# Invasive Pacu caught in kettering pond



## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

just saw a picture of a pacu about the size of a hand that was pulled out of a pond in a kettering park (Lincoln park i think). Pacu is an invasive species out of south america and i believe that they are rumored to have attacked humans. i think they feed like piranha and have some pretty nasty teeth. anybody been there and caught one? the one in the picture was released....


here is the link to the pic

http://share.whiotv.com/Media/View/2580827


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## Britam05 (Jun 16, 2012)

There was a story on one of the Dayton news stations about that a couple months ago. Very interesting


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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

Britam05 said:


> There was a story on one of the Dayton news stations about that a couple months ago. Very interesting


ahhh, i did not see that. did they end up doing anything about it?


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## Britam05 (Jun 16, 2012)

They had mentioned that this was not the first in the area couple years ago same thing happened I believe in Moraine. I know where I fish there is always aquarium gravel where I get in at. Friend of mine caught one of the big algae eaters years ago in a creek.


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

IGbullshark said:


> ahhh, i did not see that. did they end up doing anything about it?


wait until winter, any left overs will die


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

IGbullshark said:


> just saw a picture of a pacu about the size of a hand that was pulled out of a pond in a kettering park (Lincoln park i think). Pacu is an invasive species out of south america and i believe that they are rumored to have attacked humans. i think they feed like piranha and have some pretty nasty teeth. anybody been there and caught one? the one in the picture was released....
> 
> 
> here is the link to the pic
> ...


Lol. They're a cousin of piranha and look the same. But the only teeth they have look like molars and they are vegetarian.

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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

pendog66 said:


> wait until winter, any left overs will die


thats what i thought lol


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

Yea. I don't see them surviving a Midwest winter! Celtic is correct... Not really mean teeth and they are not meet eating fish


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## monsterKAT11 (Jun 20, 2004)

that can't be a pacu, they aren't native to the area. Believe me, I'm a fisheries biologist.


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

yes, its obvious they arent native, but very possible some sh#t for brains dumped theyre pet in the park, happens all the time


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## tebass (Oct 23, 2004)

That is a pic of a Red Bellied Pacu, and I agree that it was probably dumped in the lake. If there are more in the lake they will not last the winter as they are a tropical fish of the Amazon.
They eat mostly vegetation, but are not strict vegetarians. They supplement there diet with snails, insects and insect larvae, small fish and minnows and have been known to scavenge dead fish.
The upside to catching a Pacu is, as Alton Brown would say, they are definately good eats!!!


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Fishlandr75 said:


> yes, its obvious they arent native, but very possible some sh#t for brains dumped theyre pet in the park, happens all the time


I believe there may have been some sarcasm in that last post.....

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## Scum_Frog (Apr 3, 2009)

Ya definitely a pacu....also has been tons of discussions on here about catching them all around the state.....they can survive winter if there is a hot was discharge anywhere or natural springs that are quite warm. Heres a link to an ogf members site that caught a MONSTER out of the sandusky river near fremont.


www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4E-hG4Qn68


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

no, no sarcasm at all, just sayin that i am sure there is none of us on here that believe ta pacu is native to ohio, i probably coulda worded that differently


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

Fishlandr75 said:


> no, no sarcasm at all, just sayin that i am sure there is none of us on here that believe ta pacu is native to ohio, i probably coulda worded that differently


He was referencing MonsterKat11s post in regards to the sarcasm.

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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

celtic11 said:


> Lol. They're a cousin of piranha and look the same. But the only teeth they have look like molars and they are vegetarian.
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


if i remember right, on river monsters they were "nut" crackers


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

what Pendog and MonsterKat really want to know is: are they good catfish bait??? better live or diced up into nice tasty fillets or cubed when using as bait....

Salmonid


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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

might be worth trying to catch a few if they are in fact quite tasty


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

Salmonid said:


> what Pendog and MonsterKat really want to know is: are they good catfish bait??? better live or diced up into nice tasty fillets or cubed when using as bait....
> 
> Salmonid


dont lie mark thats what you were thinking too


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## kingofamberley (Jul 11, 2012)

I'd eat it...


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

pendog66 said:


> if i remember right, on river monsters they were "nut" crackers


Somehow I missed that episode, but here's what a google search turned up:

Wade said:

"In Papua New Guinea, they have bitten people; however, this was following a stocking of thousands of fish, into a situation with very few native species and a shortage of their preferred type of food (seeds and nuts). The fish in the reports are almost certainly pet fish that outgrew their tanks. While it would not be true to say there is no risk of being bitten by a pacu in the US, the chances would be very small. Driving to and from the lake would be many times more dangerous." 

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## farleybucks (Aug 8, 2009)

All the kettering ponds have all kinds of aquarium fish dumped in them...i fished them in HS and worked in the Kettering parks later in college and we would catch/find a lot of crazy stuff in them. None of them have a warm water discharge so MOST species will all die off in the winter, but i know i have caught/seen some crazy tropical catfish, an albino channel cat (possible it was stocked, but more than likely an aquarium fish), piranha, pacu, huge tinfoil barb's, all kinds of goldfish, etc.


