# Red belly Pacus



## Serygo (May 17, 2004)

Hi,
I am just wondering because my LFS says that red belly pacus and red belly piranhas are the same???
Are they or is what their saying just false???
Ok..
thanks!
-Cole
P.S.
would like inch long red belly pacus be safe with a juvenile red tiger oscar, and 2 red belly piranhas (all juvenile)???
in other words: are red belly piranhas and red belly pacus safe with eachother, and are red belly pacus safe with juvenile tiger oscars???


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## golfer931 (Feb 26, 2003)

no they are not the same. they look similar but are very different. pacus get about 2'+ and dont have teeth persay. they usually eat fruits and vegetables. i used to keep one with my shoal of reds and caribes but i got rid of it when it got too big. they never had any problems.


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## Serygo (May 17, 2004)

so are they safe or not???
because if they are, I will just go down and get me one of lil weird o's...
So please tell meif they are or arnt... 
ok thanks!


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

They sometimes do well together, sometimes they don't.
But pacu's don't belong in home aquariums, unless you have a massive tank or pond (many, many 100's of gallons) at your disposal - pacu's get at least 2 ft in size, some even a lot bigger.
Pet stores that sell pacu's should be closed down for being irresponsible, imo.

*_Moved to Piranha Discussion_*


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## Serygo (May 17, 2004)

Ok, so I wont get some baby pacu's (my lfs has the pacus in like a 50 gallon tank, there only about 1 inch in length...
Ill just have to go an get them to order me 1 or 2 red bellys...
Ok Thanks!
-Cole


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

I nulled my vote, but will reply to the question; _fishyfrenzy21 Posted on Jun 18 2004, 06:32 PM 
so are they safe or not???

_

No, neither are safe because:

1) Some hobbyists release piranas into the wild, therefore making the act unsafe.

2) Hobbyists release pacus into the wild, therefore scaring the public into thinking a pirana has been released. And this is an assault on native fishes and a disservice to hobbyists who keep piranas "responsibly."


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## bryang (May 2, 2004)

pacus have teeth, not like piranha teeth but little teeith shaped similar to humans just way smaller


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## DirtyJersey (Apr 28, 2004)

they sell pacu's by the hundreds at walmart. i saw some kids saying that they were going to get them and feed them some goldfish, i just shook my head.


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## NitrousCorvette (May 31, 2004)

> no they are not the same. they look similar but are very different. pacus get about 2'+ and dont have teeth persay. they usually eat fruits and vegetables. i used to keep one with my shoal of reds and caribes but i got rid of it when it got too big. they never had any problems.


.........right........um i always saw teeth on pacus behind their lip...........you should check for yourself.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

fishyfrenzy21 said:


> Ok, so I wont get some baby pacu's (my lfs has the pacus in like a 50 gallon tank, there only about 1 inch in length...
> Ill just have to go an get them to order me 1 or 2 red bellys...
> Ok Thanks!
> -Cole


 if your tank is less than 55g, you should only keep a serra genus of piranha. otherwise, 2 pygos will kill eachother, and one will bore you to death and will be really skittish. get atleast 3 in a 55g tank.


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## tlove700 (Jun 8, 2004)

dont get the pacu. i have three and they do eat gold fish for the record. they are greedy punks. for now they are in my 75g with three rbps and one tiger oscar. its getting crowed so im givin up on the pacus they are going to a friend with a much bigger tank. they get along fine with the tiger oscar also. it just depends on the size of your oscar vs. the size of the p's.


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

Judazzz said:


> Pet stores that sell pacu's should be closed down for being irresponsible, imo.
> 
> *_Moved to Piranha Discussion_*


 _Anything to argue with Jonas_









That's a little hard core.
Pacus, if sold by pet shops, should be sold with a solid disclaimer reguarding their potential size and requirements. So many shops sell these potential behemoths like fancy guppies. They definitely need to assume some responsibilty. 
One LFS by me now refuses to carry them. Their size is one thing but, the rate wich they gain that size creates the problem. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a tropical fish that grows faster than pacus, or one that eats as much. (Red Tail Cats might be a rival)


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## camotekid (Sep 21, 2003)

i think they should impose that law here. pacus are sold here like white mice.


