Piranha...stereotype...(?)

t_h_e_s_a_c_k

t_h_e_s_a_c_k

Roses are ugly, and so is your face
May 18, 2003
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Does anyone keep red bellied piranhas anymore? It seems like the popularity of this fish has dropped dramatically as i have havent seen any posts about them since ive been a member at AC.

A lot of inexperienced poeple buy them for quick thrills and put them in tiny tanks because they know nothing about them. I'm looking for an experienced opinion on these fish. Are they worth keeping?
 
I'm not a huge fan as they need to be kept in shoals and aren't as vicious as advertised unless underfed...usually, anyway. I would pm Innes here or check out one of two other forums for info from experienced P-keepers:

www.predatoryfish.net/ibforums
www.piranhafury.com (Warning, there are some graphic images at this one.)
 
they are large, skittish tetras with teeth and a name that is bigger than they are. Piranhas are not aggressive like cichlids are and are sorta like wolves in that they pick off the weak and dieing and strengthen the population of their prey animals.

part of their reputation comes from the populations that get trapped in a small pool(realative to the river)during the dry season. as the pool receads they pick off all the prey fish that are in the pool with them and even weaker members of their on kind and after a time of starvation any possibility of food, say a cow entering the water is quickly stripped giving rise to the ferocious mental image we have of the piranha.

most of the time they are quite uninteresting given the steriotype they have. tending to be more like a population of wolves on the edges of human inhabitation. rarely do you see them and on occasion do you get a incident that gets attention but for the most part people that live with them around know how to deal with their own safety and such
 
They have evolved from fin-nippers and would rather take small chunks out of their prey than eat it whole like an O. There are some aggressive P species, but SnakeIce is generally right, especially when referring to the Natts (Serrasalmus nattereri, the P most often found, bought, and kept).
 
You cannot keep just three red-bellies together for too long. They will start picking on each other and one will ultimately get eaten. If you are going to do it, get at least 5 or 6. Get them small (ie quarter size) and all at once and grow them out together. You should be able to keep them in that tank until the reach around 8 inches or so. Decorate the tank with lots of plants (live banana plants & java fern with some driftwood and sand or light, small-grain gravel looks nice). Once they get too large for the tank, you could upgrade to a 6 footer (probably in a couple of years). Or, you could trade them in and probably get a nice credit if they are healthy.

I've had red-bellies in the past and they are only interesting when they are feeding. Otherwise, they just swim in position and breathe. The feeding gets pretty expensive as they get larger, too.

Highly overrated. It's a phase....
 
well if you want similar behavior in a lot smaller package try serpae tetras...though with a larger tank( I had 6 in a 20 gal) they might not be as nippy
 
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