# Red bellied killer pacu.



## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

*Red bellied killer pacu.______DEAD______*

my tank consisted of 2 glass cats. 1 cory. 1 dojo. 1 black ghost. 1 pacu. 1 crab.

i put in the pacu and it was fine for about a week. i put two floating plants in and it ate the black knife whole over night. the night before as the crab was molting it killed it as well. and a few days before that i caught it munching down a headless dojo. 

for a vegetarian this fish is a monster at only 4 inches. what is up with that? tips and comments please.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

Did you actually see it eat the BGK and the crab? thats seems a little unlikely considering they are vegetarians.


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

i saw it eating the dojo and i saw it eating the crab. i didnt see it eat the knife but the knife is gone and i dont think the glass or cory ate him lol


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2009)

are u sure its a pacu and not a piranha?


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

hahaha petsmart sold it to me as a red bellied pacu and it does have a red belly and it devoures pleco tablets


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2009)

wouldnt trust PS.

does the fish look like this one?

http://www.itsallaboutfish.co.uk/Pictures/Red_bellied_Pacu.jpg

or this one? 

http://www.petfish.net/pix/piranha2_Joshu.jpg


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

wow those are alot alike. to me it looks like 2 but maybe thats because mine is smaller than one. i will post a picture. please hold


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/100_4846.jpg


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

its actualy a little bigger than that now. grew alot in a week


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## Guest (Sep 25, 2009)

that in my opionion is a piranha. pacu dont have rounded mouths. ur fish eerily remined me of my piranha i had years ago......wait for someone else to comment as well.


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## petlovingfreak (May 8, 2009)

yah, that is a piranha, not a pacu.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Either way it was bad judgement on you behalf I doubt you researched before buying the fish and I doubt you know that pacus grow huge and I mean huge. How big is this tank?


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## petlovingfreak (May 8, 2009)

Yes, they get BIG, I adopted one from a lady and it was almost 2 ft long, VERY big, and she had it in a 75 gallon with other big fish, way too small...


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

Yep that sir is a pirahna, I suggest you contact the better business Bureau. And also look up your local law on the selling of the fish. Some states/cities have banned it's sale so you might want to contact Fish and Game also.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I thought you could tell by the teeth. Pacu have "human-like" teeth. More omnivore than vegetarian. Piranha have pointy teeth like cats. Now you just need to find someone to stick his hand in its mouth.


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

blue cray. yes i know they get big and yes i could accomidate that and do NOT attack me on an assumption. i like the pirahna. i named it deadpool. thank you all for your help.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

If you new what you were getting into this thread wouldnt have been posted if youre going to have a fit find a new forum I was just trying to help.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Why would you mix a Pacu (even though it is really a Piranha) with a Ghost Knife in the first place? Do the proper research before throwing fish a tank.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Ghost Knife said:


> Why would you mix a Pacu (even though it is really a Piranha) with a Ghost Knife in the first place? Do the proper research before throwing fish a tank.


Another good point. Personally I feel ghost knifes should be $60+ so newbies don't buy them and have them end up in situations like this. They're awesome fish and should be kept in big tanks with unagressive fish.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Blue Cray said:


> Another good point. Personally I feel ghost knifes should be $60+ so newbies don't buy them and have them end up in situations like this. They're awesome fish and should be kept in big tanks with unagressive fish.


I totally agree with you. I knew someone that had a Ghost Knife and wanted to mix a Needle Fish with it, which is a type of Gar. I told them unless you want a fight to occur don't do it.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Oh really? I was planning on trying florida/tropical gars in a tank where a keep my BGK. How would it fight off a gar?


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Blue Cray said:


> Oh really? I was planning on trying florida/tropical gars in a tank where a keep my BGK. How would it fight off a gar?


Not sure, I just know that the particular Needle Fish they sell at Petsmart does not go well with anything Semi-Aggressive or Community.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Red bellied Pacu (actually a piranha) shouldn't be with glass catfish either, I also doubt you did your research kid, sorry.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Blue Cray said:


> Oh really? How would it fight off a gar?


