# red bellied pacu



## justme (Jan 20, 2005)

Good afternoon fellow fish lovers.... :mrgreen: 

I have one question I hope can be answered...

I want to purchase a red bellied pacu for my husbands tank (its a 30gal) and i was wondering if the tank is too small for a red bellied pacu?

I not sure how big they get... :?: 

many thanks in advance...

gail


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Hello and welcome to the forums..........
The red bellied pacu is not suitable for a tank that size. They get really big (2 feet) and really should be kept in nothing smaller than 200 gallons.

Hope this helps.


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## justme (Jan 20, 2005)

thank you thank you thank you

well now my delema is what to get him for his tank? :? 

all he has in there is a bala shark, crawfish, pleco, and a betta...


any suggestions?

(he likes unique fish.....)


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Well if its a common pleco in there you may want to think about taking him back to the lfs. they need 55 gallons as they get big also and are huge poop machines. If he likes schooling fish, rummynosed tetras are peaceful and neat to watch as they swim. Maybe a small group of spiketail paradise fish or other paradise fish. Killies are interesting fish also.


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## justme (Jan 20, 2005)

if the pleco becomes too big I can always put him in my 55 gal...

now I use the pleco to clean up the bottom of the tank, and since he is a "poop machine" what else could I use?

I'll let the hubby know the others you suggested, and I think he'll be pleased with those...


:mrgreen:


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## shev (Jan 18, 2005)

plecos arent clean up fish, and balas will also become too large for a 20 gallon. hard to find a unique fish that'd fit in that tank and not kill/eat or get eaten/killed by the other fish. killies are great, but the craw fish will probably eat it. the crawdad may also kill and eat the betta, and the bala depending on its size and the other fish's size. i would suggest corydoras, they may be common, but there are so many different kinds, and they could be the cleanup crew, but they'd get eaten aswell. i dont know...


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## leck85 (Jan 19, 2005)

could try rams... rams stay small and are interesting fish.. not sure if the betta will like them and vice versa but you could try it...

rummy nose arent the most hardy fish.. i donno i just dont like them really :shock: i think they miiight nip the bettas fins.. they swim fast and would freak the betta out i would think..

bala sharks do grow large and will eventually outgrow your 20g.. they are also schooling fish and dont feel comfortable being alone really..

gouramis are interesting but they dont get along well with bettas..

could always put in some good ol tetras i guess ... like maybe silver tip tetras

i donno :| cories are more of a clean up fish.. they will eat excess food on the bottom of the tank


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## Fish n chips (Jan 19, 2005)

Silver Dollars are cool. :wink:


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Anything that grows to more than 5 inches isn't really suitable for your tank.


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

ya a red bellied pacu is not a good choice. I got one and put it in a 10G when I was a newbie back in the day and it grew sooooo big in less than 2 months... poor thing used to smack into the wall and jump and hit the hood, he also up-rooted plants like a maniac... I also was feeding him wrong, they like to have a lot of vegetable matter. I gave him to a friend and he killed him on accident :roll: 

for your 30G why dont you do a community or a small aggressive chiclid tank?


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