quality is important to us, so the less debris in the water, the better. I long ago decided that throwing anything in the tank besides their pellets is strictly for our entertainment watching them eat.
Here's old video of them taken years ago when they were much smaller. The water is a mess with pieces of chewed up potato.
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We very rarely give our pacu fruit/veggies, because the water quality suffers. While our mechanical filtration clears out the debris, I'm sure our nitrate level rises faster from the unnecessary extra organic matter in the filters.
Here's old video of them taken years ago when they were much smaller. The water is a mess with pieces of chewed up potato.
/[YT]/WK4BGbjhLhE[/YT]
We very rarely give our pacu fruit/veggies, because the water quality suffers. While our mechanical filtration clears out the debris, I'm sure our nitrate level rises faster from the unnecessary extra organic matter in the filters.
omg thanks so much, what pellet are you currently using? i usually give him some beef heart, blood worms, and shrimp since hes refusing the current pellet i got for him and ive only given him a slice of cucumber, carrots, and peas since i was so confused in what to give him. he's really picky and ive never had to deal with a picky eater before and i thought these guys would eat anything you gave them
I feed mine mostly veggie wafers and some sinking pellets. Mine don't care for anything on top of the water but anything that sinks to the bottom they suck it up like a vacuum cleaner. I don't feed them any meat/fish so they never attack or show interest in any other fishes I have in the tank.
I have mine when they were 8 inches and about 8 months now and they're only at about 14 inches, so I wouldn't worry about having to rush to get a larger tank soon.
I have mine when they were 8 inches and about 8 months now and they're only at about 14 inches, so I wouldn't worry about having to rush to get a larger tank soon.
Feeding meat could make your pacu aggressive... At least that has been a lot of people's experience. Any quality pellet will work. If your pacu is hungry he will eat the pellets. Our pacus grew up eating pond pellets. They now eat NLS sinking pellets... The 10mm size
Due to Pacu's intestinal tract I generally recommend feeding as I said before vegetable matter. Though I should've clarified what I meant by stating that I meant a diet containg vegetable matter and pellets containing things such as Spirulina. Algae wafers I find are taken greedily by Silver Dollars and I imagine Pacu's would love them as well.