Queens man's fish tale: 43-year-old, 20-pound pacu

It sounds fishy but a Queens pet shop owner says it's true.

Buttkiss, the black pacu he owns, is 43 and weighs 20 pounds. The fish is 23 inches long.

A pacu is a breed that's related to the piranha.

Steve Gruebel owns Cameo Pet Shop in Richmond Hill. He got Buttkiss in 1967 when he was just a wee thing. He sold him a year later when Buttkiss was 2 inches long. But in 1970, Buttkiss was returned when he outgrew the buyer's tank.

Buttkiss lives in only a 4-foot-long 75-gallon tank. Gruebel says he's afraid to move him because he may not survive the changing environment.

Buttkiss is beginning to show his age. He has arthritic gills and glaucoma in his right eye. - AP