Pacu newbie in The Bahamas

[BahamaPacu]

First time Pacu owner here.

Responded to a FB group post about re-homing a fish and went to pick it up. It was a Pacu that the owner claimed that the daughter had for several years and needed to get rid of as she was headed to school in Canada.

Being clueless about Pacu, except for the seeing the humongous black Pacu at Atlantis, Paradise Island here in The Bahamas (which I thought was a completely different breed), I accepted.

Upon arriving home and after settling in, I started to look up facts about this breed of fish. My level of concern began to grow and so I joined this forum last night to get some more information. After browsing this forum for just the past 6+ hours, I now see the glaring level of ignorance in making my decision to accept the Pacu.

I am utterly horrified at what now needs to be done to get this Pacu into sensible living situations as soon as possible. I apologize humbly in advance for the level of anger that some of you may experience as you read through the following:

- This Pacu is just about 5 inches long and is in a tank that is about 10 gallons (according to the tank calculator). I knew outright that this was a small tank for the Pacu's present size and had planned on moving her to a larger tank, but I was not expecting to purchase anything larger than a 75-100 Gallon one. I now know that I should be looking at a minimum of a 300 Gallon or even a 500 Gallon, with a plan towards a 1000 Gallon in the next few years.

My initial choice of tank size (75-100G), by the way, was due to the fact that the owner and her daughter had claimed that they had already owned the Pacu for 3 years. Being grossly uninformed, I thought that the Pacu would only grow slightly larger than it presently was. I should have paid closer attention to what they were saying when they "claimed" that they had deliberately stunted its growth by underfeeding it. Of course I didn't agree with what they were saying and had planned to look up the correct diet anyway, but I now know, thanks to this forum, that there is likely no way that this Pacu could be only 5 inches long after 3 years of ownership. (FYI - the owner and her daughter are now in Canada as they left to prepare the daughter for school.).

Given the above, along with my glaring naivety in this situation, I shall make this right, but I will need advice from those who know.

I am asking for help and I am thankful for what I have learned in the past few hours. I haven't slept because of this ( it is now 5:30am EST).

My biggest challenge will be finding a 300 Gallon tank for sale here in The Bahamas. Will likely have to ship one over from the US.

Also, identification needed for what type of Pacu she is please and Thank you. (the tank is bare as, like I said, it is only temporary.).

Her name is Keller. According to the previous owner, she killed her companion. (Keller...killer...get it?)

( pacu mom - From my limited time here you seem like you know quite a bit about Pacu's. I would appreciate your advice. Thank you.)

 

[tlindsey]

First off welcome to MFK Secondly don't be hard on yourself because like you stated you were misinformed about a fish that you rescued, who knows if it weren't for you the Pacu may have been released in the wild. I personally don't keep any Pacu but do have the much smaller cousin the silver dollar, but even some of them get some size of a small plate. Btw pacu mom is one of the members with knowledge and experience of keeping the species. You could call your public aquarium and see if they will take pacu off your hands thats if you really want to get rid of it.

 

[KNH]

The good news is that your fish is a red belly pacu not a black pacu.

 

[krichardson]

Welcome and good luck with your pacu....are there any aquarium shops in the Bahamas?

 

[BahamaPacu]

First off welcome to MFK Secondly don't be hard on yourself because like you stated you were misinformed about a fish that you rescued, who knows if it weren't for you the Pacu may have been released in the wild. Btw pacu mom is one of the members with knowledge and experience of keeping the species.

Thanks for the welcome.

I am going to follow through with this. It is amazing how much information this one site provided. I shudder to think what would have happened to Keller otherwise.

Posted a request for pacu mom to assist. Don't want to be a bothersome newbie though.

The good news is that your fish is a red belly pacu not a black pacu.

Thanks! That is slightly good news. Was concerned about the black strips along her fins and how dark she sometimes could look depending on the angle of lighting.

Welcome and good luck with your pacu....are there any aquarium shops in the Bahamas?

Thanks. There are a few. Perhaps I can get a deal on one of their larger used tanks or use their shipping containers to bring one over. Almost everything in The Bahamas is imported.

Also will spend the next few days canvassing my connections down here to see if they know someone with an unused 100+G tank that may be taking up space.

I am determined to make this work.

 

[pacu mom]

First time Pacu owner here.

Responded to a FB group post about re-homing a fish and went to pick it up. It was a Pacu that the owner claimed that the daughter had for several years and needed to get rid of as she was headed to school in Canada.

Being clueless about Pacu, except for the seeing the humongous black Pacu at Atlantis, Paradise Island here in The Bahamas (which I thought was a completely different breed), I accepted.

