Pacu with small fishes

[zapatower]

Hi! I have a tank of 230 gallons, I am wondering if I can mess two pacus of around 16 inches long with a shoal of zebrafish Danio rerio. The tank just have sand in the bottom. I believe that the zebrafishes are faster than pacu and the tank is so big.
I looking forward an response. Thanks.

 

[tlindsey]

Hi! I have a tank of 230 gallons, I am wondering if I can mess two pacus of around 16 inches long with a shoal of zebrafish Danio rerio. The tank just have sand in the bottom. I believe that the zebrafishes are faster than pacu and the tank is so big.
I looking forward an response. Thanks.

If fed Pacu are fed properly I don't see them chasing down like you stated the fast smaller Zebra Danio's.

 

[moe214]

I’d suggest you skip the pacu...

 

[zapatower]

Really, Pacu doesn,t chase to them. So good.

 

[Matteus]

A 230 gal tank is a big tank but unfortunately it is quite small for 1 not to mention 2 pacu.

I love pacu, they have to be one of my favourite fish. That is actually how I ended up here on mfk. But an adult pacu grows to roughly 30” and they need tons of space to swim as they are very active fish. The 230 would work for a while for sure but it isn’t a great idea for a life time of a pacu -20-30 years for some. If you have a plan to put it in a bigger home then it would be great. The danios should be fast enough to stay away from the pacu but you may loose one here and there.

 

[Matteus]

Here are a couple pics of my 16-18”albino pacu I brought to a friends pond with some adults that are estimated at 12-15 yrs old. As you can see the dark ones are easily double the size.

 

[Lsey81]

In my experience with pacu if they can fit smaller fish in their mouths...they'll eat them....the pair I had would actually eat the bodies of whatever other fish I attempted to keep with them....and leave the heads...they would also destroy everything in their paths....they get huge quick

 

[moe214]

In my experience with pacu if they can fit smaller fish in their mouths...they'll eat them....the pair I had would actually eat the bodies of whatever other fish I attempted to keep with them....and leave the heads...they would also destroy everything in their paths....they get huge quick

This is why I said skip them. Everyone is aware of their size, but the behavior is why I'd skip them if you value the other fish. Naturally they're mainly herbivores but are omnivorous and some even stray more towards carnivorous once they get a taste.

 

[EntoStentor]

Okay, tank is way too small. I remember reading once that when keeping Pacus, you have to give at least 1000 gallons a fish. That might be a bit exaggerated but I wouldn't keep them in any less than a 500 gallon tank.

 

[moe214]

Okay, tank is way too small. I remember reading once that when keeping Pacus, you have to give at least 1000 gallons a fish. That might be a bit exaggerated but I wouldn't keep them in any less than a 500 gallon tank.

You'll learn soon enough you can tell people plenty the fish will outgrow their tank, but they won't listen, they thinks it's easy rehiring big fish. No offense towards the OP just something I noticed over the years.