# tank size/fish size?



## RAZORTEETH (Feb 6, 2003)

I am only asking this question for the simple fact i have heard quite a bit of you say a red bellied pacu will out grow the tank there in now i dont want to disagree for i have never had them but i am lost considering my son's babysitter has a 55 gallon with a bunch of fish in it and one of the fish is a red bellied pacu she has had the majority of these fish anywhere between 15 and 20 yrs the silver dollar being the oldest anyway her pacu is smaller then the silver dollar and does not appear to be getting any bigger so is there different species of red bellied pacu's or no because hers is still alive and it does not look like it is gonna out grow the tank. oh yeah here are my pronunciation marks forgot em lol . . . . ,, ??????


----------



## SnowCichlid (Jan 10, 2003)

red bellied pacu; Name: Piaractus brachypomum
this fish will reach sizes of 60cm ( 2 feet ) 
if the 55G is a standard size 55 then it will only be 12.5" wide wich wouldnt accomidate for this fish when bigger

the rule of thumb that some places use and that can be aplied to at the very max in my opinion is 1 inch of fish per gallon


----------



## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

I not understanding this.. The 55 gal has a lot of other different fish that has been there for a mere 15-20 yr span. But as you recall knowing about Pacus, they get huge.. but the one in the tank deosnt seem to be growing more then it really should??

If thats what your asking, the only thing I can express is that the 55 gal, with all the other fish housed in it, would stunt the growth because of overcrowding. If the Pacu's been in there for so many yrs, and it hasnt grown.. then for sure it would've reached his yearly expectant size, accomodated by the size of his environment.


----------



## RAZORTEETH (Feb 6, 2003)

ok heres a list of what is in the tank 2 clown loaches,2 silver dollars,1common pleco,1red bellied pacu,a cichlid of some sort i assume a calm one to be in this community tank one fish that's about the size of a large silver dollar but is completely yellow,10cory catfish


----------



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

their are several species of pacu, but the most likely suggestion is that these fish have stunted growth due to their tank conditions - I have never seen a fish reach its full size in a small tank - except for small fish


----------