One little tooth at a time. LOL
Take THAT... oooo and THAT... stop moving around... THAT!

I'm sick. I really am.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Obsidian said:


> One little tooth at a time. LOL
> Take THAT... oooo and THAT... stop moving around... THAT!
> 
> I'm sick. I really am.


Lol ghost knife would get owned in a fight with a real gar but then again its probably unlikely to happen.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Tallonebball said:


> Red bellied Pacu (actually a piranha) shouldn't be with glass catfish either, I also doubt you did your research kid, sorry.


Thaaaaank you! See we do not attck people here and most of us tend to care for our fish so we tend to give out advice and tell you what youre doing wrong next time you decide to buy a fish maybe think to youself "Is this a stupid idea? Can I properly care for this fish without putting my other fish at risk?" I admit I buy fish at impulses but I also have the room and would rearange everything to keep my fish safe and ...alive.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

no impulse fish unless you have empty tanks = # of impulse fish. Yes, I've bought fish together that all ended up solitary in separate tanks.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

I agree with you guys and a lot of it just comes down to common sense. I mean mixing a carnivorous/omnivorous fish with a large mouth such as a Ghost Knife or large Bichir with Neon Tetras is obviously a bad idea.


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

ghost knives r 10-22 $ and i asked the lady at the store and she said it was okay. usualy they know enough to match fish. i just got it 7 feeder fish and an hour ago was down to 4


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

What store are you talking about because if it is PETCO or PETSMART you are dead wrong about that.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

ben_da_destroye said:


> ghost knives r 10-22 $ and i asked the lady at the store and she said it was okay. usualy they know enough to match fish. i just got it 7 feeder fish and an hour ago was down to 4


You have to do the research yourself I can't stress this enough petstores normally hire philapinos who don't know crap all.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

ben_da_destroye said:


> ghost knives r 10-22 $ and i asked the lady at the store and she said it was okay. usualy they know enough to match fish. i just got it 7 feeder fish and an hour ago was down to 4


You're wasting money on feeder fish. Ghost Knives will gladly eat flakes, pellets, beef heart, bloodworms, and tubifex worms like the rest of tropical fish.


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2009)

did u go to the same place where u got your "Pacu" from?


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

Ghost Knife said:


> You're wasting money on feeder fish. Ghost Knives will gladly eat flakes, pellets, beef heart, bloodworms, and tubifex worms like the rest of tropical fish.


i think she mentioned that the GK died. the feeders are probably for the piranha. i bet she also forgot to quarintine them.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

StripesAndFins said:


> i think she mentioned that the GK died. the feeders are probably for the piranha. i bet she also forgot to quarintine them.


Geez, people need to RESEARCH before having children or pets of any kind.


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2009)

gimme pets! gimme pets! i dont want children!


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Zakk said:


> gimme pets! gimme pets! i dont want children!


Children are more work than pets anyway unless you have as many as Hoyo12 does. :lol:


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## Guest (Sep 29, 2009)

uhhhh i might but it beats havin to have children run around wreakin havoc....i like the havoc i creat!


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

*.*

HE. and yes i buy most of my fish from petco or petsmart. there are 2 or 3 small shops around. quarentine them? i floated them. we also have what is probably about 75 gallon tank that holds 2 oscars about 10 inches in length each with a big pleco and we have never had any feeder problems. also had a real mean red devil alone in the tank that i have now but it got injured and died of bacteria. it also had no problems with feeders.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Ok so thats the point, if your doing your shopping at PETCO and PETSMART then you need to do the research yourself, don't rely on them because they are wrong 99% of the time.


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

that is so retarded then because half the time they act like they know what they are talking about and wont gaurentee certain fish if they think it will die with your current fish. the chick at petco is the one who told me to put the BK with the pacu btw. (saw something on here about why i would do that). but yeah anyway....


