a debate between pacu's and arowana's

[fishdrifta]

I know there is know reason for this thread to be here but I want to find out the reason for this.Why does everybody say that pacus need atleast 500+ gallons and arowanas need atleast 100+ gallons.I thought that arowanas grow bigger than pacus by like a foot+.Could someone just fill me in with the info Im missing.

 

[neon7]

arowanas are long slender fish and pacus are although not quite as long have much more body mass thus produces a lot more waste.

 

[fishdrifta]

If waste is the problem,couldnt u just use a better filter instead on spending big $$$ on a tank?

 

[Victor]

pacu's are known to thrash in water and they swim with quite a bit of speed. They'll need as much room as they can get

 

[blitzen25bm]

a pacu will get over 2 feet long arowanas probably around 3 but amazon arowanas can bend almost in half. pacus are thicker too so they produce a lot more waste, you can have a great filter but in the end pacus will produce more nitrates and that will build up fast in a smaller tank. they will also break most tanks that they are put in once they get big. so a group of pacus will need a huge tank cause who keeps just one. an arowana itself will need atleast a 180.

 

[XSeaNX]

the issue itself is not with waste but of how the fish moves.

arowanas move with a snake like movement....they are able to bend around a tank and in reality can live semi-comfortable in a 6x2x2 however (in the case of silver arowanas) will do a LOT better in atleast an 8x3x2.

pacus on the other hand are somewhat brutish in their movements and arent able to turn on itself as the arowana can (think of it this way...an arowana can bite its own tailfin...and yes Ive seen mine do it) pacus need a larger turning radius and it is also my understanding that they build quite a bit of speed as well and prefer a larger swimming radius. another thing to keep in mind is that pacus are schooling fish and generally do better in groups of 3 where arowanas are solitary fish (unless paired).

in short pacus need uber amounts of swimming room to be comfortable and to turn easily where as arowanas dont need near the same amount of space (but I will agree they will be more comfortable in more room)

my rule of thumb is to allow atleast 3x any fishes length long and atleast the fish's length wide as a minimum in a tank size.

 

[fishdrifta]

Finally I understand why pacus need more space.

Thnx alot guys

 

[ashdavid]

I would say that arowana's need at least 300g , but then again I tend to always think on the big side. Jmo but if I were going to keep arowana's, (the asian )type I would at least put it in a 600g but thats just me, as for silvers I would say 1000g's. As for pacus I would say a minimum size tank would be 500g's and only for the first couple of years, after that over 1000g's.

 

[XSeaNX]

I would say that arowana's need at least 300g , but then again I tend to always think on the big side. Jmo but if I were going to keep arowana's, (the asian )type I would at least put it in a 600g but thats just me, as for silvers I would say 1000g's. As for pacus I would say a minimum size tank would be 500g's and only for the first couple of years, after that over 1000g's.

Ive just come to understand that its physically impossible for you not to think larger than life lol....your HOSPITAL tank is larger than most peoples MAIN tanks and your main tank is almost an aquarium exibit.

However I will agree with you for the most part. I have seen silvers in 400-600g's that look/act GREAT but bigger is ALWAYS better. :dive2:

 

[ashdavid]

Ive just come to understand that its physically impossible for you not to think larger than life lol....your HOSPITAL tank is larger than most peoples MAIN tanks and your main tank is almost an aquarium exibit.

However I will agree with you for the most part. I have seen silvers in 400-600g's that look/act GREAT but bigger is ALWAYS better. :dive2:

Thanks XSeaNX, my problem is ,if you can call it a problem is that I have had many 300g to 400g tanks over the years and in that time I have seen the behaviour of my fish while in those tanks, then I built my main tank of 1850g and I watched the behaviour of the fish in that tank. Now after seeing the changes in the fish , especialy with aggression and over all behaviour, I can only suggest to people that if you want to see your fish really thrive in a tank, get the absolute biggest one you can.