Pacu is a South Americanfreshwater fish found in most rivers and streams in the basins of lowland
Amazonia. Because Pacu, is related to
the meat-eating piranha, both sharing the same subfamily Serrasalminae, though
they have different food habits. The piranha is a carnivorous species while the
pacu is omnivorous with vegetative tendencies. The difference is evident in the
structure of their teeth. Piranha has pointed razor-sharp teeth whereas Pacu
have squarer, straighter teeth that eerily resemble those of humans.
Pacu uses its teeth mainly to
crush nuts and fruits, but sometimes they also eat other fish and
invertebrates. They usually eat floating fruits and nuts that drop from trees
in the Amazon, and on a few occasions were reported to attack the testicles of
male swimmers mistaking them to be floating nuts. This has earned them the name
of "ball-cutter" after they castrated a couple of local fishermen in
Papua New Guinea.
One toddler needed surgery after
a pacu bit her finger at Edinburgh Butterfly and Insect World in Scotland. Pacus
are legal to own in the USA can be bought in aquarium stores and are easy to rise.
The trouble is numerous aquarium owners are unaware that Pacu’s can grow up to
4 feet long, which is way too large for a typical home aquarium.
A fully-grown adult has strong,
heavy grinders set in the rear of the jaw too, which are particularly important
for crushing the shells of its prey. As with humans, this unique combination of
teeth helps the sheepshead process a wide-ranging, omnivorous diet consisting
of a variety of vertebrates, invertebrates and some plant material.