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## tanmuscles (Feb 18, 2004)

Judazzz said:


> Pet stores that sell pacu's should be closed down for being irresponsible, imo.


 My local petco won't sell them to anyone with a tank smaller than 125 gallons.


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

tanmuscles said:


> Judazzz said:
> 
> 
> > Pet stores that sell pacu's should be closed down for being irresponsible, imo.
> ...


 That's a weak rule and difficult to enforce. Educating is best.


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## airtorey15 (Jun 15, 2003)

They grow HUGE!!







They can go with a shoal sometimes, usually try to get it bigger then the p's. Which isn't hard to do.


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## Trimma194 (Mar 20, 2004)

ive got a pacu and he is growing like a madman---but eventually i will get rid of him


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## Jebus (Feb 29, 2004)

NitrousCorvette said:


> > no they are not the same. they look similar but are very different. pacus get about 2'+ and dont have teeth persay. they usually eat fruits and vegetables. i used to keep one with my shoal of reds and caribes but i got rid of it when it got too big. they never had any problems.
> 
> 
> .........right........um i always saw teeth on pacus behind their lip...........you should check for yourself.


 iv kept pacus and they do have teeth.


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## BAMBINO (May 29, 2004)

naw dude pacus are weak sauce. me and my drunk freind got into a dispute on how my shoal of reds are actually pacus. he pissed me off so i kicked him out of my house.
pacus' tameness give rbps a bad rep. and as for letting em go in the wild- if you do it, make sure its a private pond with no access to local waterways. 
im not sayin do it or dont, im sayin - man is gonna do what man is gonna do.
oh i havent released mine, and ive thought about the perffect spot if i did.but my ps still have a long time b4 they expire.









i should have cut his finger off and fed it to my rbps and made him watch. then have him tell me my ps arent vegitarian pacus. - what a fool.









peace, 
phill


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## frankie_knuckles (Apr 27, 2004)

your an idiot if you are considering releasing your pacu into a local pond of some sort thats why fish get freekin banned







your an ass


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## phil me in (Jun 6, 2004)

pacus suck plus they get to big to keep unless your rich and have lots of food and a huge tank.
*bambino u should have cut his figer off and fed it to the p's that would be awesome. jk


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Serrapygo said:


> tanmuscles said:
> 
> 
> > Judazzz said:
> ...


 I agree: of course it makes no sense to shut down any lfs that sells pacu's (hardcore is my style, you know







), but most don't know better either. They sell pacu's, state they reach 14" max and simply do not know better. So before educating the public, we should start with lfs employees (perhaps through official regulations/guidelines, as you said).
It's a two-way thing: as long as the sellers remain ignorant, it's hard to expect the customers get educated.

btw: justifying the release by saying "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" must be the most stupid thing I've heard all day. There's no excuse whatsoever, and people that do release fish should be punished severely, imo.


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## PARANHAZ69 (Dec 16, 2003)

LFS's are fuckin idiots. My lfs has a p that he got as a BLACK piranha, but it has a reddish purple. I asked him if i culd take a pic to id it but he said no. If it isn't a black piranha i dont want to know. thats what that ignorant f*cker said.


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## Little Waffen (Mar 13, 2004)

hastatus said:


> I nulled my vote, but will reply to the question; _fishyfrenzy21 Posted on Jun 18 2004, 06:32 PM
> so are they safe or not???
> 
> _
> ...










i like that answer!!


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## Little Waffen (Mar 13, 2004)

Little Waffen said:


> hastatus said:
> 
> 
> > I nulled my vote, but will reply to the question; _fishyfrenzy21 Posted on Jun 18 2004, 06:32 PM
> ...


,its true tho i have always been into fish and i try hard to bring its habitat to them the best i can ,,,and i dont like pet shops selling pacus because its not fair to the fish ,,,"only if it has many many many gals of water so there happy ,,,well thats my thought on it,,


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## Serygo (May 17, 2004)

Close this please. 









I dont need any more info...


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## ANDONI (Jul 11, 2004)

Stick with piranhas


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## Serygo (May 17, 2004)

umm this is closed to let you know!


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