Help i feel so bad now I have two red bellied pacu

OK now I feel so bad about getting the red bellied pacu now its not even funny!!!! I had no idea it was going to be that big of a fish what am I going to to I was going to get a bigger aquarium but not that big of one (50 or 75 gallon) I live in a small town and no one had that big of aquarium and the guys in this town would use it a food so any help would help me out

 

You could always make an aquarium. Here's a page with some ideas.

 

OK now I feel so bad about getting the red bellied pacu now its not even funny!!!! I had no idea it was going to be that big of a fish what am I going to to I was going to get a bigger aquarium but not that big of one (50 or 75 gallon) I live in a small town and no one had that big of aquarium and the guys in this town would use it a food so any help would help me out

Why did you decide at this point it was a bad idea?
Carol

 

you might check with timg - our resident DIY expert. He has built some impressive tanks and you might be able to work something out with him to construct a tank big enough for the pacu.

 

I just don't have the room I could get a new tv that hangs on the wall but I have a little apartment and I move a lot but I will think so something :-\

 

It's really best to research fish before you buy them so you will know if you can house them or not. Will the place you got them from take them back?
Carol

 

i'm with Dino, I wish they'd not sell the pacus at fish stores. you're not the 1st person to get one and find out they get so huge. Don't trust the stores to give you all the info & researching the fish online first is best like Carol said - I hope the store selling them will accept the return. how big are the right now?

 

they are about 1.5 in. so I think I have so time to get a bigger aquarium and that would be so cool so I kinda happy cause now I have to so it will be OK but any other info any body has will be grate on this fish I really think they are a fav. so I want to keep them but my Oscar is really cool to so do you think a 75 or 80 will be good for now??? and for how long I don't know how fast they grow

 

For the Pacus, you'll want a minimum of 250 gallons. check out their info page: https://www.fishlore.com/profiles_red_pacu.htm

 

And two will need a bigger tank than that very fast. They can't be put in with your Oscar don't think
Carol

 

They are doing fine so far with the Oscar they don't nip at each other the Oscar is little, but I will make sure to keep a eye on that. Its funny I got them from Wal-Mart on the tag it tells ppl to get up to 5 cause they like to swim in schools, I just wish I had found this this web page before I got them. They are eating fine I check the water every 3 day, but the water is not all that clear :-\ I would put some pic. up but don't know how to do that. They are really shy any time I walk the the room the try to jump out of the tank is that normal? what part of the tank do they like to swim in? I did not see that on that link.

 

As soon as they get big enough, they'll eat the oscar but they really will need a tank of 350-400 gallons for them within months. I'd really recommend taking them back to the store if you don't have room for a tank that size.

 

I started my fish hobby at Walmart too. First mistake. I bought a 5 Gal. tank 2 Tinfoil Barbs and 3 Iridescent Sharks. 3 weeks later I bought a 29 Gal, then 2 months later I had to buy a 55. I'm up to 150 Gals. and counting. The first 2 years were the worst. Fish grow so fast when they are young.

As for Pacus, I don't know about keeping them, but I saw them at the National Zoo, and they were like 3ft long, and are kin to piranhas. Walmart doesn't sell fish to bring happiness to their customers. They just want money, so yeah they want you to buy 3 then a new tank and then when the fish die because they don't have enough room, Walmart hopes you'll come back and buy so more. I recommend you never buy fish at Walmart ever again. Just my advice.

 

surprisingly my local walmart has stopped carrying fish, they only have pet supplies now.

I wish the LFS's got smart and when they label their tanks with the fish name & cost, they should also show what adult size they get to, whether they are vegetarians etc, what water preferences they have, and all the good stuff you want to know when you buy it, instead of relying on a clueless staff member

 

This is the one thing that I like about PetSmart. They have what appear to be standardized set of cards that give a basic idea of the difficulty of keeping a particular fish, what it generally eats, the size the fish will get, and the minimum tank size. The tank size thing is often off, but is still a good beginning.

 

yea.. and i've noticed at the petsmarts that i've been in that the cards are actually under the tanks for the right fish! our local deathco not only didn't do that, but had barbs, cichlids and livebearers all in the wrong places under the big signs they have.. and they often have the prices mismatched as well.. so you can pay 3.99 for fish you thought were 1.29.

some industry standards would be nice for informing new fish owners just what they're buying into.

