sharkbait Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 does anyone here have any experiance with keeping pacu or pirana? can you even get them in NZ? im pretty keen to get hold of some but am not sure if i can/should or not. i have a little bit of experiance (not much) in keeping smaller tropical fish through helping my little brother with his tank. cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkbait Posted October 7, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 hmmmm. :-? i just searched the forums for pacu. i think pretty much sums it up. im still keen to have one but not right at the moment. can someone suggest another type of fish which is smaller but still has an aggressive look to it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 tiger oscar i think they look cool (but they are big) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jf2003 Posted October 7, 2004 Report Share Posted October 7, 2004 They sell Pacu at Redwood Aquatics here in Christchurch..... they do seem to grow quickly! everytime im out there they seem to have grown a third in body size! by memory think they are 25-35 dollars each.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 Try a Jaquar cichlid, they look pretty aggressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkbait Posted October 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 yeah those jaguar cichlids look pretty cool. how hard are they to look after? how much do they cost? what about tank size and what would be suitable tank mates? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 A member in Dunedin had trouble finding a home for his pacu after it got too big to turn around in his 8 x 2ft tank. They are big fish and IMO they should not be kept in aquariums. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 These guys were 11" the last I heard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Midas Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 What about silver dollars? They are smaller and still have that Pacu/Pirana shape, if thats what you are after. They could even coincide with medium sized cichlids too (ie 15-30cm) in a big tank. Probably not a Jag though. Male Jags normally seem to get about 40cm in length, with females smaller. A Jag would probably need at least 400-500 L tank. Tank mates? not many - they would have to be able to look after themselves and preferably be big too. Although then you'll need and even bigger tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petplanet Posted October 8, 2004 Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 Pacu fish are a real bad idea. They grow to a huge size and are a very nervous fish. I agree with the Silver Dollar option. The females grow larger than the males. Still a nervous fish but not massive. Forget about any types of plants unless they are for food. These guys even eat Java Fern and that stuff is pretty tuff. Cost about $14.00 each. Grow to about 20cm max. You could probably fit about 6 full grown ones in a 4 foot tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkbait Posted October 8, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2004 silver dollars are too shy. what im after is something that wont get much bigger than about 25cm but is still one bad ass fish. i am not too worried about having too keep it by itself - thats just the price i'll have to pay for wanting aggression. i know that just because some fish are aggressive doesnt mean all fish of that type are. probably a central american cichlid of some sort? thanks for answering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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