Upon arriving home and after settling in, I started to look up facts about this breed of fish. My level of concern began to grow and so I joined this forum last night to get some more information. After browsing this forum for just the past 6+ hours, I now see the glaring level of ignorance in making my decision to accept the Pacu.

I am utterly horrified at what now needs to be done to get this Pacu into sensible living situations as soon as possible. I apologize humbly in advance for the level of anger that some of you may experience as you read through the following:

- This Pacu is just about 5 inches long and is in a tank that is about 10 gallons (according to the tank calculator). I knew outright that this was a small tank for the Pacu's present size and had planned on moving her to a larger tank, but I was not expecting to purchase anything larger than a 75-100 Gallon one. I now know that I should be looking at a minimum of a 300 Gallon or even a 500 Gallon, with a plan towards a 1000 Gallon in the next few years.

My initial choice of tank size (75-100G), by the way, was due to the fact that the owner and her daughter had claimed that they had already owned the Pacu for 3 years. Being grossly uninformed, I thought that the Pacu would only grow slightly larger than it presently was. I should have paid closer attention to what they were saying when they "claimed" that they had deliberately stunted its growth by underfeeding it. Of course I didn't agree with what they were saying and had planned to look up the correct diet anyway, but I now know, thanks to this forum, that there is likely no way that this Pacu could be only 5 inches long after 3 years of ownership. (FYI - the owner and her daughter are now in Canada as they left to prepare the daughter for school.).

Given the above, along with my glaring naivety in this situation, I shall make this right, but I will need advice from those who know.

I am asking for help and I am thankful for what I have learned in the past few hours. I haven't slept because of this ( it is now 5:30am EST).

My biggest challenge will be finding a 300 Gallon tank for sale here in The Bahamas. Will likely have to ship one over from the US.

Also, identification needed for what type of Pacu she is please and Thank you. (the tank is bare as, like I said, it is only temporary.).

Her name is Keller. According to the previous owner, she killed her companion. (Keller...killer...get it?)

( pacu mom - From my limited time here you seem like you know quite a bit about Pacu's. I would appreciate your advice. Thank you.)

If you decide to keep the pacu, you need to maintain excellent water parameters. Pacus are long lived fish and can live 30+ years. In poor conditions, i.e., high nitrates, they live about two years and can suddenly die. Excellent water parameters is the key to their survival.

It is always fun to watch pacu eating. Resist the temptation to feed your pacu live food. From all the reading I have done and experiences I have read about, a carnivorous diet makes pacu more aggressive, expecially towards tank mates. I have never read about a pacu fed a vegetarian diet attacking/killing tank mates. Feed your pacu a good pellet for omnivores or algae wafers. I would resist the temptation to feed a lot of veggies and fruit. Pacu are messy eaters, and the debris they generate by eating carrots, potatoes, nuts, unlimited watermelon can increase nitrates tremendously.

Maintaining excellent water parameters can make it possible for your pacu to survive for quite a while in a small tank. One member had her pacus in a 210 gallon tank for seven years until a fire destroyed the tank. Our pacus have very unfortunately been stuck in their 300 gallon tank for over ten years. The tank is way too small, and we have not set up their big tank yet. Upgrading to a bigger tank can be more involved than initially expected.

Some less costly housing for your pacu include aquaculture tanks. There are some fiberglass aquaculture tanks with view windows. Building a pond might be an option for you, since you have a very temperate climate in your area of the world.

The most important thing for the survival of your pacu is good water parameters. If you don't have an API Freshwater Master Test Kit, you should get one. Do massive water changes if you have to, to keep nitrates low. (In a smaller tank, massive water changes are necessary) Good luck.

 

[BahamaPacu]

Thank you for the advice pacu mom

She isn't going anywhere. My search for a larger tank has not been fruitful as yet, but it's only been a day.

Cost is not an issue for me. I already have selected a floating pellet diet for her and will ensure that her tank remains clear, clean and nitrate free. Decided to look for a 100 gallon now to start with to get her out of this tiny tank and then will immediately begin looking for a larger permanent tank. (Then I can use the 100 gallon for my other fish).

The initial shock has worn off a bit. I think that I can handle this, but will lean heavily on advice from here.

 

[pacu mom]

In a cycled tank, only ammonia and nitrites should be zero. Since nitrates are the end product of the nitrogen cycle, it is nearly impossible to maintain zero nitrates, unless you have a heavily planted tank and/or a nitrate filter. Lowering nitrates is usually done through water changes. A heavily planted tank will not work with a pacu. Pacu are very curious and inquisitive and will destroy everything placed in the tank.