The Pacu Caranha (Piaractus mesopotamicus) is a very famous freshwater fish for its extremely tasty meat. Unfortunately, the species isn’t considered an ornamental fish, as it’s much more appreciated in sport fishing and cooking.
Below, check out a complete Pacu Caranha care guide. Learn about water parameters, food and feeding, appearance, behavior, tank mates, reproduction and aquarium setup.
Pacu – Care Guide
Technical Details
Name: Pacu, Pacu Caranha, Paraná River Pacu;
Scientific Name: Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887);
Family: Serrasalmidae;
Species Origin: South America (Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers basins); Species introduced in São Francisco and Araguaia-Tocantins basins;
Length: Up to 27,5 inches (common: 15 inches);
Life Span: 10 years or more;
Care Level: Difficult;
Water Parameters
pH: 6.0 – 8.0;
Water Hardness: Not mentioned;
Temperature: Must be kept between 22 – 28°C;
Distribution / Habitat
The Pacu Caranha is a fish originating mainly from the Paraguay and Paraná Rivers basins, where it occurs from the province of Entre Rios in Argentina to the Itaipu dam. However, due to the excellent quality of the meat, it has been introduced into several watercourses in the southeast and northeast of Brazil.
In nature, the Pacu Caranha inhabits rivers and lakes during the rainy season.
Description
The Pacu Caranha has a body with numerous small scales. The fish color is dark gray on the back and golden yellow on the belly, but these colors can vary depending on the environment.
The species has a compressed, tall and disc-shaped body, with a ventral keel with spines, the number of which can vary from 6 to 70. The fish’s teeth are molariform.
The Pacu Caranha has very tasty meat and, therefore, is usually a very fished animal. In addition, the species has been widely used in fish farming for the formation of the Tambacu hybrid in crossing with Tambaqui. It can reach up to 27,5 inches in length and weigh around 20 kg.
Tambacu: Hybrid between Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomus) and Pacu Caranha. It was created to combine the size of the Tambaqui with the cold resistance of the Pacu.
The Pacu Caranha has a black color when found in rivers of the “Pantanal” with crystalline water. However, specimens found in the Aquidauana River are lighter.
Foods and Feeding
Omnivorous. The Pacu Caranha has a herbivorous tendency. This means that he likes to eat fruits, seeds, as well as algae, leaves and, rarely, fish, molluscs and crustaceans.
Temperament / Behavior
Pacu Caranha behavior can vary depending on the specimen. Some, for example, become aggressive as they get older, while others may be more relaxed.
Tank Mates
The Pacu Caranha can nibble on slower fish or that have sedentary habits. In addition, he can even take pieces of meat or scales from other fish when he reaches the adult stage.
Therefore, the species should only be kept with other large fish.
Sexual Differences
Differentiating the Pacu Caranha male and female isn’t a very difficult task, as it’s enough to observe the anal fin of the fish. Females have an emarginate anal fin, whereas in males it is bilobed.
Reproduction
Oviparous. The Pacu Caranha performs long migrations upstream to reproduce, a movement known as “Piracema”. The reproduction of this fish is very similar to that of many other characins, as the female releases the eggs into the water and the male swims around fertilizing them.
The eggs hatch within a few hours when kept at elevated temperatures. Then, after about two or three days of hatching, the fry will have consumed their yolk sacs and will start swimming freely.
There’s no parental care.
Aquarium Setup
Pacu Caranha is not considered an ornamental fish, as it’s much more appreciated in fishing and human consumption. Preferably it should be raised in large ponds as it’s very active and can get quite large.
However, if you choose to raise Pacu Caranha in an aquarium, keep in mind that it must have at least 264 gallons to hold a single specimen.
References
Lovshin, L.L., 1995. The colossomids. p. 153-159. In C.E. Nash and A.J. Novotny (eds.) World animal science: production of aquatic animals: fishes. Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. (Ref. 32894);
Jégu, M., 2003. Serrasalminae (Pacus and piranhas). p. 182-196. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil;
Riede, K., 2004. Global register of migratory species – from global to regional scales. Final Report of the R&D-Projekt 808 05 081. Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Bonn, Germany. 329 p;
N.M. Lopera-Barrero; R.P. Ribeiro; J.A. Povh; R.N. Sirol; C.A. Mangolin. Avaliação genética de populações naturais e de estoques de um programa de repovoamento de pacu (Piaractus mesopotamicus) utilizando marcadores microssatélite;
