Bad Petsmart in Barhaven, bad bad...

[beowulf]

Went to get some treats today and to my surprise, from afar it looked like they had some red belly piranhas which i have been toying with the idea of getting 3 for an empty 65g I have at home.  As i got closer something looked weird so I asked the sales guy and he starts laughing and tells me that they are red belly pacus.  The reason for his laugh was that the manager, who he told me is new and knowns nothing about fish, ordered them and now they are stuck with them and are going to put them on sale in the next week....I only hope people who know what they are getting into buy them.  Worst part is that they had about a dozen of them.   

[renadia]

Ouch! I just Google those and they get huge!

Hope they will be smart enough to sell them for what they are   

[zapisto]

Went to get some treats today and to my surprise, from afar it looked like they had some red belly piranhas which i have been toying with the idea of getting 3 for an empty 65g I have at home.  As i got closer something looked weird so I asked the sales guy and he starts laughing and tells me that they are red belly pacus.  The reason for his laugh was that the manager, who he told me is new and knowns nothing about fish, ordered them and now they are stuck with them and are going to put them on sale in the next week....I only hope people who know what they are getting into buy them.  Worst part is that they had about a dozen of them.   

ouch
theese guys getting Huge, and are fully vegetarien...... i have the same hope beowulf, cause those fish are amazing, and should get a huge home with someone who know what they are.

[Brine]

These fish are released into the wild regularly. I recall seeing a photo of some fisherman with the Pacu he caught in Lake Ontario (I think it was). According to the USGS (united states geological survey) this species is reported in Lakes Huron, Erie, Michigan, and Ontario and many other places.
http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.asp?speciesID=427

[Fishnut]

How much were they selling them for?

So the manager is the store manager, or the fish department manager?  How annoying.

[sniggir]

Wow... man they get huge.. nice looking fish if you have a spare swimming pool to keep them in...

[beowulf]

He didn't say which manager and no price was indicated on the tank.

[cora]

They'll probably end up with the other in Little Rays Gator pond! 

[mseguin]

I fail to see how that makes it a bad store....?

[beowulf]

I fail to see how that makes it a bad store....?

I was saying bad as in when you chastise a young child as in Bad matt bad boy.

That being said any store that carries pacus like that and has a manager who knows nothing about fish and just orders them for the hell of it is not "good" imo.

[fishyboom]

Thats insane!   

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[fishyboom]

sorry   not sure why those pics posted.  lol  kinda new to this

[beowulf]

They seem to be in your signature.

The pacus will make those nice oscars look like dwarves!!

[zapisto]

I fail to see how that makes it a bad store....?

hey matt dont raised flag for nothing hehe
i complety understand why beowulf say bad , and i did not read anywhere he say the store is a bad store.
he make some comment , constructive comment actually and also make some hope , and i cannot be more than agree with his hope, and i do believe you agree with his hope also.

you surely know better than me what happen with those fish when they reach a size where most of us cannot keep them.......

[Mettle]

Petsmarts generally carry a lot of various tankbusters or near tankbusters. WHY? Because these fish lay a TON of eggs and are cheap to produce. It's that simple.

Pacus generally make horrible captive fish. HOWEVER. I do know of *one* that has reached about 2 feet long and is in a 500 gallon tank with some other big tankbusters. For anyone that wants to check out a picture of a healthy fish and the sizes it can attain - you can check this thread out:

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=168151

For reference, the plecos in those pics are quite large as well. If you look at other picture posts from that same user he also has a very large arowana, etc etc. He has I don't know how many tanks and puts HUNDREDS of dollars every month into them for food, water, etc. Quite the dedicated guy. (He's up in Alaska though, so I guess he has nothing else to do. Haha.)

I remember close to when I quit Super Pet (back in the day) someone brought in what they assured me was "two 12 inch Brazilian piranhas". What they dropped off were two 18" pacus. In the filthiest, nastiest, smelliest water that I had ever smelled. I think they ended up at Little Rays. 

[elk]

Last summer I drove to Montreal and visited the Biodome.
They have a bunch of full grown Pacus in a 50 000 gallon aquarium along with other 6 foot long monsters.

Check this place out,its amazing.
Going back this summer.

Elk

[Nerine]

Little Ray's has a lot of HUGE pacus too (closer than the bio dome )
that's so crazy though that they ordered pacus!

[celamllmal]

My uncle bought 2 of those in June.  He can't believe how aggressive, and large they have gotten.  Do you know anyone who would like to buy them or take them in for free.  He has a 30 gallon tank and needs a good home for them other then the lake...  Pet Smart Barhaven sold these to him... 2 of them!  Perfect for a 30 gallon tank!!  Buyer beware.

[Pistol_pete]

Pet Smart Barhaven sold these to him... 2 of them!  Perfect for a 30 gallon tank!!  Buyer beware.

I personally would go back to Petsmart and talk to the manager. I would insist that I get my money back and that they assist me in finding them a proper home. It would be different if you had been slightly mislead but saying 2 Pacus are fine for a 30 gal. is crazy. They physically will not fit in a 30 gal. when they are full grown.

[celamllmal]

I agree with you "pistol_pete".  I went to his place this morning to see what his tank looked like and from what I gathered, it is a large male (5-6 inches) and a female (4-5 inches).  She is pretty beaten-up.  It's sad to see them both in such a small tank.  "Elk" has shown interest in taking them and if no arrangements or commitment is made by tonight, my uncle will bring them back tomorrow night as they really do need a large space.  I find it sad that he did not research the fish prior to buying and worst that PetSmart sold him the 2 Pacus possibly knowing full well it was not appropriate.  In the meantime they are still available for a free pick-up until a firm commitment is given.