Whatever happened to Black Pacu?

[robmcd]

25 years ago when I first started keeping fish they were everywhere. I left the hobby for 20 years and now you only see them in public monster aquariums. I dont keep them anymore and dont ever plan to again, but I miss seeing 3 foot gentle giants once in a while.

 

[summer_rain]

i guess people just lost interest... redbellied pacus are common and look better...

 

[VVateverzYo]

yeah they also have a sheep pacu lolz

 

[killerfish]

people got tired of them and thought thay were boring and as thay get huge people want them to have as much color as possible then petsmart and other stores picked up on this and stores competed and the black pacu started to fade people see little two three inch pacu and see one thats silver with red and looks like piranha and other that had no red

 

[ewurm]

Sounds like supply and demand to me. I wish the Red Pacu would fade in demand too. Great fish, just too damn big and messy.

 

[AquataHolic420]

2 Big 18" or so i'd say, Pacu at a local restaurant.. one is red bellied and other sounds like a black, or a red belly in dark mating colors???

 

[Dovii dude]

There are 2 at my local Lfs right now.

 

[aromaster]

I read somewhere that blacks were actually getting rare because of the red bellied ones which were released in their waters and competed with them.
The blacks, being unable to compete with the reds faced a decrease in their numbers

 

[nishant_datta]

I think pacus are cool fish though not for everyone... then again so aren't the arapaima, the channel cat, the RTC, TSN or even the CK. But thats what makes them special... I had three red belied pacus but had to give 'em up as they had out grown my 180. Still I wanna kept these beasts some day in a huge tank...

 

[fahakafunk]

Fish stores would probably rather stock red bellied pacus because people who don't know much about fish buy them thinking they are piranhas.