Problem With My Pacu...

[dknight]

Well i will tell you the tale, please dont all get agresive and start shouting at me, it isnt my fish!

My friend bought him i think 3 years ago, and thought was a pirhana, he had about 4 of them, the rest died but "ian" is still going, he used to feed him live fish and the likes, i know i know, please save the preaching!

and used to feed him some red type fish food...

He then moved in here and i did some searching after a guy who bought my car said "thats no pirhana it s a pacu"

so i browsed websites and found it was, searched on what to feed it etc

I tried feeding him all kinds of vegatables, apples, grapes (off top of my head) and he ate a few bits, but really wasnt intrested in them, but if i throw bits of sliced ham in, he could eat it all day, he loves it...

His tank has become very dirty lately, bits of green mould or something inside, not alot, but enough

i have told him he needs to clean the tank, as its common sense that it aint gunna do the fish no good, and he palmed me off first tme saying, putting clean water in will not do him any favours...

But #### me neither will dirty bits of mould

So he got him some new fish food as mentioned above, and im pritty sure thats causing the stomach growth...

I aint prepared to let this fish live in such ####, so really, i come seaking advice on what to feed him, or try feed him, the fish itself is about 15cm long

i know previously he didnt feed it regular at all, for his own ignorance in thinking it was a pirhana

so my plan to start is to clean tank, and try and get his diet changed to something a bit better!

Any advice will be greatly taken, and then i have something to fire at the owner!

cheers

Dan

 

[28erl]

well, that tank really is way too small for him, but to make him more comfortable for the time being, the water should be upto the fill line, otherwise parts of the filter will dry out and not work properly, so top it up with clean, dechlorinated water, (all being well he should have some treatment to do this), which is the same temp as the tank water, and add slowly! clean the inside of the glass with a sponge tied to a stick somehow, so your arms dont get all wet! i would suggest not feeding him much of anything for a day or so, sort of like a detox! then give him veg stuff, like corgette and such things! i dont really know much about pacu's, but im just trying to give you an idea of what i would do if i found a tank that looked like that! you could also put some floating plants in to make him feel safer, but main thing is making the tank clean!

 

[djceri_g]

good lucy with the fish, I must say, that is a cool looking fish!!

 

[dknight]

man more problems!

his big stomach has gone now, and he seemed ok, now he isnt eating any food, his mouth open and breathing really fast, excuse the pun but it like he gasping for air...

man anymore ideas?

thanks

 

[stang1]

It sounds as though he isn't getting enough oxygen.
Is the filter running ok and if so, is it creating water surface movement?
Have you any means to test the water, ideally need readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH?

 

[dknight]

how do i check filter daft as it sounds? yep it got water surface movement, no way of testing water, is it anything i can buy from local store?

 

[stang1]

Is the filter an internal or external? To clean a filter you need to remove the sponge/media and rinse them in dirty tank water. Don't use tap water as this will kill off the bacteria. You don't need to get them clean, just a quick rinse to prevent them from clogging the filter.
If you go to your lfs then you should be able to buy a liquid master test kit which will enable you to test the water. You could take a smple of water to your lfs and have them test it but it's always worth having your own test kit handy.

 

[dknight]

it is now breathing better but laying on its side, and very motionless

 

[dknight]

man he suddenly perked up and he is now ok!

man this fish is one crazy fish! lol

 

[Canis-Equus]

Not crazy, probably the water quality is way off and the toxins in it are poisoning him.... some of them will burn his gills and that will make him behave oddly.

Echo waht other posters have said, take a sample of water and get it tested.

Is there much flow coming out of the filter? (either stick a finger in to see, near the filter outlet, or look and see if there is any current in the tank).

When did he last get a water change?

If i had a fish with symptoms like that, i would be doing some serious water changing, proably a good 50% water change every few days.

The other thing id do is to clean the filter..... todo that, do it as part of the water change..

1/ Turn off filter.
2/Syphon some tank water into a bucket.
3/Take out the sponges inside the filter, and give them a quick swish in the bucket of water. Put one back in and give the other one a more rigorous swish/squeeze etc. (dont wash both thorough and dont wash either under tap water and dont throw both away and buy new sponges or the tank will crash).
4/Reassemble filter.
5/carry on with water change taking out a few buckets and putting back in, clean, tank temp water that has had water conditioner added to it. Make sure the tank is filled upto the top.