Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

[oscarsftw]

Well I'm new to owning an aquarium, and I got 2 Oscars and 1 Red Belly Pacu a long with some cheap gold fishes. The gold fishes will be removed soon from my 65g tank. But some of my concerns are: (Things I hear, not sure if they are true)

-Gold Fishes release a bacteria that will eventually kill my Oscars and even maybe the Red Belly.

-Oscars will get killed by the Red Belly Pacu once they are both grown.

-Red Belly Pacu requires a tank the size of a lake or a small ocean.


Can anyone throw me some pointers to this newbie to the hobby. Keep in mind that I'm buying fishes cause of what I read. Oscars and the Red Bellies seem like real interesting fishes to have.

[armthehomeless]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

The last one is the most true. The other two have parts that are true. Let me try to explain.

Goldfish tend to be dirty fish. They are more tolerant in my experience to higher levels of ammonia than other tropical fish. This leads to people saying that having goldfish in the same tank as tropical fish (oscars and pacu) is a bad thing. Realistically, it can be done, but you'll need to satisfy two things: you'll need to do frequent water changes and you'll need a big enough tank.

I think the oscars will be fine with the pacu as long as there isn't a tremendous size differential and the tank is large enough. ...You're going to need a BIG tank...

[mrairportjunke]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

those fish gonna need bigger than 65.  I'd go 110 minimum.   Lots of water changes oscar make big poop nastys.  Poop nastys is a term someone on the box has came up with and I want to keep alive LOL

[oscarsftw]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

The last one is the most true. The other two have parts that are true. Let me try to explain.

Goldfish tend to be dirty fish. They are more tolerant in my experience to higher levels of ammonia than other tropical fish. This leads to people saying that having goldfish in the same tank as tropical fish (oscars and pacu) is a bad thing. Realistically, it can be done, but you'll need to satisfy two things: you'll need to do frequent water changes and you'll need a big enough tank.

I think the oscars will be fine with the pacu as long as there isn't a tremendous size differential and the tank is large enough. ...You're going to need a BIG tank...

Thanks for the advice. I plan to upgrade to a 80-100g tank in the near future. Like I said, my sister is taking most of the gold fishes so the majority of them will be gone. And the ones left I will give to a pet store to trade for another fish...The Pacu and the Oscars were put in the tank when they were both almost the same size...

Another question, can you return fishes? Like a merchandise.

[armthehomeless]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

To the chain stores - yes. Generally it has to be within a certain time frame and you need the receipt. Petsmart is 14 days. No idea what the time constraints on Petco is. You can usually return fish to LFS for store credit. They typically offer anywhere from 10-33% of the retail value for the fish. You may want to call around first to check that your local fish store will accept them.

[jetchanic]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

The fish urinate thru their skin, it is the way they expell excess liquids in the body.

I would vaccum out the mulm jsut because it is unsightly, and not to mention a breeding ground for all kinds of poop nasties

thank you geoff for coming up with such a scientific term!

[oscarsftw]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

I might return the Pacu...Still deciding. My Oscars are already ganging up on him and bullying him around.

If I do decide to return the Pacu, how would I go about doing it?

EDIT: I feel bad for not getting the Pacu a buddy to come a long but now, I'm glad cause my fish tank is becoming over crowed.

[armthehomeless]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

If you still have the bag that he came in, then fill it up with water, catch the fish with a net, twist the top of the bag, and tie it closed with a rubber band.  This takes a bit of practice though.

Perhaps an easier way: line a cooler with a trash bag (unscented), fill it up 1/2 way with water, catch fish and put it in, then close the bag. Transport.

[oscarsftw]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

Quite humorous, when I got the Oscars they harassed the gold fishes. When I first put the Pacu in he got harassed instead of harassing other fishes. Oscars are such bullies.... :(

[CichlidFan]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

Oscars are what they are, inteligent and aggressive, but they are exciting to keep and can be quite amusing pets if properly kept. I have heard stories of folks who tell about training their Oscars to do simple tricks.....mine like to splash water on me when I feed them....but I am glad to have them.  I feed mine pellets and veggies, and once in awhile frozen blood worms, but no live food so far.....

Good Luck with yours..

CF

[oscarsftw]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

Oscars are what they are, inteligent and aggressive, but they are exciting to keep and can be quite amusing pets if properly kept. I have heard stories of folks who tell about training their Oscars to do simple tricks.....mine like to splash water on me when I feed them....but I am glad to have them.  I feed mine pellets and veggies, and once in awhile frozen blood worms, but no live food so far.....

Good Luck with yours..

CF

They are very amusing to have...Mines jump out of the water when I hover the fish food over the water. And sometimes I'll hold the pellet between my fingers and feed them like dogs...I enjoy my Oscars most out of all my fishes.

And they love carrot shreds.

[CichlidFan]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

Hummmm...carrot shreads....interesting....thanks for the tip...

CF

[finfan]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

now i want oscars

[wesleydnunder]

Re: Oscars and Red Belly Pacus.

I heartily agree on the intelligence of oscars. Back in the 70s I had one for several years in an open-topped 55gal (before I knew better). I think it was the smartest, most aware fish I've ever owned. We had a ping pong table in the same room with the tank and one day an errant ball wound up floating on top of the oscar's water. The fish saw it and promptly knocked it back out of the tank. I picked it up and tossed it back in...he knocked it back out. This became a common game with this fish, that I think he actually enjoyed. When he'd knock the ball out, you could see by his eyes that he was watching it roll across the floor. When he saw one of us pick it up he'd swim back to the top of his tank in, what I think was, anticipation of the next throw. I gave him to a buddy when I left to go in the Navy in '78. He lived with them until Alicia knocked out the power for two weeks at their house.

Mark