The Legend of Chubby
By Rick Buys
Issue 19
I decided that I wanted a large aquarium for our family room, something like a 135 – 180 gallon. So, I started watching the newspaper for a good deal. I found several but most did not sound like they were in good condition for the price. Finally, I saw an ad for a 180 gallon glass aquarium, stand, lights and accessories. I called the number (which was long distance) and a young boy answered. He said that his mom had placed the ad, but she was at work and that I should call back after 10 p.m. I called her back and asked for the details. She said it was and All Glass tank with a wooden stand and it was about 9 months old. It was complete with fluorescent strip lights, glass tops, Magnum 350 & Magnum 250 filters, heater and gravel. The setup sounded good, but she informed me there was one stipulation to buying the tank: I had to take the fish. She told me the fish was a Pacu. At the time I didn’t know what a Pacu was and didn’t realize how big they could be. She told me it weighed 20 pounds.
We set a day to go and look at the tank. It was at her work which was a bar about 30 minutes southeast of Grand Rapids. We had to go during the day when she was not working. It turned out to be a Friday afternoon and woman met us in the parking lot of the bar and led us inside. Upon entering, we saw a tank in the middle of the bar with just one H U G E fish inside. My wife’s jaw about hit the floor when she saw the fish. The woman informed us that she fed the fish one hot dog a day, holding the end in the water and letting it eat out of her hand.
The tank was in excellent condition so I made the deal to buy it. I left a deposit and told her I would have to arrange a time with some friends to move the tank and fish home. On the way home my wife and I said “What are we going to do with this big fish?” I decided to call our friend Vinny (of Fish Man fame) and told him we had just bought a 180 gallon tank & stand and needed his help moving it. He said ,“O.K.” I then told him about the problem fish. He asked me what kind of fish it was and I told him it was a 20 lb. – hotdog eating Pacu. There was a long pause followed by “Oh my _____!”
He still agreed to help and he would get a hold of George (also of Fish Man fame) and see when he could help.
We decided to go on the next Monday night. We met at George’s house about 6:30 p.m. and took two pick-up trucks, buckets and a 30 gallon garbage can with wheels. We arrived at the bar and went inside. George & Vinny could not believe the size of the Pacu. They said that it was the largest one they had ever seen. We started a siphon with one hose stretched out the door and Vinny had a small sump pump which was set in the tank with a hose leading to the parking lot. We got the water level down 2/3 of the way and it was time to remove the fish. The woman had large flat seine net without a frame to net the Pacu. Vinny tried to net it, but the fish was too skittish. The woman said she would net it, but she could not lift it out. We filled the garbage can half full of water to transport the fish home. The woman got the fish in the net and Vinny and I got a hold of it and lifted it out of the tank. We put the fish in the garbage can but it would only fit headfirst. He started thrashing back and forth upon being released, splashing water all over the bar. The fish’s tail was almost sticking out of the top of the garbage can. We put the lid on and he quieted down. George had predictably snuck out the back door, thus avoiding the wet job of netting the fish.
We loaded the tank in my truck and the stand and fish into Vinny’s truck and headed for home. We had the whole thing drained and loaded within an hour.
When we got home we unloaded everything in my garage and then the big question, “What are we doing with this tube-steak eating Pacu?” George and Vinny didn’t know of anyone who wanted or had room for this big of a fish. We decided to do the only humane thing we could do. It was winter and there were large snow banks by the driveway, so George (the Dr. Death of the fish world) took a shovel and dug a big hole in the bank. We placed the fish in the hole and covered it up. The cold of the snow slows the fishes metabolism and it expires very quickly.
The tank is now in our rec. room in the basement and is doing very well with Haplochromis moorii, Haplochromis ahli, electric yellows, green-faced peacocks and Lamprologus Hecqui. The end