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

You feed feeders to you oscars and you keep them in a 75 gallon tank? I'm sorry but my opinion of you has hit rock bottom and I feel horrible for you fish. Feeders will not supply a fish with the full nutrition they need and can carry tons of desease and parasites, you oscars will not be able to fight off any deseases or parasites and will end up like your red devil. The 75 is not adiquate for a pair of fish that size and they will most likely be stunted and prone to more problems. I do thank you for coming to us to find help for your fish and getting good advice, I just hope you take it into consideration and create a better home for your oscars and feed them what they need.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

Horse hockey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

That is not a piranha. That is a pacu... you can tell by the overbite. Unfortunately pacus will eat other fish being oppurtunistic. If your oscars are really 10" then you have not stunted there growth and should be proud of raising them to that size. A 75 gallon is a bit small... but with adequite water changes it should be fine. I would not add any other fish though, and I would not feed feeder fish (they are way to expensive anyway) I find that raw fish, krill, silversides, prawn, large carnivore pellet food and the occasional cricket is a good diet for them.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Fishfirst said:


> That is not a piranha. That is a pacu... you can tell by the overbite.


I was just going to post "that doesnt look like a pirahna"... lol. In my opinion? prepare for a huge fish.
BTW- Blue cray, get over yourself dude


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Gourami Swami said:


> I was just going to post "that doesnt look like a pirahna"... lol. In my opinion? prepare for a huge fish.
> BTW- Blue cray, get over yourself dude


If you don't like what I'm saying block me, if you haven't noticed this board is for helping people with problems.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacu Pacu eat anything, even your nose.


> when a 60 cm (24-inch) Pacu (named Pacu) jumped out of his tank in Fort Worth, TX and bit the nose off of his owner. The nose was later reattached, sans left nostril


Eat it before it eats you.

Grows 60 lbs, 30 inches and lives 20 years. Such a perfect choice for the home aquarium. Thank you, PetChainStore so much for making them easily available.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Yeah my LFS won't even take them back anymore because we can't get rid of them and once they are big we don't have the space to handle them. And I finally checked the pic, its definitely a Pacu.


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

I had an oscar once, I found that crickets and that vitamin powder you can buy worked real well as a staple food. Thing grew huge, and colored up real nice. Reading these forums really do make me wish I had my own house. I would have a library/fish fish room, with atleast 3 100+gal. tanks. 1 discus, 1 oscar, 1 wtfidk.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Blue Cray said:


> If you don't like what I'm saying block me, if you haven't noticed this board is for helping people with problems.


Why is it many people on here lash out at you? They must be envious of all the large tanks you have.:lol:


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Blue Cray said:


> Iif you haven't noticed this board is for helping people with problems.



Exactly. You being condescending inst helping the original poster, whos oscars sound just fine to me. And ghost knife, maybe people lash out at him because he acts like a child.


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## Guest (Sep 30, 2009)

children. calm down!


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Gourami Swami said:


> Exactly. You being condescending inst helping the original poster, whos oscars sound just fine to me. And ghost knife, maybe people lash out at him because he acts like a child.


Clearly you don't know how to take care of oscars then. I really don't care wwhat you think of me. Feeders are not a good source of food for oscars if you haven't noticed.


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## Blue Cray (Oct 19, 2007)

Ghost Knife said:


> Why is it many people on here lash out at you? They must be envious of all the large tanks you have.:lol:


No its because I tend to get ********************y when people don't know how to take care of their animals and I hate hearing about how people's pets are suffering. People screw up I know but I don't care research is needed when buying animals. I think I'm going to say screw this forum people give horrible advice here and have short fuses when they know they're wrong. 

