pyroangel

Alright so we have 2 red bellied pacus probably about 16 inches on one and 10 on other as well as a 16 to 18 inch pleco. We are currently having to change the tank water every week and we think it is due to what we are feeding our lil guys... Do you guys have any suggestions?! Please...

sirdarksol

Welcome to Fishlore!
Are you saying you change 100% of the water out every week?
This is actually bad for the fish.
Read up on the aquarium nitrogen cycle. This details how bacteria will break ammonia down into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates (and how you can achieve the cycle). Then, you just need to do weekly water changes large enough to keep the nitrate levels below 20ppm. (For a tank that isn't too heavily stocked, this is usually 25% a week, but with big fish like pacu and plecos, it may be more)
If you're changing the water out once a week, the ammonia (which is just as toxic for fish as it is for humans) builds over that week until you change the water. During that time the ammonia is damaging the fish's gills and other organs.

As for feeding pacu, I'm not entirely sure what they eat. Sorry.

pyroangel

not 100% no what we do is we get the garden hose through the back door then start the water stop it and it starts an automatic siphoning process we do a half change about 4 ot 5 times every saturday. If we don't do this process the fish have problems breathing we've almost lost them 3 times now...

04_si

so youre changing 50% of the water 4 or 5 times a week (on the saturday)

also, are you putting dechlorinator in your tank?

ALSO - what are you feeding them?