Pacu

[Chips]

well ive got two red belly pacus. I had one a couple years ago, and i jsut got two new ones. The only thing im wondering is when i put a worm in their for my oscar the pacus eat them. I thought they were vegitarians?

[DanRad]

Yeah, a lot of people believe that.  hah!  They do eat a lot of vegetable matter in their native habitat, but they aren't vegetarians.  They also phenomenal eating machines, and they get HUGE! 

[Mark Stone]

A Pacu can out-eat an Oscar any day of the week. They grow fast and become huge -- you'll need over 200 gallon aquarium for them two Pacus. They will become the size of a large dinner plate, and they startle very easily. They've been known to break the glass in a smaller aquarium when startled, and they dash away -- BOOM -- right into the glass. Usually, they are not aggressive, however, so you can keep small species with them. But make sure you have A LOT of aquarium for these monsters!

[amy5335]

I was at an aquarium this summer and they had Pacu's that were 5 and 6 feet long. I couldn't believe it.

[Frontosa-boy]

Pacus are not 100% vegitarian, in the wild Pacus eat seeds that fall into their water, and they are not herbivours they are omnivores they feed on (some aquatic plants, seeds,insects and usually any fish appears small enogh to be eatin), thogh Pacus don't do well with meat they still preffer live food. my Pacus enjoy meal worms the most, when my pacus were small I was feeding them blood worms, usually seeds (once a month). NOTES: Pacus can grow to a scary size (The biggest pacu reported was the size a 13 years old kid) but a pacu that size is rarely seen, and Pacus can grow quit quickly.

[cichlidfish]

Yep, they get big, I think over 16 inches is very common size...I'd love to see some of the reported 'monsters' though...