I'd just like to say I have always given advice that I know 100% is correct, I have messed up a couple times but I admit my mistakes. I stand by what I've been saying in this thread because I know it's good advice especially the information about the oscars. Why do you think I don't keep them anymore? I have a 75 gallon tank I could but them in but they don't belong in a tank that size, they grow upwards of 14 inches and will be stunted in a tank that size. Gourami-swami if you disagree then fine you disagree, I have seen how you keep your fish I know you know what you're doing but come on oscars are messy, grow huge, and are intelligent enough to sulk when kept in crappy conditions and small tanks. Imagine if you were a 14" fish in with another 14" fish in a 4ft tank would you be happy?


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

here are the oscars (and measured). the tank is filthy but its my step fathers. also of course they dont only eat feeders that would be a crazy cost. and now i dont know what it is. it does have an underbite and i can see some small sharp teeth. 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/100_4954.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/100_4957.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/100_4955.jpg


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Yeah I gotta agree with Blue Cray, all you gotta realize is he isn't all sunshine with his advice. He tells you what he knows and he comes off mean but thats just him. If you have seen his tanks he does know what he is talking about when it comes to large fish. 
I also think you should have a 90 or larger gallon tank for oscars, its cool to grow them up in something less, but in the end they should be in a larger tank. They are smart fish and should be treated like you would treat a dog.
I personally would ask you not to leave blue cray, just realize that your going to be misunderstood and brush it off.


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

I never said you dont know your stuff man, so dont say I dont know mine. All im saying is that things like yelling at someone and even making racial slurs in your posts, arent gonna make people take you seriously, and if you want people to actually follow your advice, which may indeed be very good advice, you should come off the high chair and realize that there are many ways to keep fish. Just because someone doesnt stick to your strict rules, it doesnt mean you need to "feel bad for" his fish.
/end rant

And to ben, the 75 would be fine for all those fish if a healthy water change schedule is kept up, but judging by the hole in the head case your oscars have, i think it may need to be upped a little in your case. Once a week WC's are the key to healthy fish imo


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

actually feeders are just fine for feeding...if you know how to feed ; that is...
there are no fish that are 100% carnivorous or herbivorous....
i have used feeders for decades..have never had a problem...bought hundreds of them every week.......after all ; fish eat fish..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The usual #1 ingredient in most fish food is fish meal, which is ground up fish. We heard a talk about 'gut-loading' feeder fish and worms so that the fish get a balanced diet. In the wild, eaten fish would have been eating veggies. In stores, many fish that are shipped aren't fed at all. But because of disease, I wouldn't ever buy feeder goldfish. Adding anything that hasn't been quarantined is a gamble and the more feeders you use, the worse the odds. If you have to feed live fish, its better to raise your own feeders where you control what they've been exposed to. The public aquariums go one better, they feed saltwater raised guppies and shrimp to freshwater fish and freshwater raised feeders to saltwater fish. This lessens the odds of transmitting disease. 

Hole-in-the-head has been linked to poor nutrition as well as heximita. Even fish need a balanced diet for a healthy immune system. 

Oscars are great fish, but like Pacu, IR sharks and goldfish, IMO shouldn't be anyones first fish. Stores that stock them do so because they can get them cheaper than other fish (All have huge spawns and grow quickly) and make more money on them. IMO any store that has a tank full of any of these fish is automatically disqualified as a source of good advice. If they cared about anything besides profits, they wouldn't have more than 1 or 2 with a "warning future big fish" sign. If they are only interested in your money, they will tell you what you need to hear to buy the fish. How many 75 gallon and up tanks are sold each year compared to 10 gallon tanks. Not nearly enough big tanks for all the oscars sold. Its pitiful to see people begging on craigslist for a new home for fish that have outgrown their homes.

Stores assume you will kill the fish and come back for more. People on the forum assume you will keep the fish for the rest of its natural life and want it to have optimal conditions. We have different opinions of what that means, but don't let our squabbles distract you from taking care of your fish. Sometimes we give bad advice, but we won't deliberately mislead you to get your money.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

well said emc...i have always gutloaded my feeders..i used feeder goldfish and would only feed them veggie flakes..about 10 minutes after feeding them,i would get a netful to feed the big fish...i usually went through about 500 feeders a week.
and yes; the stores are counting on folks to kill their fish so they come btack for more..


