Black Piranha ?

[missinglinks14]

I have kept Piranha for about 12 yrs. about five years ago I traded four hand sized Serrasalmus Nattereri along with twenty dollars for a Serrasalmus Niger that was the size of a fifty cent piece. Since I have heard convincing arguments from both sides as to whether a "Black" Piranha even exists. The Piranha I have Now Is a twelve inch monster that cannot tolerate even a snail in its tank. It is in a 100 gallon tank by itself as it started killing his janitors at an early age. He does not eat pleco's or snails or crabs, He just has to kill them. Sometimes he will bite the airline in half, No doubt trying to lure me back into his domain for repairs. He is the most hateful fish I have ever seen. I have never been bit (Knock,Knock) but have been chased from his tank once or twice. Usually though when the tank lid opens he acts just like any other fish and hides from the HAND. He has Gone for at-least a week without a heater and has never been ill. (I live in Wisconsin) .And Shamefully I must admit that on occasions in the winter I Have gone a full three weeks without feeding him. Please no fish abuse lectures, It takes a big man just to admit it. My point though is that this fish is much more hardy than most want to believe. I often remark He could live in a Mud puddle.

All of the photos I have ever seen of a Mature Rhombeus have a heart shaped or V'ed Tail fin. Mine has no indent at all so the tail is straight ,Opaque stripe (almost glass like) in solid Black.
He has red eyes and is all black except a small bit of gold under his chin.. My question is does anyone else own Piranha's or have any info?

 

[crash]

Hey I live in Wisconsin to. I've hadn't had Piranha's for very long, possible a few months or so. I'm pretty open-ended on the whole Black Piranha. I swear every article you read, something will tell you something different. It does exist, it doesn't exist. But your Piranha fits the description, I guess. But as most books will say once it's the dominate fish, that's the end of it. I'll I can say is I'm going to stick with the seeminly less agressive Red Bellied Piranha's.

 

[VoodooChild]

Where have you read that they don't exist? Maybe they're just more plentiful over here. I mean, they're kind've hard to find, but you can always get a dealer to try and order you one. The pictures to far out to really tell (though he does look nice), but the way you described his before sounds just like a black.

 

[pinballqueen]

Originally posted by missinglinks14
He has Gone for at-least a week without a heater and has never been ill. (I live in Wisconsin) .And Shamefully I must admit that on occasions in the winter I Have gone a full three weeks without feeding him. Please no fish abuse lectures, It takes a big man just to admit it.

No lectures from me: my fish only get fed once a week. They're healthier that way, IMO. It's much more like conditions they would encounter in the wild, where they'll possibly not see a good meal for weeks, instead picking at the plants and substrate for snacks between gorge-feeding.