Need more info on Pacus!!

[jvtaiman]

i have 4 kissing fish(gouramis) that are 2'' already in a 20 gal tank. I went fish window shopping just to see what other kinds of fish are there and a Pacu(red bellied) caught my attention. the store associate reminded me that pacus get to be a really big in size. So needless to say, i purchased a 100 gal fish tank and set it all up for at least 1 1/2 weeks now. my question is, can anyone give me a site where a go and get more info on this awesome fish called pacus. i plan to get one, just one. thnx to everyone who responds cheers

[t_chelle16]

For starters, a 20 gallon is WAY too small for kissing gouramis. They get around 10" long and can be pretty territorial (the "kissing" is actually fighting). That said, the 100 gallon would be fine for the two of them.

As for the pacu, unless you can get a 300 - 900 gallon tank, don't get the pacu. Like I said in the other thread, red bellied pacus (the smallest species of pacu) get to be 24" long and need at least 300 gallons. But they are also very skittish fish and should be kept in groups which means you'd need closer to 900 gallons.

Here's some sites:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile86.html
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/pacu-red.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3515/P6_198.htm
http://www.mongabay.com/fish/serrasalminae.htm#Piaractus%20brachypomum

Really pacu aren't very apropriate to be kept as pets. If you want a good alternative, you could try silver dollars. They are closely related to pacus and look similar but don't get nearly as large and you could fit a few in the 100 gallon with the kissing gouramis.

-Chelle

[jvtaiman]

thnx for the advice my friend, but i changed my mind and decided to go with two oscars which do not grow that big. im also looking to purchase a 300 gal tank for my two oscars and the 100 gal for my guoramis like you said in the previous post. it should work vise versa. thnx again

[t_chelle16]

Have you gotten the oscars already? If not then wait until you actually have the larger tank. Oscars grow extremely quickly and two oscars will outgrow a 20 gallon in a couple months. Add the gouramis to the mix and it will be more like a month tops. If you already got them, then you're going to have to really hurry up getting the bigger tank ASAP. And really, you'd be better off returning them until you actually have the bigger tank set up and ready.

-Chelle