Why Pacu Should be Banned:

[MCHRKiller]

I found this article on another forum, and thought I would post it here...just look at that fish over 3ft and 60lbs. Still think that 55G walmart states will work just fine for it will do?:hmm3grin2orange:

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[Wild Turkey]

I agree pacu should be banned from being sold at petstores. Most people that are planning an "appropriate" setup for a pacu should have no problem special ordering the fish.

Whats funny is a big (but closed off from any body of water) pond in florida sounds like a decent place for a pacu, and it sounds like it lived pretty long and well. IMO the story of a typical pacu thats bought at a petstore is a lot worse than this one, bad choice for supporting the cause if you ask me :hmm3grin2orange: The problem being someone released it into a pond they didnt own of course.

[Crispy]

Good article! Thanks for sharing! What a beast! thumbs2:

[Aeonflame]

Its interesting how the media like to throw the word "piranha" around when dealing with pacu. It sensationalizes the issue. I also agree that pacu should best be left in public aquaria and the wild. Another fish that should be prohibited is the iridescent shark and possibly the red tail catfish.

[Bristley]

I actually saw that on the local news last night.

[stevezx2002]

Come on guys its 3ft, so the one inch per gallon rule means it will be fine in a 55Gal tank. :hmm3grin2orange:

[Fishguy2727]

At least that one had a pond, most are lucky to see over 100 gallons.

[Dave66]

Don't know how many times I've posted lists of FW fish that should be left at the fish store, since the average keeper has no hope of success with those massive fish.

Pacus are fairly closely related to piranha, but are their Vegan cousins. The media likes to sensationalize by throwing the 'p' word about for a large SA fish like a pacu.

Dave

[Taurus]

This is a timely thread and I have a pretty amazing story to add to it.

Last late fall here in Vermont just before things started to freeze up, a gentleman was fishing in one of our major rivers called the Otter Creek which feeds into Lake Champlain, which feeds into the St. Lawrence. He noticed an odd shaped fish tumbling near the surface of the water acting half alive. He managed to get a pole net around it and pull it onto the shore. The fish was a Brown Pacu. Yup, Brown Pacu in 46 degree water. Of course the Pacu didn't live and everyone was speculating on how the Pacu came to be in the Otter Creek to begin with.

Somone couldn't take care of the Pacu anymore or it outgrow its tank so the former owner\fishkeeper just released him into the Otter Creek.

True story. I think the point is obvious.

[Northernguy]

Great thread!
I do agree that a pacu is not a home aquarium fish.Unless of course you have a 20,000 gallon tank.
I do like the pond idea!lolthumbs2:

I wonder if cocoa pleco still has his?

[Rue]

Yes, I agree. I don't understand why anyone would want one, or why sell them? There are enough small fish available, no need to sell fish that can't be looked after properly.

It's like selling elephants as pets, sure, they're cute when they're babies...but who has room for an adult elephant?

[dane]

i feel just as much blame should be put on the stores that sell these type fish that get way to big for a home aquarium . Also what happens to the fish at the store when they get to big for the 10,20 gallon tanks they keep them in , and no one buys them .Do they just kill them ?

[Lindsey]

Also what happens to the fish at the store when they get to big for the 10,20 gallon tanks they keep them in , and no one buys them .

I've worked in a pet store for about a year and a half and we still have some of the same pacu and piranha that we had last August when I started. We keep 4-6 juveniles in the equivalent of a 20 gallon, and they usually grow to about 4" in size and then stop growing (presumably because of the tank size). So nothing happens to them really - we just keep them until someone buys them.

It's one of the worst parts about working in a petstore for me. I hate selling piranha and pacu to people who've got it in their heads they can keep the fish in a little tank just because that's what they saw at the petstore.. The customers rarely ever show any interest in choosing a better fish for their small tank, and don't want to listen when I tell them their choices are unsuitable.

[dane]

I've worked in a pet store for about a year and a half and we still have some of the same pacu and piranha that we had last August when I started. We keep 4-6 juveniles in the equivalent of a 20 gallon, and they usually grow to about 4" in size and then stop growing (presumably because of the tank size). So nothing happens to them really - we just keep them until someone buys them.

It's one of the worst parts about working in a petstore for me. I hate selling piranha and pacu to people who've got it in their heads they can keep the fish in a little tank just because that's what they saw at the petstore.. The customers rarely ever show any interest in choosing a better fish for their small tank, and don't want to listen when I tell them their choices are unsuitable.