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## Gourami Swami (Jul 4, 2006)

Yea gutloading works great. I used to breed wild guppies as feeders, and if you pump em full of spirulina and sometimes frozen foods, they are just a more fun way to feed prepared foods basically.


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## redpaulhus (Jan 18, 2005)

lohachata said:


> actually feeders are just fine for feeding...if you know how to feed ; that is...
> there are no fish that are 100% carnivorous or herbivorous....
> i have used feeders for decades..have never had a problem...bought hundreds of them every week.......after all ; fish eat fish..


Fish eat fish - but no commonly kept tropical predator eats thiaminase-laden coldwater minnows in the wild.
Feeding goldfish and rosies/tuffies to tropical fish is like feeding penguin fillets to lions - the fat and amino acid profile is way off, these are not the prey that these fish evolved to eat and the thiaminase content causes vitamin B deficiency.
Combining that that with huge pathogen content on most commercial feeders (and the fact that most buyers of feeders don't know what a pathogen is) and you have a ticking time bomb.

I've been eating bacon-double cheeseburgers most of my life - which is why I'm gonna be dealing with heart disease and bypass surgery soon, like most of the adult males in my familiy. Doesn't mean it was a good idea, just because it hasn't killed me yet.
How many of us know somebody who smoked cigarettes and were "healthy" right up until lung cancer killed them ? 
Doesn't mean its a good idea.

There are studies that show that feeders are bad. I've yet to see one that shows that they are not bad.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

There is a place for feeders, like for wild-caught piscavorous fish like pikes. But the prepared foods we have are so good now, it is seldom a real necessity and there are enough drawback to feeders to make it often not worth the risks. Most people who feed feeder just like watching fish eat fish. They buy oscars just to watch them eat. Around here, feeding live fish is often just a way to control your over population of hemichromis and convicts.

I've started to feed live blackworms and seen an improvement in my fish (more spawning, better color). So I understand why you'd want to feed the best food, whatever it is.


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## Tig (Oct 1, 2009)

ben_da_destroye said:


> http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/100_4846.jpg


 Hate to go against the majority, but I believe that is a Pacu. The mouth is too small to be a Piranha. It is not upturned enough, and the snout is too rounded.


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## Fishhorder (Sep 21, 2009)

:-x


emc7 said:


> Oscars are great fish, but like Pacu, IR sharks and goldfish, IMO shouldn't be anyones first fish. Stores that stock them do so because they can get them cheaper than other fish (All have huge spawns and grow quickly) and make more money on them. IMO any store that has a tank full of any of these fish is automatically disqualified as a source of good advice. If they cared about anything besides profits, they wouldn't have more than 1 or 2 with a "warning future big fish" sign. If they are only interested in your money, they will tell you what you need to hear to buy the fish. How many 75 gallon and up tanks are sold each year compared to 10 gallon tanks. Not nearly enough big tanks for all the oscars sold. Its pitiful to see people begging on craigslist for a new home for fish that have outgrown their homes.
> 
> Stores assume you will kill the fish and come back for more. People on the forum assume you will keep the fish for the rest of its natural life and want it to have optimal conditions. We have different opinions of what that means, but don't let our squabbles distract you from taking care of your fish. Sometimes we give bad advice, but we won't deliberately mislead you to get your money.


I completely resent the remark that a store is disqualified as a source of good advice because of certain fish stocked and sold. Before you assume ALL stores are the same. We stock Oscars, arrowanas, Frontosas, shovelnoses, redtail cats so I guess my store and the other mom and pop in town are no good and our advice sucks. Well guess what, I inform anyone who is interested in buying these types of what they are in for and oh yeah, I reserve the right to not sell to any customer. Most of customers who purchase said fish know about the fish, have to proper housing and don't feed feeders to their fish because they don't want any issues. We also take in unwanted Oscars if we have room for them and guess what we didn't sell them in the first place. Oh I'm sorry I take that back, we did take back a 6 in Oscar that we sold because the gentleman was shipping off to Iraq. We do not take Pacu because 1. We do not sell them 2. We have no room for that big of a fish 3. I tell them to take it back to where they got it.

