I am familiar with those forums and I appreciate your concern for my education. If you want me to say that I am mistaken, then I apologize to you because that will not happen. I am very happy for mr. Magellenus and it is great that he is such a wonderful classifier, but in my opinion there is still too much debate to end the discussion. I do not believe that they are the same species- maybe i am not correct, but every breeder I have ever talked to is not ready to make that conclusion, so neither am I. And no matter what you tell me, or anyone tells me for that matter, I cant give you the admission you desire because I have directly witnessed them coexist with other fish, and not only for a brief period of time. I am finished arguing about this, and I really could not care less if you want to believe that I am incorrect. I am sorry that I struck your sensitivity.
Red-Bellied Piranhas
- Thread starter westpets
- Start date
You did not strike a sensitivity.
I'm just trying to point out that almost everyone I know who has kept black piranha's with anything else has ended up with alot of dead fish.
I was just trying to help keep that from happening.
No offence was taken and none was meant.
Take care.
Eric
I'm just trying to point out that almost everyone I know who has kept black piranha's with anything else has ended up with alot of dead fish.
I was just trying to help keep that from happening.
No offence was taken and none was meant.
Take care.
Eric
You make a good point in stating that they are tough to keep with other fish, and I am sorry if I failed to acknowledge that. Maybe we should be talking more about what specific types of fish have been attempted with them-that might prove more informative. One of the people I know keeps a group of 5 (?) with his wimples. I have to admit I did not think this would work, but they have done fine and they have been together about 3 years. The other guy is my close friend in Indonesia- He gets a lot of rarer types and he has a very large tank (I think it is almost 600g) with the black(maybe white 
) piranhas and a shoal of ternetzis. This setup works really well for him, even with the high agressions of both species. The space probably plays a large role in this as well. I guess, and I am not sure, that keeping the blacks with less powerful fish, say cichlids or smaller characins, would be sure death. I would be interested in the types that your friends/acquaintences have tried to keep with them if you have that info readily available. If not thats fine, but it would be interesting to make some comparisons and see if it is more dependent on size or breed, you know?
) piranhas and a shoal of ternetzis. This setup works really well for him, even with the high agressions of both species. The space probably plays a large role in this as well. I guess, and I am not sure, that keeping the blacks with less powerful fish, say cichlids or smaller characins, would be sure death. I would be interested in the types that your friends/acquaintences have tried to keep with them if you have that info readily available. If not thats fine, but it would be interesting to make some comparisons and see if it is more dependent on size or breed, you know?Very Informative Response
To tell the truth its hard to even say due to the fact of people having so many different opinions and im not even sure if piranha have been studied by scientist well enough for there to be a true answer to that question or whether or not there is a black piranha... for all we know a black piranha is a white piranha with a chemical inbalance that makes him kill everything or vice versa. I just have one question for anyone that can help me. (this is totally off subject but you seem to be really experience with piranha.) How fast do red bellies grow a year or monthly from when they are about an 1inch and half to 2 inches. i needed to know so i can plan my savings for a bigger tank for my 3 red belly piranha. Back to this subject i really enjoyed reading all of these opinions and i didn't mean to come of being arrogant in anycase. Sorry if it seemed that way. But i do encourage you to read the whole article. I wish i could talk to wayne mah personally so we could ask him questions and see how credible he really is.
To tell the truth its hard to even say due to the fact of people having so many different opinions and im not even sure if piranha have been studied by scientist well enough for there to be a true answer to that question or whether or not there is a black piranha... for all we know a black piranha is a white piranha with a chemical inbalance that makes him kill everything or vice versa. I just have one question for anyone that can help me. (this is totally off subject but you seem to be really experience with piranha.) How fast do red bellies grow a year or monthly from when they are about an 1inch and half to 2 inches. i needed to know so i can plan my savings for a bigger tank for my 3 red belly piranha. Back to this subject i really enjoyed reading all of these opinions and i didn't mean to come of being arrogant in anycase. Sorry if it seemed that way. But i do encourage you to read the whole article. I wish i could talk to wayne mah personally so we could ask him questions and see how credible he really is.
