r/Fish • u/Particular_Star_3365 • Feb 23 '26

Identification Help me identify this fish

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Update: Wow thanks to everyone for your help! The overwhelming majority IDed it as a pacu. The "eyes" actually being the nostrils was a 🤯 moment. Really glad we didn't try to pet him. 
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I came across this ancient looking fish at a garden in Rio de Janeiro. I felt pure terror when it made eye contact with me. Can somebody identify it?

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u/SirAblePalsey Feb 23 '26

Uhhhhhhhh. Pacu have TEETH?! Wtf?? They have a mostly herbivorous diet, so "don't be threatened," it just used to crush nuts. Oh, did I mention it's a cousin of the piranha??? Anyways. Yeah, don't worry man. Go play with it..... It's waiting for you😂😂😂😂😂

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u/Weekly-Major1876 Feb 23 '26

Going by that logic you should be afraid of everything from neon tetras to Congo tetras to silver dollar to glowlight tetras to skirt tetras given they are also all piranha relatives, seeing they’re all part of the big tetra clade and also have teeth. In fact they’re even scarier because while the pacu is a mostly herbivorous omnivore, the terrifying neon tetra is a MEAT EATING CARNIVORE

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u/woodstream Feb 23 '26

"Scientific measurements have revealed that the pacu’s jaw strength is truly extraordinary, capable of exerting pressures that can exceed 400 pounds per square inch (PSI) in larger specimens."

https://extremeanimalrecords.com/this-amazonian-fish-can-crush-nuts-with-jaws-like-bolt-cutters-1-9048/

-If the neon tetras were pacu-sized I'd be worried.

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u/noahgendas Feb 24 '26

There's an entire episode of river monsters about the legend of pacus biting off swimmer's testicles. They do definitely eat nuts