A good number of Petsmart/Petco/Walmart employees know very little other then it is a fish and it swims. At my local Petco the fish dept. manager is into saltwater big time. He owns multiple tanks and knows his stuff. The other 3 main employees in that department also know their stuff with salt as they all own salt tanks but they also know good info on fresh as that two also have fresh tanks. 

I try to give the best advice to my customers as I can. If I can't answer a question I turn to the flat thing on the counter it think it is a computer and find the answer. I have more people come back time after time because of my customer service.

One last thing, none of the following fish listed above get "feeders" at our store. They eat frozen, live black worms or dried fish food. So, if you buy an oscar from me, it didn't learn to eat feeders from me.

Sorry to everyone who isn't attacking "stores". It just urks my cookies.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

there are almost no stores in the US that "do not" sell fish such as oscars,piranha;arowana and others with large size potential..folks can sit back and say that these kind of fish should not be sold.....the big stores could care less about what their customers buy..they are in business to get as much of your money as they can...
mom and pop shops are in business because they are trying to make a living doing what they love..take food from your baby's mouth and see how fast you get some monsters in your tanks..in this day and age,small shops have a very difficult time surviving because they just cannot compete with the big stores..there is a demand for a lot of animals that are definitely beyond what some folks can handle..maybe these folks should just close up their shops and go live under a bridge..
having a rigid code of ethics is great when it doesn't affect your way of life....and it is easy when it doesn't take needed money from your pockets..if you own a shop and choose not to sell certain items ;that is your choice..i think it unfair to condemn others for nor conforming to your ideas.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Actually fish order we were only talking about PETCO and PETSMART because thats where the guy bought his Pacu, maybe you didn't actually read the whole thread?
And i work at a LFS too and I totally get what your saying, but just because you inform people, doesn't mean they listen or care.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

A LFS near me had a 10 gallon tank full of 80-100 Peacock Bass. Now there can't possibly be enough big tanks for that many around here. I get that stores need to make money and if they don't stock these fish, other stores will. But these things are going to end up in the Lake and laws are going to be passed keeping anyone from getting these and many other interesting fish. Someone needs to step up and be responsible and draw a line. Just because a demand can be met, doesn't mean it should. BTW: that store is out of business and the little store that stocks killies, guppies, rasboras, neon tetra, rams, and discus is doing well.

IME the #1 reason people leave the hobby is that the fish get to be too much trouble. How does that happen? The fish get too big for the tank/filter they have and it becomes impossible to keep the water clean and the fish healthy. Don't believe me? Look on craigslist and see all the tanks full of Pacu and Oscars for sale. 

My point was, if the stores are stocking these fish, it means that money is their primary motivator (it is with any business) and you can reasonably expect that to color any advice they give. You should double check anything you hear from someone with a "vested interest" with another source. Its just common sense. A store that says, "we don't stock those because they need very large tanks", is more likely to be one that will sell you something that fits your tank as they have demonstrated a willingness to forgo some profit for ethical reasons. 

I don't mean to pick on the stores. I'm just sick of irresponsible behavior. If everyone would stop for a minute and think of the consequences of each action, we wouldn't need a bunch of laws telling us what not to do. I can't legally sell fish for cash in Georgia, (because hobby-breeders fall under the anti-puppy mill law), until I am inspected to prove I am humanely treating my fish and get a licence (Guess how many inspectors there are). Meanwhile PetSmart can sell Pacus with betta jars and report a good "margin" to their stockholders.


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

*Sad*

.... Deadpool died last night.... Here are some photos before i threw it into the yard... T_T........ 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/0728102140b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/0728102140a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v299/ben_da_destroyer/0728102139a.jpg


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Sorry for your loss. Its easy to get attached to a fish you've had a long time.

