Weird Fish @ Monroe

[Chris D]

Caught a 4LB Red Belly Pacu Sat. evening on a crankbait. darnest thing I ever caught. I wish now I kept it seeing the stories in the newspaper about others catching one. It put up a good fight!

[idbefishing]

On a quick google search on what the heck is a red belly pacu. I came up with this which would explain why they showed up in our local water.

"'Question
IM HAVING TROUBLE FINDING FISH THAT I CAN ACTUALLY PUT IN MY TANK WHILE HAVING A RED BELLY PACU. DO U THINK U CAN HELP ME OUT BY TELLING ME WHAT FISHES CAN GO IN THE SAME TANK.I HAVE ALREADY A SILVER DOLLAR, AND A BALA SHARK WITH IT AND IT HAS WORKED OUT SO FAR, WUT OTHER FISHES CAN I PUT IN MY 55 GAL TANK.THANK YOU FOR UR TIME

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Answer
Dear Noe,
I'm really sorry to say but your aquarium is well-overstocked already. You see, Red bellied Pacus will easily outgrow a 55gallon alone and when at full maturity will be nearing 3 feet or more. Every well-cared for Pacu that i've seen has grown at over 24 inches long and about half as wide. A 55gal is no place for even one Pacu. (sorry)

Pacus are large high bioload (waste producing) fish and need huge aquariums and lots of good filtration and oxygenation. An aquarium for One mature with excellent mechanical and biological filtration would be around several hundred gallons. Tankmates for the pacu need to be large catfish and somewhat docile large cichlids. Please know this is a fish that demands a good commitment. Few stores will want to take a monster size of a fish should you decide not to keep him. This is why it is so important to research any fish before you buy in order to be more responsible for it's health and well-being.

Unfortunately many people are not warned of the pacus immense size and by the cute little babies only to have a true "tank-buster" of a giant in just a short amount of time.

I'm sorry to say your only options for your Pacu is to invest in an aquarium of at least 200 gallons very soon with proper filtration and other equiptment. Or try to find somebody who can take him if you don't want to keep him longterm.

I really do love red belly Pacus, they are giant fish with special needs and a great commitment on the keeper's part. If you could indeed provide sufficient space and good care, a mature pacu is truly an amazing pet

[JD7.62]

I appluad you for not crying wolf and mistaking the pacu for its much smaller relative the piranha! Many a DNR cant even tell the difference and label such a catch as a piranha!

Did you eat it? They are tasty!