HELP Red Bellied Pacu Re-ehome

[sharkweek178]

Oh yes. I share this video here sometimes too. This devastation is the result of people dumping fish they don't want and won't take responsibility for, into non-native ecosystems.

It's a pretty horrifying watch, and it's hardly a rare event. Look at snakeheads that were dumped in the US. Goldfish are invasive all over the place, outcompeting native species and changing the ecosystems they invade entirely. People dump their kids "Goldie" when it's too big or the kid is bored of it, and think they're being kind. To that one fish. Better to euthanise it than to dump it into waters it doesn't belong in.

Someone once suggested that I dump some pest snails in the local creek instead of smushing them. I asked why would I do that? She said it would be more humane. I asked her if dying of starvation, predation or freezing to death was really more humane. Or if it would be humane to introduce a foreign pathogen to the local ecosystem?

 

[Ichthys]

I remember when British zoos stopped taking in rescue fish. It was in the late 1970s, when the number of people needing their help skyrocketed, and there were far more tankbusters being kept all of a sudden, and all the public aquariums were “full”.
What hurts me the most about pacus is that they’re shoaling fish that need to be in a group. This particular one, like nearly all of them, has been kept stressed on its own for 15 years by an irresponsible uncaring fishkeeper.
Ban them. Make them illegal with consequences severe enough to stop them being sold. The sooner the better.

 

[Back in the fold]

@AdoraBelle Dearheart That video in post # 14 FREAKED ME OUT ! ! !

 

[sharkweek178]

I remember when British zoos stopped taking in rescue fish. It was in the late 1970s, when the number of people needing their help skyrocketed, and there were far more tankbusters being kept all of a sudden, and all the public aquariums were “full”.
What hurts me the most about pacus is that they’re shoaling fish that need to be in a group. This particular one, like nearly all of them, has been kept stressed on its own for 15 years by an irresponsible uncaring fishkeeper.
Ban them. Make them illegal with consequences severe enough to stop them being sold. The sooner the better.

Back in the day, there would always be some guy in the neighborhood who had a baby alligator. And someone would always ask what they were going to do with it when it got bigger. They would always say the same thing: give it to the zoo.
And I would be like, "What, do you think the zoo is sitting around waiting for dummies to give them alligators? I'm pretty sure the zoo is full up on alligators. And even if they did need one, they got a guy they can call for that. They don't need your alligator."

 

[sharkweek178]

I remember when British zoos stopped taking in rescue fish. It was in the late 1970s, when the number of people needing their help skyrocketed, and there were far more tankbusters being kept all of a sudden, and all the public aquariums were “full”.
What hurts me the most about pacus is that they’re shoaling fish that need to be in a group. This particular one, like nearly all of them, has been kept stressed on its own for 15 years by an irresponsible uncaring fishkeeper.
Ban them. Make them illegal with consequences severe enough to stop them being sold. The sooner the better.

In light of the second paragraph especially, I would agree with a ban. Most fish keepers can't take care of a single full grown one, let alone a shoal. As cumbersome as common plecos are, it can still be done. I just think they should make people go out of their way to get one instead of just selling them to people who might not know what they're in for.

 

[simonas]

@simonas ... aside from big fish, which I suspect you think are cool as well as I, if you watch the 2nd U Tube link @AdoraBelle Dearheart linked above, there are several large spotted rays pictured at their facilities towards the beginning of the video

Cheers bud

I was an avid watcher of OFR although I havent bothered for a while as it became a bit repetitive but a great facility and amazing tanks which allow the fish to reach their proper potential

Predatory fins I love and was going to suggest, I think theyre in Long Island arent they which looks localish to the OP

 

[sharkweek178]

I did some reading and it turns out that pacus are being found in the wild in some US states. Fortunately, there aren't any reports of them reproducing in the wild. Yet.