Wow, that fish was 12" long, not counting the tail. 
Did you bury it? Did something come eat it? A raccoon, a thousand ants?

I've often put them in the flower bed under the pine straw, but my fish are smaller and there are a lot of ants.


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## ben_da_destroye (Sep 25, 2009)

*Sadness*

.... Deadpool died .... Here are some photos before i threw it into the yard... T_T........ 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...728102140b.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...728102140a.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...728102139a.jpg


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## Revolution1221 (Apr 20, 2010)

emc7 said:


> A LFS near me had a 10 gallon tank full of 80-100 Peacock Bass. Now there can't possibly be enough big tanks for that many around here. I get that stores need to make money and if they don't stock these fish, other stores will. But these things are going to end up in the Lake and laws are going to be passed keeping anyone from getting these and many other interesting fish. Someone needs to step up and be responsible and draw a line. Just because a demand can be met, doesn't mean it should. BTW: that store is out of business and the little store that stocks killies, guppies, rasboras, neon tetra, rams, and discus is doing well.
> 
> IME the #1 reason people leave the hobby is that the fish get to be too much trouble. How does that happen? The fish get too big for the tank/filter they have and it becomes impossible to keep the water clean and the fish healthy. Don't believe me? Look on craigslist and see all the tanks full of Pacu and Oscars for sale.
> 
> ...


i know this is a little old but anyways. thats why im glad the owner of the petstore i work at is never around and doesn't actually deal with customers nor does he have anything to do with what fish we order. We dont get comission so we do not have a vested interest and 1 of the other 2 employees really cares about animals like me and will not stand for seeing a fish end up in an improper home. the other one not so much we dont like him and wish he didn't work there, its just a job to him. We have set regulations on the fish we cary. We dont sell oscars or any other "problem fish" that the only time we have them is when they are donated and sadly half of the time we get so many we cannot find homes for them and they are so big and take up all of our big donation tanks not allowing us to keep other fish in with them and half of them end up getting euthenized. We have a profesional come in tho and he sprinkles something in the water that puts them down immdetiately. We dont carry any fish that gets over 15 inches with minor exceptions for fish like pike cichlids and bichars for the people who actually can house them but we rarely stock them and mostly only do them on special order. We also have the walls plastered with warning signs about lots of fish we dont even carry to hopefully deter people from buying them at other stores. Any time anyone enters the store and starts asking about fish we ask 3 questions right off the bat before anything else. 1. how big is your tank(ive found typically when u immediately open with this question most people arn't prepared and dont have time to lie and can usually tell when they are because they will stuter and or point to a tank and be like id say its ABOUT that size. 2. what fish and how many are in the tank. 3. how long has your tank been running. These questions alone are usually enough just to deter someone from trying to buy a fish they shouldn't. Ocassionaly youll get that person that says "its just a fish", "a fish only gets as big as the tank its in", or "if it dies ill just buy another" I had this lady a couple weeks ago before i could say anything shes like these are the fish i want. 3 electric blue jack dempsys, 1 gsp, 2 common plecos, 1 green severum, 1 salvini, and 5 different peacocks. i litteraly looked at her with mouth wide open and said first off what size tank is this and her response "a 20 gallon" i seriously just pointed and said these fish get huge your tank is tiny and they will kill eachother our community fish are on that side and walked away speachless. she then came at my yelling my son has a jack demspy in his tank with a pleco and a salvini. And i said well what size is his tank and she goes 90 gallons i said well yeah thats why. she kept going off so i just refused her service. but im glad there are enough people out there that actually care the ones who say the magic words "what do i need for this fish and what do i need to know about it" and as you go around telling them what they need they dont check prices they just say k ill get that. This is a craigslist add i found the other night and i feel bad for the poor sap that actually buys this tank. http://lacrosse.craigslist.org/pet/1880426654.html


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