Piranha...stereotype...(?)

i am in it for the look (piranhas go perfect with the theme of the room my 75 is in. But i also want an interesting fish. I definately want a predatory fish, but not onme that's only only interesting when it's fed. SnakeIce, do you mean similar behavior of a pacu or a silver dollar, or of a piranha?
 
the piranha... the serpaes that I had were the worst fin nippers and three of them out of all the fish I had survived the power outage and 100 degree weather while I was gone over a year ago by eating on the other fish that died.

I will say that when they were young I got some feeder danios and they ate most of them... if you don't feed them something with high protien like blood worms or somthing like that they will be more likely to constantly pick on each other and any tank mates they have

I found that the best way to describe them was as mini piranhas, the shy skittish wolf like fish I described

but they are tetras as are piranhas. there are species of piranhas that are more into killing for the heck of it.. I don't remember which ones but they were not shaped like the redbelly.. they were smaller and more diamond shaped with the head and tail being the longer points... also more solitary as well
 
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Serrasalmus niger, or black piranha, perhaps what you're thinking of. Different shape than the rb, and kills more out of anger than out of hunger, much like a betta. I dont know if they are very solitary though. Very tough to get also.
 
There are a lot of "exotic" Pirahna species available out there. Piraya, Wimple, Gold, Black, etc. Usually very expensive. You see these in small "holding cell" cubes in the LFS. In the wild, they will school together and with other Pirahna species.

You might want to look at the Pink-tailed Chalceus or the Spotted Cachorro. Both are like smaller, schooling barracuda that would probably be more unique and intersting to look at than red-bellies...
 
I guess I don't understand what you're going for in that 75? Are you looking for a predatory fish or a specific look?

If you want aggression, there are many cichlids that are WAY more aggressive than the piranha and will actually attack the glass to get at you. Even a betta is more aggressive than a well fed piranha.

If you're interested in a particular look, there is probably a much more appropriate fish out there that will do better in that tank.

BTW, a Pacu is NOT an appropriate fish for a 75 under any circumstances. Even the smaller ones get too big.
 
Get an Oscar. They'll eat anything smaller than them ,are insanely active when small and can be fed a wide variety of foods. Ie: Chichlid pellets,grapes,ham,smaller fish.....

I got rid of mine because it killed my Red Parrot Chichlid though.
 
a single oscar would be great for a 75. besides eating anything and everything they get to know you and respond well to people. oscars are very outgoing and love to eat, ive had mine for about 8 months and he's huge!!!!
 
Red Belly Piranha Idea

Recently, on a visit to the Vancouver aquarium, I saw their display of red belly piranhas. They were housed in a rather large tank with Black skirt tetras as the only other tankmates. I found this very interesting and really changed my view on this fish as being the killer it has been portrayed to be. Obviously, if they are well-cared for, they can co-exist with species native to their habitat with no conflict whatsoever.
 
I talked to one of the people at the vancouver aquarium about the rbps they have. They never feed them live fish, they are super healthy too. They take crazy good care of their fish.
 
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