 

They really should tell them something I did they are not going to order any more of the big fish like them so if everyone would talk to them maybe they would stop one, guy does all the ordering for the fish and puts, that is one idea I printed off all the info and told him and showed him just how big they get and how mean it was to have them

 

I talked to my LFS about Iridescent Sharks when they started carrying them. These too are tank busting monsters, or at least can be. They didn't know what they were selling. Their dealer suggested them as big sellers. I haven't seen them in there since. It seems the problem is not always with the store but with the dealer. I think it a little too ironic that Wallmart sells so many fish unfriendly to the home aquarium. It always seemed to me that selling hard to keep fish must make good money. A lot of them are sensitive, and a lot just don't have the room they need. and when they die people need to keep their tank filled with fish so they go buy 2 babies to "fill in" the empty space. Really though I think it goes all the way to the whole system of regulation. There are so many breeders and such. People have a "dog breeding" sense about it, but dogs don't need an enclosed ecological system to stay alive. As we all know.

lol sorry to go off so much, but I've been burned by several misinformed fish sellers. In my Saltwater I only have one fish. The lady at the store told me all she new about it from the dealer. He sound so cool I bought him. Now I can't feed him enough and he eats clean up crew.

As for PetCo/PetSmart, they are both just pet oriented Walmarts. My PetCo is better than the PetSmart. I don't like too shop at either. I order pretty well everything online. If I buy another fish it'll probably be online.

 

yea, we do the same.. most of our stuff comes from DFS and Dino's got fish he's selling so I think we'll be stocking the new 30 gallon with fish from him.

 

you know what's funny...this is the fourth thread where somebody was getting or needing to get rid of their pacu's

 

I got two pacu 3 weeks ago thinking they were red belly piranha. I found out yesterday I was wrong and did some research on the pacu and am working around the size of these monsters. I am absolutely in love with these two fish and couldn't imagine getting rid of them. The are growing at an alarming pace which makes me a little nervous, but for two days I've been researching aquariums and planning they're adaption to my family. This is my first time owning fish and what a learning experience it has been already. It's already becoming a hobby and a huge passion. I hope your pacu are alright!

 

I was recently at a restaurant where I go to school, and the have a 250 gallon + tank, housing two red bellied pacu. It was such an amazing thing to see, firstly because they were housed properly, and two because they were massive! It makes me sort of sick to know they sell them at my local walmart, and they are only the size of a quarter. I hate to see how many have died from unsuspecting buyers

 

I was recently at a restaurant where I go to school, and the have a 250 gallon + tank, housing two red bellied pacu. It was such an amazing thing to see, firstly because they were housed properly, and two because they were massive! It makes me sort of sick to know they sell them at my local walmart, and they are only the size of a quarter. I hate to see how many have died from unsuspecting buyers

I totally agree. I saw a Youtube video of two full grown RBs in a tank that must have been 30g! It was so sad I almost cried. When I told my GF about it, she wouldn't even watch it and I don't blame her. Were the Pacu full grown? I would have loved to see that

 

I totally agree. I saw a Youtube video of two full grown RBs in a tank that must have been 30g! It was so sad I almost cried. When I told my GF about it, she wouldn't even watch it and I don't blame her. Were the Pacu full grown? I would have loved to see that

Yes , I believe they were full grown, and if not close to it! There were only two, but it was just a really impressive sight. It had a little card in front of the giant tank, telling what they were, and a little about their origin.

 

That's awesome! Is that in the city? What's is called? I'd like to see it. Mine are still babies and I want to see what to look forward to

 

No this is eight hours away from the city. lol.. Its two hours from Syracuse (I'm from Herkimer). If you were willing to drive all the way to the city though, you probably are ok with going to Potsdam (except its a barren wasteland in the winter.. lol)...They are in a great restaurant called Ebens Hearth in between Potsdam and Canton.

 

No this is eight hours away from the city. lol.. Its two hours from Syracuse (I'm from Herkimer). If you were willing to drive all the way to the city though, you probably are ok with going to Potsdam (except its a barren wasteland in the winter.. lol)...They are in a great restaurant called Ebens Hearth in between Potsdam and Canton.

I'll def. check it out! Sounds awesome! Thanks!

 

Eventually the 250G tank won't be big enough. A friend had two in a 250g tank, the oldest was 7 years old and he was getting ready to put them into a bigger tank because they(the Pacu) had trouble turning around.
Carol