its probably a lot crueler to keep a fish contained somewhere far too small for him rather than humanely euthanizing him.
Red Belly Pacu outgrew tank
- Thread starter Ula17
- Start date
I had a friend tell me on more than one occasion that it would be cheaper to charter a plane and take the fish to the Amazon than it would be to build them suitable housing. He was correct, of course, but I failed to see the humor in his statements and told him so.
The thing more troubling about pacu than their size, is the fact that they are long lived fish. They can live 30+ years in a proper environment. If properly cared for, a spur of the moment pacu purchase can result in a 30 year commitment. That's basically a life time commitment on the part of the fish keeper. How many people think about a 30 year commitment when they buy a pacu? (we didn't) For the size tank that pacu need, even moving to a different house could be extremely difficult...unless you keep the large tank in a garage... Many fish keepers are young and have college and a career to look forward to. Moving would be a pita. As long as we have our pacu, we will not be moving from our house. We are stuck here. (Of course, it helps that there is no other place I would rather live).
I wish that every pacu could live to their full potential of 30+ years. Unfortunately, the majority are doomed to very short lives in horrific conditions. I wish this wonderful fish with big personalities were available by special order only.
+ 1 and for fish over 18inch it should be required that you give proof of your aquarium. It's the lfs that have got the fish into these situations, I've actually mailed people on eBay selling mail order rtc with no warning of their size what so ever... Lol I must be getting old!-)
I feel the same way but, some people buy on impulse without doing any research also the greed of money for the lps's ...
I'm guilty myself, I have bought many fish that don't mix with my fish, outgrow my tank ect... It's hard to resist but thankfully I've been able to find them adequate homes.
I've got to the stage now where I believe true monster species such as pacu and rtc and the like shouldnt be sold, They are getting less common in the lfs around me lately thankfully.
Some species have become more common tho, there are golden dorado all over Kent UK atm!
If you can't look after a fish it shouldn't be so easily available to aquire. Same with reptiles.
I've got to the stage now where I believe true monster species such as pacu and rtc and the like shouldnt be sold, They are getting less common in the lfs around me lately thankfully.
Some species have become more common tho, there are golden dorado all over Kent UK atm!
If you can't look after a fish it shouldn't be so easily available to aquire. Same with reptiles.
Pacu are VERY difficult to "research" There is a lot of misleading information out there by so called "experts". I did some "research" this morning:
The optimal tank size for an adult red belly pacu is 200 gallons.
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/blog/cultivating-a-tank-for-red-bellied-pacus
200 gallons should be adequate for an adult fish
http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Piaractus_brachypomum.html
Need at least a 250 gallon tank
http://www.fishlore.com/profiles_red_pacu.htm
They will need a 250 gallon tank at some point.
http://aquariums.avidhobby.com/blog/explore/tag/pacu
Red belly pacu should be kept in a large aquarium and should be kept in schools of at least six pacu. (What is a large aquarium? For the majority of people, a 180 gallon tank is “large”.)
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish/redbellypacu.php
Minimum tank size 300 gallons with 200 gallons/each additional pacu.
http://www.aquariumbible.com/red-bellied-pacu-piaractus-brachypomus
Should be kept in schools of at least six. Should not be considered a home aquarium fish. “It is unfair to subject any animal to less than ideal living conditions.” Grow too large for most home aquaria.
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/stats/characins_stats/stats_characins1a.html
Require 500 gallons or preferably larger.
http://www.aquariumdomain.com/viewSpeciesFreshwater.php?id=82
I am sure that my pacu came out of this tank.
The baby oscars were gigantic when compared to the baby pacu. With all the misleading information, it would be very difficult for a new pacu owner to learn the truth about pacu even if they do "research"
Of course, by the time my husband came across their 55 gallon tank at a yard sale, the pacu were considerably bigger than the four oscars and two pleco tank mates.
Because we did not know anything about pacu, I joined a pacu forum. The members were very enthusiastic about their fish and spawned all kinds of misleading information about fish keeping, such as just smell the water to tell if you need a water change. In the space of just a few weeks, both moderators lost their 2-yr-old pacu very suddenly in their 75 gallon tanks......that was the end of the pacu forum....
The optimal tank size for an adult red belly pacu is 200 gallons.
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/blog/cultivating-a-tank-for-red-bellied-pacus
200 gallons should be adequate for an adult fish
http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Piaractus_brachypomum.html
Need at least a 250 gallon tank
http://www.fishlore.com/profiles_red_pacu.htm
They will need a 250 gallon tank at some point.
http://aquariums.avidhobby.com/blog/explore/tag/pacu
Red belly pacu should be kept in a large aquarium and should be kept in schools of at least six pacu. (What is a large aquarium? For the majority of people, a 180 gallon tank is “large”.)
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fish/redbellypacu.php
Minimum tank size 300 gallons with 200 gallons/each additional pacu.
http://www.aquariumbible.com/red-bellied-pacu-piaractus-brachypomus
Should be kept in schools of at least six. Should not be considered a home aquarium fish. “It is unfair to subject any animal to less than ideal living conditions.” Grow too large for most home aquaria.
http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/stats/characins_stats/stats_characins1a.html
Require 500 gallons or preferably larger.
http://www.aquariumdomain.com/viewSpeciesFreshwater.php?id=82
I am sure that my pacu came out of this tank.
The baby oscars were gigantic when compared to the baby pacu. With all the misleading information, it would be very difficult for a new pacu owner to learn the truth about pacu even if they do "research"
Of course, by the time my husband came across their 55 gallon tank at a yard sale, the pacu were considerably bigger than the four oscars and two pleco tank mates.
Because we did not know anything about pacu, I joined a pacu forum. The members were very enthusiastic about their fish and spawned all kinds of misleading information about fish keeping, such as just smell the water to tell if you need a water change. In the space of just a few weeks, both moderators lost their 2-yr-old pacu very suddenly in their 75 gallon tanks......that was the end of the pacu forum....
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It's like when I wanted my Channa Micropeltes... I always wanted one, I still do, but I don't have the means to house one yet. I will in a month, but I don't want a Micro in a 1125L tank, it feels too small.
I called our Belgian animal park to see if they could rehome it when I can't anymore, and they never answered. So I decided to go for the closest relative in the form of Diplogramma, whom grow slightly smaller and will fit the 1125!
It's only because of following these forums that I took that initiative. had I not been a nerd always gathering infos, i'd have two Micros in a 180g... Well, I'd probably only have one left by now. Or a nice dry fish on my carpet after it jumped because it felt trapped -.-
Long live the TRUE Pacu keepers ;D
I called our Belgian animal park to see if they could rehome it when I can't anymore, and they never answered. So I decided to go for the closest relative in the form of Diplogramma, whom grow slightly smaller and will fit the 1125!
It's only because of following these forums that I took that initiative. had I not been a nerd always gathering infos, i'd have two Micros in a 180g... Well, I'd probably only have one left by now. Or a nice dry fish on my carpet after it jumped because it felt trapped -.-
Long live the TRUE Pacu keepers ;D
