PIRANHAS

[big tinca]

Jus wondering if anyone keeps any species ov Piranha in the tropical tanks either....

 

PYGOCENTRUS or SERRASALMUS

[chub]

I've had a red-bellied piranha for about 4 years, which shares its tank with a large plec.

Bought it as a tiny fry, its now about half-grown (I think)

Probably one of the most intelligent fish I've kept so far, but extremely ill-tempered; it took a piece out of my hand while being cleaned out some months back. Now i know never to underestimate them.

[big tinca]

I've had a red-bellied piranha for about 4 years, which shares its tank with a large plec.

Bought it as a tiny fry, its now about half-grown (I think)

Probably one of the most intelligent fish I've kept so far, but extremely ill-tempered; it took a piece out of my hand while being cleaned out some months back. Now i know never to underestimate them.

Great fish are Red Bellys how big is your fish and what type of diet u feeding it?

 

Dont know how big your fish is b ut redz go too about 11''+

[Guest tigger]

Great fish are Red Bellys how big is your fish and what type of diet u feeding it?

 

Dont know how big your fish is b ut redz go too about 11''+

 

 

 

I used to keep Natteri and Rhombus as well as numerous other exotic fish. I had a shoal of thirteen imported Natteri which are much better than captive bred ones. I kept that particular shoal for 18months and they grew from the size of my thumb nail to 12inch. They were kept in a 6ft by 2ft by 2ft tank and I used to feed mine a varied diet of chicken, beef, muscles, whitebait, sandeels but also lots of live goldfish which kept them in good colour (red bellies) and super condition.

My friend who owned a Aquatic centre used to give me all the fish that looked ill (anything from Mollies to Oscars)and they where fed alive, If they were small fish they woul be swallowed whole. Every now and then they would all fall out and have dorsal fins missing, only half a tail etc but within a couple of weeks they grew back. I found them to be very nervous fish and pretty thick . I finished up giving them to my friend with the Aquatic centre and he put them in a show tank.

The best fish I kept were Marine reef fish, they were far more intelligent than fresh water fish and much more colourfull.

 

Tigger.

[big tinca]

Yeah the imported Redz are called ''supers'' the wild ones are alot more aggressive than the captive bread ones like u said

 

My friend has and 180 gallon setup and has a 10 fish Pygo shoal with the Redz cousins the ''Caribe'' and ''Piraya'' the setup looks amazing the Piraya have the best colors out of the Pygocentrus family real nice yellow and orange flames the Caribe are super aggressive and very territorial but all the fish co-exist well in the tank

 

From my knowledge i can understand what your sayin by the Redz being skittish in the tank think they are jus one ov the most skittish Pygo Caribes for example dont seem to be as scared wen people enter the room/feeding etc

 

Good site this if anyone is interested - www.piranha-fury.com

Edited May 6, 2006 by big tinca

[chub]

I've fed mine largely on prawns and pieces of raw white fish, giving it lean beef, worms and chicken on occasions (as well as a piece of my hand about the size of a 50p!!) Its never had live fish due to the fear of introducing disease. It used to eat cichlid pellets, but won,t accept these now.

The fish seems to have been very slow growing, its only about 9 inches. The tank is only 4 ft.

 

Its not at all nervous. It knows when I'm feeding the fish in other tanks, and sits at the surface waiting for its turn. It also has different reactions to different people, so I wouldn't say its thick (obvoiusly its got no plans to do a degree in rocket science though!)

[Guest Josh Iddon]

Too scary to keep lol!!!

Edited May 12, 2006 by Josh Iddon

[Guest tigger]

I've fed mine largely on prawns and pieces of raw white fish, giving it lean beef, worms and chicken on occasions (as well as a piece of my hand about the size of a 50p!!) Its never had live fish due to the fear of introducing disease. It used to eat cichlid pellets, but won,t accept these now.

The fish seems to have been very slow growing, its only about 9 inches. The tank is only 4 ft.

 

 

Don't worry about introducing disease. In the wild they eat diseased fish and as natural scavangers are very hardy and resistant to disease (I've never seen a piranha with any disease). They are a shoaling fish and are better kept in shoals. If your tank is smallish then keep 2 or 3. You'll find the fish are better coloured when fed live food and the more often you change your water the faster your fish will grow. Ask your local Aquarium to give you all the dying fish, they're excellent food for your Piranha.

[big tinca]

Don't worry about introducing disease. In the wild they eat diseased fish and as natural scavangers are very hardy and resistant to disease (I've never seen a piranha with any disease). They are a shoaling fish and are better kept in shoals. If your tank is smallish then keep 2 or 3. You'll find the fish are better coloured when fed live food and the more often you change your water the faster your fish will grow. Ask your local Aquarium to give you all the dying fish, they're excellent food for your Piranha.

Ideally u want to keep all Pygocentrus in shoals but these fish can be kept solitary as well u need to give 20g per fish to avoid stunted growth

 

All Serrasalmus must be kept ALONE tho these fish are mean and wont tolerate tankmates

[Guest tigger]

All Serrasalmus must be kept ALONE tho these fish are mean and wont tolerate tankmates

 

You've got that wrong Natteri are better kept in groups. Rhombus are slightly more difficult to keep in shoals.

I've kept both species in groups and I've even had them spawn in separate tanks.

Here is a picture of a few 5 inch Natteri that I used to keep in a small tank in the bedroom (sorry for the quality of picture my scanner is crap)

 

As you can see due to their correct diet which included live goldfish etc they are strongly coloured.

The piranha's in the photo were imported from S America and were as big as my thumbnail when I got them. They grew rapidly and reached this size in a matter of 3-4 months.