Hmmm i was under the impression that fish growing to their tank size was untrue ... ? Not that I'm saying your wrong, but just hearing from different people, and seeing people here in the forum joke about someone saying that a bigger fish will be ok,in a smaller tank because it grows to the tank size .

at least you try to convince them otherwise :)

[Lindsey]

Hmmm i was under the impression that fish growing to their tank size was untrue ... ? Not that I'm saying your wrong, but just hearing from different people, and seeing people here in the forum joke about someone saying that a bigger fish will be ok,in a smaller tank because it grows to the tank size .

at least you try to convince them otherwise :)

I think if we kept 1-2 pacu to a tank they'd grow a lot bigger, but we keep more of them. They really don't seem to grow much despite being fed well.. But that doesn't mean they're "okay", they're obviously in sub-par conditions and I'm sure that's doing nothing but harming their longer term health.

[jbeining75]

I don't believe they should be banned but WalMart shouldn't sell them. That 3 foot Pacu was out of a pond where they were feeding it it looks like.

In 300+ gallon tanks they grow 2 feet. The tank size will stun their growth eventually (which stresses the fish). They never stop growing. That was 30 years also.

Really it comes down to people EDUCATING themselves. You can't blame stores for peoples ignorance.

Bottom line is people are responsible for their own choices...

McDonald's doesn't make people fat. People have a choice to eat better foods.

Cigarettes don't directly kill people through cancer. People can put the cigarettes down.

It is all upto education and decision of the person responsible.

In retrospect BUSINESS should have enough common sense and moral value to educate their customers also before purchases are made.

[rich311k]

I agree people should be aware, but they are a fish as well as several others that is hard to accomodate safely for most people. If you can provide for one then you could get one through the pipeline, no reason to have them imported.

[HeyNow]

When I was buying my 125g tank, and I went to see it, the former owner had 2 small Pacu's and one HUGE one. He said he had the big one for over 18yrs.

I could have taken the fish w the tank but I declined. I had zero interest in keeping them. The 125g tank wasn't big enough for the big fish alone, let alone 2 smaller ones as well.

I hope the fish are still ok- I believe he kept them and put them into different (smaller) tanks. I felt bad buying their tank and making them homeless, but I really didn't want the fish too.

[james20]

Come on guys its 3ft, so the one inch per gallon rule means it will be fine in a 55Gal tank. :hmm3grin2orange:

NO! The ich per gallon rule is only for fish that don't get over 3 inches- NOT 36! Would you put a 20 inch koi in a 20 gallon tank? It won't fit. Neither would a Pacu in a 55.

[Aeonflame]

NO! The ich per gallon rule is only for fish that don't get over 3 inches- NOT 36! Would you put a 20 inch koi in a 20 gallon tank? It won't fit. Neither would a Pacu in a 55.

I do believe that was sarcasm

[gadget228]

I have never paid attention to what fish my local Walmart sells, now I guess maybe I should take a look and see.

[i_am_511]

I talked to a guy at the LFS thats been in business for 25 yrs and he told me he will take in any fish if someone has tank size issues. But he will not deal with Pacu or Piranhas. He said Pacu are just fish that dont belong in tank and most ppl dont have the tank size it would take to hold one. He was saying he hopes they make a dwarf redtail catfish so he can get one.

Those Rainbow sharks some guy brought and put in a pond and then brought them back to the store those things were HUGE

[MCHRKiller]

Outside public zoos there may be several hundred people tops in the US that can properly house a Pacu as it needs to be. They do not belong in this trade in a general standard fish form. My LFS does not stock any fish that grows over 16". We also rarely stock those that grow to large to make do with a 55G simply because for most people that is as large of a tank as you standardly get. I could count on my fingers the number of customers I have that have a tank larger than 55G...and none of those tanks are over 200G. Perhaps banned was to harsh of a word, but surely these fish should be more closely regulated. I honestly believe you should need a permit to keep a fish surpassing 2ft in length, microchipping these giant fish with the permit would also be a good idea so if one winds up in a local water system and is caught you would know who did it. Its not like we dont have the technology to incorporate such into common place practices, it would also drastically cut down on the number of giant fish kept and those that were released. Ive always said if you can afford to house it you can afford to pay a bit more for it. I would gladly pay out the rear end for a marbled clarias, but to many were released and they are banned in the US now. Same with snakeheads...Ive always wanted a cobra snakehead.