# Pacu died



## sparrow (Mar 8, 2006)

A while back a 20 gallon tank just cracked in the front for absolutely no reason one day when I was watching TV, so I rushed to get the fish out of it and into the other 20 and 60.

That was about 3 or 4 (i think) weeks ago, and there was a little bit of water with the gravel, so it sat for a long time.

In the 60 gallon tank there were 2 pacu among other fish, and I needed to get one of them out because he was being picked on and beat up worse and worse every day.

I was about to buy a 20 gallon today because it was so bad, but when I got home there was one there. I am 15

So I did took water from the 60 gallon tank and filled the 20 gallon about 3/4 full, and filled the rest with tap water, put a new filter in, set everything up, and let it run for a few hours.

I thought the gravel had been washed and cleaned, and it hadn't, I asked my dad why he hadn't, and I even said that it has to be very unhealthy for the fish, but the idiot just said "a little bit of that could be good for him"
I replied with "not after the ****ing water had been sitting in the bottom of the tank with **** growing bacteria.

After placing the pacu in the tank his color went back to normal, he had been very dark and was beat up, he was constantly picked on and attacked by the other pacu in the other tank, we got them during the super bowl.

But he held his mouth wide open and was breathing very hard, but seemed perfectly fine all day and that night.

When I woke up the morning to feed the fish, he was laying on his side at the top of the tank, this was not what I wanted to see.....

It couldn't have been less than 1/4 of the water being tap water without the water treatment for it, and it couldn't have been the water from the other tank.

And it would most likely not be stress because if that were the case he would have died a long time ago in the 60 tank

I have come to the conclusion that it was the water sitting in the bottom of the tank for about 4 weeks had grown some bad bacteria like I originally said it would.

The other sad part is that I am getting ahold of a 78 gallon tank tomorrow....

Is it because the water had sat there?


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Please watch your language!


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## sparrow (Mar 8, 2006)

I did....

I was kinda upset about not being told about it.

Thanks for the help....


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## RockabillyChick (Nov 18, 2005)

sparrow, do you know how big pacus get?

they can easily reach 24 inches long, and they need at LEAST 300 gallons to thrash around in. they are POWERFUL fish. here is a story someone posted on another forum about their expirience with red bellied pacus.




> It is with a very heavy heart that I post this thread. I also hope that it serves as a lesson to anyone wanting to keep certain types of fish without first doing ALL OF THE RESEARCH pertaining to tank size accomodations, the maximum size the fish will reach at adulthood, etc. I purchase 2 Red-belly Pacu's from Petco 9 months ago. They were no bigger than if you put your middle and thumb finger together to form an 'O' I bought them home and first placed them in a 20 gallon tank. They flourished there, along with baby GT's and Oscars. 2 months later, the Pacu's, along with the Oscars, had to be moved to a 55 gallon tank because of rapid growth. At this point, the Pacu's had grown to small tea saucer size. Each week, they appeared to grow at least half an inch to an inch. The growth rate of these fish can be EXTREMELY RAPID, especially if water changes are frequent. In my case, I was changing between 30 - 50% each week. At the end of the 4th month, these fish had grown so large, I had to purchase a 120 Gallon tank to house them. At this point, size limitations in my home prevented me from buying anything larger. Within 4 months, these fish had reached 18 inches in length and were physically stronger than any fish I've ever dealt with. They were literally moving huge rocks with the current they created when swimming at break-neck speed through the tank. Each day when I awoke, I had to keep adding water to the tank due to the HUGE amount of water that was splashed onto the walls and floors by them. I began going around to various LFS trying to see if anyone would take them and no one wanted to touch these fish. After 2 months of trying to find homes for them went unsuccessfully, I had no choice than to humanely put them down. I chose the quickest method available to me for fish this large. I wrestled them out of the tank, one by one. In the process, the smaller of the two, managed to take out my 32 inch television by sending a huge splash of water onto it with a swipe of his tail. I wrapped them in newspaper and used a cinderblock dropped from the third step onto it's head. Death was instant. I was very fond of these fish and because of my lack of research when I first purchased them, I had to put down two very beautiful fish. I would like for anyone reading this post to learn from my tragic mistake. Pacu's need at LEAST 300 gallons of water to thrash around in. If you can't furnish that for them, or some type of large pond, LEAVE THESE FISH IN THE STORE!!


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## sparrow (Mar 8, 2006)

yes I know that, and i am not the one who bought them, if I were to buy something living, I would at least read about it.

He was still very small.


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## ALFA WOLF (May 24, 2005)

I had a science teacher that had a pacu in his class as a pet he started with a 15 gallon when it was "small" but my teacher new what was comming so he had other tanks but what he didint realize was how quick he would have to change tanks. we took a month break and when we came back he changed from a 50 gal to a 100. When they say 300 galls i think they refe to as minimum cause at the end we had to house him in a 450 gallon tank but i think the purchase is worth it if u can make it. we would give him crickets and little lizards and it was fun to gobble him up. And twhen they say powerfull they mean powerfull.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

I visited the Atlanta Aquarium a few weeks ago. They had pacus that were at least 3' long.


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## wtpdosa (Apr 11, 2006)

Hey Sparrow,

Sorry for your loss.
From your post it seems to be that the the tank, regardless of the bacteria, had not gone through enough time to cycle. Death by suffocation is one of the biggest killers of fish that are put in tanks that have not completely cycled. 
What happens is that the ammonia and nitrites bond to the oxygen molecule in the water thereby robbing the fish of the oxygen they need. That is why they look like they are gasping for air. Some people call it new "tank syndrome" others call it "brown gill diease" because their gills turn brown from the lack of oxygen.
Please don't hold it against your father. He most likely didn't know, just as you didn't know. We all learn from our mistakes. 
My suggestion to you is to read as much as you can about aquarium keeping, and then you do what needs to be done and not rely on others that have no knowledge of aquarium keeping. 
The sad fact is is that many beautiful fish have died at the hands of those who were not ready to take care of them. Aquarium keeping is a huge responsibility. 

Good luck with your new tank, and I hope it cycles soon so that you can enjoy it.


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## seven11junkey (Apr 16, 2006)

ya my grandfather had a 8,000g pond with a acrylic window view from his pourch and he had about 30 black pacu and he had to take about 1/2 of them out because they were 2 cramped.


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