Should I give away my pacu fish?

Question
I've been raising  Pacu fish for two years now. I first had him in a 30 gallon tank but then had to switch to a 55 gallon because he was getting too large. Now,he is even bigger and slams himself constantly against the surface of the glass wall to the point where he sometimes bleeds above his mouth. I don;t have money to purchase a larger tank now, and have repeatedly said to myself that I will give him away, but it;s a hard choice. Should I give him away? Thanks. -Erick  BTW: He's about 8 to 9 inches.

Answer
Hi Erick,

I got your fish question in the question pool.  My apologies.  The expert you originally asked, must not have had an answer for you, so they referred you here.  I checked it this morning, and it was empty, so your question was answered immediately once it appeared.  I'm very diligent at getting to answer questions as soon as they arrive, and to check several times a day. :)

About your Pacu,

This is a very common behavior for them.  It is indeed really sad.  There's not a lot you can do other than to give him to a better, larger home.

If you live in an area where you can have a pond, you could consider a heated pond outside.

If not, look into some aquariums (such as Shedd Aquarium in Chicago) to see if someone might take your fish.  Go to monsterfishkeepers.com and see if you can't find someone who has a big tank who would offer him a really good home.

Sometimes these people have 500 gallon tanks.  He'd be happy there. :)

Happy fish-keeping.

Renee