Help Pacu Really Sick

well he has been this big for the last couple years and never had a issue but i do 10000% agree he needs a bigger tank... how could i move him though .... he freaks out and i dont want him to hurt himself again... he once freaked out along with the other pacu i had when i changed tanks and they knocked themselves out and one died and he lived... he has been threw so much lol... he is a eatting machine as of lastnight and today...im afraid to over feed him though as i know he hasnt had food in weeks besides a couple pellets here and there...but he is attacking the food so thats a great sign... thanks for all your help so far its been great and useful...i went looking at tanks yesterday and im prob getting one soon till then frequent water changes and as much care as possible... should i stop with the meds or no ? im going to try and get a better pic of the extra white skin near his gills... looks like cotton coming out...
 
he looks well enough not to need the meds but keep an eye on him to make sure he doesnt relapse.
having his appetite back is a great sign as well. ive no idea how you would move such a big fish though.
 
lol damn you had answers for everything haha... yeah he is eatting like theres no tomorrow. I need to put the hopefully soon to be new tank in the same spot as well so im trying to figure it all out and how to move him as well... ill keep you guys updated on his condition. thanks alot
 
perhaps if you post about moving big fish in the tropical chit chat section some of the monster fish keepers may be able to help you. :)
 
perhaps if you post about moving big fish in the tropical chit chat section some of the monster fish keepers may be able to help you. :)

thanks, i was starting to think i had my own section for my pacu lol... I was actually doing some searching around so ill search some more and then post.
 
Well update. Still doing good... doing water changes every other day almost it feels like lol.. his fins and the hole he had is growing back and he has a big attitude lol. He is eatting like a horse and doing good. I bought the wood for a new stand for the new tank today and as soon as i figure out what filter/air pump/ lid to get im ordering that and getting the new tank...now just to hope he lives threw the move.. I plan on waiting for alittle to get him stronger for the move... see how he is in a couple weeks while the other tank is cycling
 
Im pleased he is getting stronger and stronger each day.
well done with him and look forward to pics of him in his new tank :good:
 
That was a really nice success story, I'm glad I came in late and read it all and didn't have to worry about him until the next update. It was wonderful to see him getting better in the pics.
 
Yeah it was... watching him like that really sucked. Everytime he got up and started to swim around i was like you can do it!!! lol.
 
Well Heres a long awaited update. If you have read the story or are just reading this now, here goes the story. Well after going threw more things then possible including buying a 180 g glass tank and not being able to get it up to my 2nd floor because of the width of the stairs not allowing to put your hands on the sides of the tank and having to turn and go up steps and only having 2 people on the tank, we couldnt get up the steps. Now i work out ALOT and it wasnt heavy on my side although it did weigh i would say between 260-430 depending on what internet site i checked out. It had the thicker glass 5/8-3/4 etc. So after that i had to order a acrylic tank and that took time to build and costs alot more. Turns out the project costed me triple what i originally thought it was gonna cost. So i built my own stand 8 feet long to help support the weight on as many beams as possible. I built the stand strong enough to support the house lol. The fish was really bad and i did water changes threw the whole ordeal almost everyday and he finnally started acting good and doing well and eatting tons. He didnt heal up too fast though. Im guessing because of the small tank and stress and all.

The new tank came in and everything was going good, to help him live since i knew it was gonna be hard on him with everything he was threw me and my brother emptied 1/3 - 1/2 the water out of the 55 and picked up the stand it was on and moved it about 5 feet so i didnt have to net him or move him too stressfully. After all that and what seemed like months and months. The new tank was setup and i already had the filters cycled xp4 and a emp 400 for now. Tested the water and had everything exactly like the tank he was in and then i moved him with a koi/pond net that was still too small lol. He slashed everything and knocked over 10 gallons of water everywhere lol. He did get some scratches and all as i tried to hold him with a wet towel and in the net and move him 6 feet as fast as possible. He hit his head in the same spot of the hole and ripped a few cuts in the top near his fins and also messed up his lip. He did much better then i thought. He old buddy did in a move years ago so i was very worried that he might not make it and i would be stuck with all this new fish stuff that i bought just mostly for him lol. Here are some pics and he has been in the tank about 1.5 weeks. It took him 5 days to realize he could swim and the tank was his and bigger. He stayed in the corner for the first 5 days and didnt eat for 3 days.

Seeing him swim and turn has been great, if he lives and when i move he is getting a giant tank lol. He moves around in this tank like he is only 3 inches long though lol. Its been so great seeing him acting so healthy and he has already healed so much since being in the new tank.

He or she???? has such a personallity, as you can see in the pics of the water that was splashed on the table, ceiling, speakers etc. that were 5-10 feet away. In the pics you can see him at the right ide of the tank which is when he is hungry and wants me to feed him. He even takes food out of my hands and will eat the pellets right out of the bag lol. He eats like mad!

Thanks alot guys for all your help and i hope you get the notification on this and do reply back. Im still finishing stuff on the tank and have kept it bare to give him as much room as possible, the orange cord goes to a hospital tank 55g for 2 plecos that im putting in with him after i know they are ok. I dont take any chances with him anymore lol. Im also thinking of adding another filter, fluval fx5. The water only looks cloudy when the lights on and i know it could be just the whole new tank thing, but we will see in time.
 

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lol damn you had answers for everything haha... yeah he is eatting like theres no tomorrow. I need to put the hopefully soon to be new tank in the same spot as well so im trying to figure it all out and how to move him as well... ill keep you guys updated on his condition. thanks alot


The one time I had to move my Giant Gouramis, (at the time they were about 16") I drained the tank low so they were easy to grab and scooped them up in a clean T shirt I had around.

Right or wrong, it did work with no injurys to me or the fish... them pups were strong though.

Another option might to be to pick up a cheap pond or pool net.
 
oh I'm so pleased you got it all sorted and he's got a nice big home now.

links to the pics don't work though :/
 
Hmm ill fix them, this thread would suck without pics lol.

updated with the pics added. above and below.
 

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Another pic. I couldnt fit them all in one post and didnt know my links were bad so here they all are.
 

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Wow I was going threw some old bookmarks and found this posting again. I updated another post I made about my Pacu and am going to update this one as well.
I recently moved and had to move the Pacu who has been doing great in the 180 gallon. He is about 22-24 inches long at the time of moving him. I didn't have the room for a pond so the best i could fit in the house was a 265 gallon (84" x 24" x 30")tank. He scared me threw the move, cut himself up a little with bashing and thrashing but all is good. He has been living in the new tank for about 3 months. Tanks been 100% dead on with tests and he has a 10-12 inch albino pleco as a friend atm.
He eats only pellets and vegs now. Carrots/broccoli/lettuce/celery... pretty much anything you can find. Last night he ate 1/3 a head of lettuce out of my hand lol.


Working on building the canopy and putting the light on the tank. I don't plan on adding any other fish, there just isnt enough room with him. He hasn't bothered the pleco at all. But he does steal his algae waffers.
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Thanks again everyone for your help. The next house will have a outdoor heated pond for this fish. He is family lol. I spent 1000's after buying the house just so i could give him the best shot on living. New tank/stand/filter/ had to pay people to move the tank from the store to my house, took months to find someone that would do it. I just couldn't find the people to help and a tank this size/weight needs a few people to move it lol.
 

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