Rich- If i remember correctly, Mah has a number of other articles out and I think he has done some serious investigation, but I do not know him personally and have never corresponded with him. I have heard his name cited quite a bit, so I didnt mean to write him off completely if that is what I seemed to do. On the topic of your red bellies- the initial growth rate depends a lot on the size of the tank they are in to begin with- In general, they can grow anywhere from 2 to 6 inches in the first year 
. A lot of that depends on the quality of care, but after the first year their growth levels off at around 2-3 inches per year. The first year growth rate is pretty high compared to other fish. What do you have now, a 30? If you have three then I would suggest trying to get a 55 pretty soon, that should be pretty affordable if you look around. Good luck, and let me just add that I dont mean to refute anyone's perspectives when I present my own, as I understad that there is a lot of varying information out there. I have also appreciated this exhange of ideas.
. A lot of that depends on the quality of care, but after the first year their growth levels off at around 2-3 inches per year. The first year growth rate is pretty high compared to other fish. What do you have now, a 30? If you have three then I would suggest trying to get a 55 pretty soon, that should be pretty affordable if you look around. Good luck, and let me just add that I dont mean to refute anyone's perspectives when I present my own, as I understad that there is a lot of varying information out there. I have also appreciated this exhange of ideas.
Originally posted by dwf73
Rich- If i remember correctly, Mah has a number of other articles out and I think he has done some serious investigation, but I do not know him personally and have never corresponded with him. I have heard his name cited quite a bit, so I didnt mean to write him off completely if that is what I seemed to do. On the topic of your red bellies- the initial growth rate depends a lot on the size of the tank they are in to begin with- In general, they can grow anywhere from 2 to 6 inches in the first year
I agree with you 100% on this dwf73.Only thing I would add is that for a upgrade tank,I'd go with a 65 gallon.The 4' long 18" front to rear tank. It's not alot more money than a 55 but the extra 6" of space for the P's to turn around in makes a BIG difference.
Hope that helps
Eric
Around where i live tanks are expensive
i have only a 20 gallon at the moment but i could get a free 35 gallon from my coach or at little cost. The thing is though that a 35 gallon i saw was like 250-300 with accesories. Do you know any place where i could get it cheaper? Wow this is cool i just saw my piranha take down a goldfish in my tank that was like two and half times bigger than them. The pet store by accidentally gave me a big goldfish with the small feeder gold fish and i figured what the heck throw him in there and i fed them other small gold fish which they ate and around the same time i feed them every night which is now they went after the big gold fish. I mean i saw them nip at him last night but i didn't think they could eat him... guess i was wrong..... what a cool way to be wrong. lol.
i have only a 20 gallon at the moment but i could get a free 35 gallon from my coach or at little cost. The thing is though that a 35 gallon i saw was like 250-300 with accesories. Do you know any place where i could get it cheaper? Wow this is cool i just saw my piranha take down a goldfish in my tank that was like two and half times bigger than them. The pet store by accidentally gave me a big goldfish with the small feeder gold fish and i figured what the heck throw him in there and i fed them other small gold fish which they ate and around the same time i feed them every night which is now they went after the big gold fish. I mean i saw them nip at him last night but i didn't think they could eat him... guess i was wrong..... what a cool way to be wrong. lol.
I am a member at www.piranha-fury.com.
I say that the Serraslamus Rhombeus is mostly a solitary fish, as are most Serrasalmus. Piranha of the Pygocentrus type are much better for shoaling.
However, it is not impossible to shoal a black piranha. There have been and are cases where large Rhoms, 12"+, are shoaled.
For example... the member, WhenWickedComes, has a shoal of 12"+ Black Piranha in a very large tank.
P.S..... Hastatus is the man!
