Black-finned Pacu Fish Profile, with care, maintenance requirements and breeding information for your tropical fish

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This page will give a completely detailed profile of the selected fish, from A to Z. The profiled fish will be chosen randomly by Badman, and will come from the complete genre of tropical fish. New profiles are added on a regular basis. If you would like to submit a profile for the site please contact me. Don't forget to let us know you experiences with this fish by filling out the

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South America

Colossoma macropomum

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From: Paigey
Date:10/10/2005

I received an 8-inch Red-Bellied Pacu that was fed feeder-fish it's whole life from a good friend who happened to be Asian (you don't say NO to a gift---nomatter what it is). They were obviously unaware of the size and food requirements of this wonderful beauty! After hours of research, I've moved "Matthew" (12 inches when I got him) from a 29 g to a 125 g with his tankmate, (a 6 inch Pleco), as well as a new baby Pacu tankmate (I purchased after reading that they were a schooling fish; he'd come from a tank full of fish!) and they seem extremely happy in the larger tank! Matthew was very tense and would "freak out" a lot in the 30 g, but when I moved him and Liesl (his wifey!) and Delmar (the Pleco) into the 125 g, Matthew---especially, was totally mellow and LOVES his new home. I would NEVER recommend this fish for someone who didn't have the money or tank space (esp. the WEIGHT!)---Do NOT buy a Pacu. Wal-Mart should NOT sell them--and I told them why! We will be building in the next year and will be building a 750 g into one of our walls in our new home for our Pacus. We are die-hard animal lovers as we also have 2 Pit Bulls, 1 cat, 1 Cockatoo, and 2 other tanks...Oh, and did I mention 2 kids as well? Yeah. Please, 99% of people should NOT buy the Pacu. They are sweet, but WAY too large and totally fast-growing for the average (and seasoned!!!) aquarium hobbyist. These fish need to be a VITAL part of your life....PERIOD.

From: David T.
Date:02/05/2005

I have two pacus in a 75 gallon fish tank. These two pacus are about 6 inches. I have had them for about a month and a half now and when I got the from the store they were less than an inch. The store said they would grow about a foot and at the rate mine are growing that's hard to believe. My pacus will eat anything. They love algae wafers and Wardley- Shrimp pellets. They are peaceful but will nip and wont be pushed around. DO NOT buy this fish unless you are going to move up to a very very big tank.

From: Mike E
Date:1/31/2005

Just wanted to let readers know how big Pacu's will get. At my LFS, there is a 1500 gallon cylindrical tank. (Like you'd see at Marine Land :P) Anyway, they have a pacu there that is believe to be over 10 years old and ways 55 lbs. This fish is HUGE! I don't know why they even sell these fish. Anyway, good luck to anyone planning on buying one!

From: Angie
Date:12/25/2004

I have 3 red pacus. I bought them when they were only 2 inches. Within 8 months, they are now about 13 inches. This fish gets awful big. Fishstores should not sell these fish to people without informing the buyer on this fish. Petco tags say that this fish grows to only 8 - 10 inches, but according to many websites and my fish, it doesn't. This fish is rather enjoyable to watch when it is smaller, but once it gets too big, they are hard to keep in tanks. They jolt in sudden movements and are strong enough to knock down heavy rocks and wood (they killed 1 of my 13 inch Plecos that way). They also eat ANYTHING. They eat my oscar food, they eat the algae wafers for my plecos, and most of the other fish don't get anything to eat because they eat it all. If I"threaten" not to feed them, they chew up the thermometers, the filter parts, plastic plants, and all other decorations. If you're willing to supply these fish with all you've got (300+ gallon tank, lots of food, heavy decorations, etc.), you are welcome to watch them grow into 3 feet and 75 pound monsters.

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