Red Pacu sizes

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i have a 15 inch red bellied pacu named squishy....i love him to death . ive had him since he was a month old and now i can do anything i want ot him and with him. i hand feed him, he comes up out of the tank and kisses me he lets me pet him and touch him and i play with him. theres nothing i cant do to my fish. that said, hes alone in his tank now with the exception of a gibbiceps pleco that hides in the daytime and only emerges at night. pacus eat mostly veggies, i feed mine algae wafers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, grapes,cucumbers, and krill. they eat almost any type of vegetable. their digestive system is really bad though. their waste isnt as solid as other fishes so you need to keep that in mind if you puut him with other fish. chances are you will end up doing more frequent water changes. i do partial water changes on my tank every other day. he used to be housed with other fish and i never had a problem. he was never aggressive towards them and he was the largest fish in the tank. ke was with a tiger striped oscar, a salvini cichlid, an arowana, and 2 geophagus jurupari as well as teh gibbiceps hes still with. your tank is probably big enough for the pacu but keep in mind they are very strong. if you have decorations they might get uprooted, he could brak the heater if its a glass one. (i have an external on that connects to the return valve of hte canister filter) be prepared for water to be displaced in large amounts when he turns really fast theres also a possibility he will eat the plants if your tank is planted. also they grow between two and a half and three feet. so if you still want one go for it. just be prepared to have your tank turned upside down for a bit. that said i wouldnt give up squishy for the world hes the most gentle fish ive ever seen. he takes food out of my mouth. i love him to death people knock pacus because they get so big and theyre not as colorful as other fish but honestly in my experience i know them to be gentle giants i think they are great pets as long as you have the room and are ready to do extra maintenance on the tank. they live for up to 30 yrs so they are a long term commitment. if you have anything else you want to know let me know id be happy to help. :)
 
i currently have 2. mr. big is about 28 inches long and about 10lbs. in weight. tiny is about 13 inches long and 2lbs in weight. i got mr. big when was only 2 inches 6 yrs. ago he is a very docile fish loves to eat pellets he's picture is posted in my personal gallery
 
Thank you for the advice.

My tank is 8L x 4W x 2.5H (It is made of acrylic. There is a lip about 8" wide around the top of the aquarium so splashing wouldn't be much of an issue.)

Lookyloo and Pacu Girl, how large are your pacu tanks?
 
so far squishy is in a 125 which is ok for maybe another few months tops. his next home is going to be a tank that im having made special because its not common to have a 3 ft wide tank , but thats what they need to turn comfortably at full grown. so his final home is going to be 8 ft long 3 ft wide and 2 ft high. you posted you dimensions of your tank and that would be fine for a full grown pacu to live in hed be very happy. the question is how many cichlids are in the tank and what types because occasionally the two cichlids and the pacu might get into tiffs. do you have adequate hiding spots for them? and will it bother you if every now and then one of the fish gets a torn fin or missing scale from playing around with the pacu. its not likely that it will happen though I had my pacu with a red oscar and they got along fine if you need anything else i'll gladly help by the way the pic to your left is of my little angel
 
ghostknifefandustin;179456;179456 said:
I dont own any pacus but i have read in a magazine about one that was 24 inches long :WHOA:
i have 11 inch pacu, eat like pigs. Saw some big pacu at singapore zoo. could be around 1 feet plus.
 
First of all, I've raised Pacus but did the inevitable - passed them along as they grew up (14 inches or so)

Largest I've seen was a monster 3 1/2 to 4 footer (had about 2 to 2 1/2 foot tall body) in a small store in Newton, Mass (The store is probably gone now) Anybody remember him? No, I am not kidding, or exaggerating. He was a total monster. (This was about 15 years ago)

Third - That means... all of you people with "2 foot high" tanks... Come on. 2 feet is hardly enough space for a Pacu to enjoy swimming up/down as they enjoy doing.

And as for those who state they are mainly vegetarian. They LOVE their meat. Even in nature.

For those who have read the MYTHS thread, I believe I've just taken care of a few myths about Pacus lol.
 
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