Pacu

Question
our tank has been set up for 3 years.It is 100 gallons. Balla shark and a Pacu and 3 algae eaters. two bio filters systems.

We just got the pacu given to us 3 days ago. It is about 5 years old. It is about 18 inches long. We have been feeding it flakes and pellets, but I bought 5 feeder fish today because it does not seem to be eating the flakes or pellets.I need some suggestions on how I know if it is eating or not. Also when we turn the light off on the fish tank during the day & night the pacu starts getting REALLY stressed out and flipping around the tank. Can you tell me why the light being off stress it out. Thank you for all help.
       Kristy

Answer
Hi Kristy;

"Lights out" can really freak fish out, and it's actually on a primitive level. They instinctively try to flee from whatever predator or larger fish has caused a shadow (turning lights out) to pass over them. You may want to look into a dimmer for your tank lights that automatically fades them over a period of several minutes. It's more natural to them.

Find out what the fish was eating before you got him. He may just not like the smell of your brand of food and doesn't recognize it. Nothing personal, some fish are just used to certain foods and they do have a sense of smell. It is healthier for your fish if you don't feed them live feeder goldfish. I ran a pet store for many years and sold thousands of them over that time. They are shipped packed to the gills (literally) in plastic bags and stay there for hours where they can barely move before they reach their final destination. They are so incredibly stressed before they get to the fish stores that even those that may look healthy can be diseased and spread those diseases to your healthy pets. There is also a low nutritional value in them from starvation after being transported for several days from farm to wholesaler to store. Just not a good deal for your fish.

Pacu also need vegetables in their diet, raw or partially cooked. Peas, carrots, green beans, romaine lettuce, kernels of corn, broccoli, cut up grapes (whole ones can get stuck), bits of apple (peel on), pear, oranges, etc. Just rinse them and drop in the tank.

The tank is kind of small for him too. I had two 20" pacu in a 240 gallon and even that was too small for them. They need a lot of swimming space and they are shoaling (schooling) fish that need to have buddies of their own kind to pal around with in order to feel safe. Providing more cover in the form of rock caves, wood and sturdy artificial plants would really help. He may take a few more days to want to eat but if he doesn't eat within the next 10 days he needs a larger home with other pacu. Healthy fish of that size can live just fine for 2 or more weeks with no food at all so you still have time.

Good luck and I hope he does okay.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins