will the red belled pacus last?

[wizard]

I have a oscar that is 3 inches long. and i just got a red belled pacus that is two inches long. the pet store said they are good tankmates but the oscar is nipping at the pacus. Will they get along alright or will the oscar kill and try to eat the pacus?. the little oscar will eat a good sized goldfish but it will only eat the head off and spit the rest out. should i leave them together or seperate them. I dont want to lose the pacus. I have them in a ten gallon tank right now but soon i plan on getting a bigger tank. I thank you for all your advice.

[Tank]

Pacus get 2 foot long and need 400 gallons each so even if its not eaten by your oscar its not going to last long. your tank is not big enough for your oscar!! sorry for being so blunt.

[Fish Addict]

Ok the Oscar will need at least a 55 gallon and the Pacus will need 300 to 400 tank alone because the Oscar will grow to be 1 foot+ and the Pacus will grow to be 2 feet + so unless you are getting a 400 gal tank I would not keep the Pacus
Sorry too be the bringer of bad news

[wizard]

First im glad that you are being blunt and stright to the point .no need to be sorry for that. i just want whats best for my fish. they will have a bigger home real soon, i sit and watch them for hours at a time. they even keep me from watching my favorite tv shows and it takes alot to distract me from that lol. I never thought that i could get so attatched to fish. it.s a new hobby for me and i really enjoy it .but the thing is. when i bought the red bellyed pacus they said it only gets 10" long. well now i know thats not true so from now on i will get more information before i jump right in and buy a fish.I am glad this website is here. i am learning alot from reading the posts and replies thank you so much.

[t_chelle16]

You're going to need a larger tank really soon. Do you know what your water parameters are for the 10 gallon (ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte)? How often are you doing water changes?

Oscars grow 1"/month and a 3" oscar is really pushing the limit for a 10 gallon tank. My guess is your water parameters aren't all that great which can lead to weakened immune system, HITH disease, and death. Plus a tank that is physically too small can cause stunting and deformities.

You really need to start shopping for a new tank today.

And I'm not entirely sure about the growth rate of pacus, but I think they can reach a foot long in a year.

EDIT: One more thing. Stop giving them feeder fish. They have very little nutritional value (can actually cause a vitamin deficency and HITH), can introduce all kinds of diseases, and can't be properly digested. If you want to give live foods (only as an occasional treat), you would be better off with earthworms, and insects like crickets, meal worms, beetles, etc (just make sure they haven't been exposed to pesticides).

-Chelle

[Fish Addict]

no problem

[wizard]

No i don;t know what the parameters is on my ten gallon tank, How do i find out? i;ve had the tank for 3 weeks now and i have changed the water once, two weeks after i got it.the fish seem to be happy and very active. I will take your advice and not give it feeder fish anymore. I have given it brine shrimp, pellets and flakes but it dont seem to want that, it will eat a little of the brine shrimp but only a bite or two. i guess if it gets hungry enough it will eat whatever one that i feed it. the pacus is a pig it will eat any of it that i feed them. so my wife named it piggy. i do need to find out about parameters though. im starting to get worried about that now.

[t_chelle16]

Buy test kits for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte. Your LFS should have them.

-Chelle