red bellied pacus

[Doby_the_Dojo]

there wuz a massive pacu at the LFS today, i gess sum guys just dumped it there, it was in a 20 gallon long the poor fish couldn't even sit up i had to try so hard not to just take it (it didn't help that it was free either) well i decided it could find a better home as my tank is already overstocked and i barely know ne thing bout pacus, but for future reference... what's a good size tank? and are they compatible with oscars? and wut kind of water conditions do they prefer? are they social/better in groups? thanx!

 

[Chris_JT]

a good size tank is 180 gallons or bigger, bigger would be better. they are pretty compatible with oscars although my oscars used to pick on my pacu a bit. they prefer slightly acidic water but keeping your water at neutral is your safest bet. they like the temp in the high 70s like 78 or so, and they love to be in groups, however, its nearly impossible to keep a group because of their size, they can grow to over 2 feet in length in an aquarium. i personally would not recommend keeping pacus because they just get to big to fast, and they're also very jumpy or skittish.

 

[LoveMyOscar]

 

[Chris_JT]

you can raise a pacu in a 180 ive seen it done, but your right it is cruel, but 500 gallons for one pacu, comeon now.... i know a guy who rased 2 in a 350 gallon and they did fine, and as far as 1000 to 1200 gallons, yeah maybe for a black pacu.

 

[LoveMyOscar]

...

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I personally think that some fish are too big to be kept captive - no matter what size the tank.

 

[LoveMyOscar]

...

 

[Chris_JT]

they are definately ugly and i wouldnt recommend them either, but some people, including myself, are foolish enough to go out and buy them. i learned the hard way, my pacu grew to 18 inches in under a year.

 

[st.cichlid]

i saw a 2' black pacu 100 gallon = length =heigth but half starved and without a mate it was sad

 

[Delirium]

I have 2 Pacu in a 250g tank.
I have had them in there for almost a year, and they are both around 15".
They haven't grown in a couple of months.
Maybe they will hit another growth spurt sometime.
But they are far away from outgrowing the 250g.
I am saving right now for an 800g to keep them in just in case.

Mine have been with oscars the whole time and they have picked up Oscar behavior. They are great! I love'em so

 

[Doby_the_Dojo]

YIKES! i knew they got big but not that big! well it is good i didnt get him then isnt it, altho i feel terrible that he is in that 20 gallon, i gess wen you think about it, fish like them should only be in the wild, i'm glad i asked!

 

[silver]

I bet a lot of you won't like this comment, but I think Oscars are one of those fish that are too big to be kept in captivity as well. They get up to 12" don't they?? No matter what size tank you have, it still isn't enough room for a fish like that to exercise properly, therefore they will not be mentally or physically as healthy as wild fish. This is the case with all captive fish though and I keep fish too, I'm just saying the bigger the worse off the fish will be. Now 100 neons in a 55 gallon would think they were in the ocean, but 5 Oscars in a 200 gallon would still feel like tight quarters in my opinion!


Silver

 

[LoveMyOscar]

 

[Chris_JT]

i agree, oscars get no where near the size of pacus, its not just about the length, pacus are a heavy bodied fish, more so even than oscars. as far as keeping oscars, its certainly possible to raise a healthy one with 75 gallons or more.

 

[Opcn]

You could keep one very happy in a 10000 gallon pond couldn't you alot happyer than any guppy. you just need to work really hard to geta 10000 gallon pond

Opcn