Thank you for the advice, i was actually thinking about only having one Red Belly, or two of the smaller species (Pristobrycon calmoni).
I'm interested in predatory fish, something quite large and aggressive in behaviour, the Piranha has always caught my eye. Stripping flesh in a matter of seconds is incredibly impressive, whilst entertaining to watch, i am talking about frozen food of course, not the live kind.
You'll most likely be disappointed in piranhas if you buy them for their ability to strip flesh in seconds. Especially Red Belly's. They are one of the most scared and timid fish there are.
For a tank that small if you should choose a piranha I would suggest a Serrasalmus sanchezi. They can be very aggressive in most cases. For a large predator that will kill anything else you could get a Serrasalmus rhombeus but you'd have to get one that's already grown or wait about 10 years for him to grow up a little bit. prepare to spend up to $800 for an almost full grown one though if you can even find one available. They don't breed in aquarists tanks and are shipped in directly from SA.
Again, I wouldn't get piranha for this reason because trust me, you'll be tired of them and want to get rid of them.
As far as the Pristobrycon Calmoni, I've never heard of anyone ever having one before or anyone even able to buy one. Not saying you can't but would be interested to know where you are getting yours.
Based upon that and the fact of their closer relatives I most definitely wouldn't have more than 1 in a tank until more is learned about them unles you don't care about spending the money.
Even at 6" I would say the same. They do perfer to be in schools, but I have had Piranha do good by themselves before.
I think you're generalizing too much.
"Piranha's" don't prefer to be in shoals. Most of the Pygocentrus like to have their own with them for safety etc and is ok to get more than one but very rarely, almost never, do the serrasalmus like to be together and they will kill each other if they are.
I figured a change would be nice, i may have to think it through a little more, but my decision is almost final. So, just about any meat product? This should be fun.
It's 3:26 AM over here, i need my sleep. Thank you for all of your advice, i'll be back on tomorrow.
Not just any meat like was mentioned above. I would stay away from beef heart but if you want to feed them that I wouldn't feed them beefheart more than once a month.
Any raw whitefish meat is ok. Red meat is not good for them.
Octopus, squid, tilapia, catfish nuggets etc are all good for them. Hikari pellets (my rhombeus even loves flake foods)
/www.fishpost.com/piranha/pricalmoni.html
