I am new to this forum, so please correct me if I am on the wrong forum? I want to begin growing several Pacu in a 55 gal tank. I know they will outgrow the tank and will need to be transferred to larger tanks. My question is how fast do these fish generally grow? Is it the general rule of one inch growth per month or is it faster than that assuming all conditions are optimum? I would like to know this in order to plan ahead for the preparation time needed for larger tanks. Have they been known to breed in captivity and if so how mature are they when they do begin to breed?
Pacu breeding?
- Thread starter jimhebert
- Start date
Our pacu is 3.5 years old and just under 1'. He grew to probably 6" the first year, then slowed down after that. I don't know anything about breeding them though, from what I've read they seem hard to breed in captivity but I'd love someone to weigh in on that.
thats is extremely slow for a pacu, most will be well over a foot in the 1st year. so if you have more than one pacu they will outgrow the 55 in a matter of months.
I have a question for you: why you want to breeding pacus? I feels that it will add more problems as most of us are having trouble to rehome pacus, even try give them away for free! IMO they are better off as food fish like tilapia and catfish.
Your pacu might be stunted. What are your water parameters, specifically, what do you keep the nitrate level at? High nitrates have been implicated in stunting, failure to thrive, early death, HITH, etc. With poor water quality, i.e., a 75 gallon tank with high nitrates, pacu live about two years. Pacu are long-lived fish that can live 30+ years in the right environment. Keeping nitrates below 20 ppm is the best way to ensure your pacu stay healthy. Our 300 gallon tank is too small for our two pacu. We are now in year three of a big tank upgrade. If your pacu is healthy, it will eventually outgrow your 270 gallon tank.
Why would you want to breed pacu? For food? I have two pacu that are costing me an arm and two legs to house properly. Our two are plenty for us, and we would not consider getting any more.
they are bred frequently in large ponds and things of that nature....it's not going to happen in a 55 gallon
I heard that most pacus do not breed in the ponds without injected with hormones. It seems that pacus do not reproduce in United States especially Florida and Hawaii.