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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

farleybucks said:


> All the kettering ponds have all kinds of aquarium fish dumped in them...i fished them in HS and worked in the Kettering parks later in college and we would catch/find a lot of crazy stuff in them. None of them have a warm water discharge so MOST species will all die off in the winter, but i know i have caught/seen some crazy tropical catfish, an albino channel cat (possible it was stocked, but more than likely an aquarium fish), piranha, pacu, huge tinfoil barb's, all kinds of goldfish, etc.


i know there is a pretty large albino channel cat in cox arboretum. actually i think there are 2


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## Britam05 (Jun 16, 2012)

I would take it to Jack's Aquarium and sell it


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## 9Left (Jun 23, 2012)

Britam05 said:


> I would take it to Jack's Aquarium and sell it


...and so completes the circle of life... the damm thing probly cme from jacks aquarium!!! LOl!!!


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## monsterKAT11 (Jun 20, 2004)

celtic11 said:


> He was referencing MonsterKat11s post in regards to the sarcasm.
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


you are correct. I just can't resist a sarcastic comment now and then


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

monsterKAT11 said:


> you are correct. I just can't resist a sarcastic comment now and then


Lol, and yours was a good one. 

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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

celtic11 said:


> Somehow I missed that episode, but here's what a google search turned up:
> 
> Wade said:
> 
> ...



Yep and unfortunately it wasnt only the tree seeds and nuts getting cracked. I cringed watching the entire episode


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

pendog66 said:


> Yep and unfortunately it wasnt only the tree seeds and nuts getting cracked. I cringed watching the entire episode


Lol. My recommendation would represent wearing swim trunks upon your person when partaking in aquatic recreation.

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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

celtic11 said:


> Lol. My recommendation would represent wearing swim trunks upon your person when partaking in aquatic recreation.
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Lol!!!

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## MassillonBuckeye (May 3, 2010)

celtic11 said:


> Lol. My recommendation would represent wearing swim trunks upon your person when partaking in aquatic recreation.
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


Uhhh, no doubt! Alligator Snappers hellooooooooo! Not looking for a turtle induced vasectomy.


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

MassillonBuckeye said:


> Uhhh, no doubt! Alligator Snappers hellooooooooo! Not looking for a turtle induced vasectomy.


Unless your wearing steel cup i dont think trunks are gonna stop the snappers


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## dstiner86 (Jun 5, 2012)

I'll be more worried when wading if they find those little fish that swim up ur pee hole... All u river monsters fans know what im talking about. @#%& that fish!

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## Aqua Man (Aug 8, 2011)

Very recently a guy caught a 55 pound Pacu down in southern Florida, now that's a monster! It broke the record for largest Pacu caught according to the mag I saw it in.

The fish that swims up the urethra is a specie of candiru, technically a catfiish.

Pacu are indigenous to the same region that the candiru occur and can carry them in their gills. Great example of why it is so important to not let aquarium fish go into our waters.

Fortunately most, if not all pacu found in the aquarium trade are captive raised so it's very unlikely it would carry them.


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## IGbullshark (Aug 10, 2012)

can Pacu survive a southern Florida winter? its pretty mild down there. hopefully it wouldn't turn into another "snakehead" situation. those things are killing all the native fish down there. i know Pacu don't tend to kill other fish but they could compete for food nonetheless.


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## oldstinkyguy (Mar 28, 2010)

pendog66 said:


> Unless your wearing steel cup i dont think trunks are gonna stop the snappers


I hooked a big a#& turtle last night in the foot with a crankbait. It was maybe 14 or 15 inches across the shell and a head like my fist. Treble hooks do not want to come out of turtle feet. I finally got my lure back with some pliers but I'm glad no one was there with a video camera, Im sure I looked anything but gracefull...


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## gibson330usa (May 15, 2012)

dstiner86 said:


> I'll be more worried when wading if they find those little fish that swim up ur pee hole... All u river monsters fans know what im talking about. @#%& that fish!
> 
> Outdoor Hub mobile, the outdoor information engine


That's just one of the reasons not to pee in the river.


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## celtic11 (Jun 30, 2011)

gibson330usa said:


> That's just one of the reasons not to pee in the river.


I wear chest waders so I just pee in those. 

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## Aqua Man (Aug 8, 2011)

IGbullshark said:


> can Pacu survive a southern Florida winter? its pretty mild down there. hopefully it wouldn't turn into another "snakehead" situation. those things are killing all the native fish down there. i know Pacu don't tend to kill other fish but they could compete for food nonetheless.


I've never caught a Pacu In Florida but absolutely they can over winter there. As far north as Tampa I have caught non indigenous species that have established themselves. I fished a large pond and caught several tilapia (not sure of the species) and have caught Midas and red devils (all cichlids) Further south catching non indigenous species are are much more common, Peacock Bass are pretty common catches although the state intentionally introduced them.


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