Anyone Keep Red Bellies?

[rixy]

hi,been sat here tonight thinking.been trying to sell my tank,filter etc and cant even give it away,so,i might keep it.

sold my 6ft tank but still have a jewel rio 240 left.how many red bellies could i keep in this???i would have said 3 adults.if i do buy them they will be about 1".how many babies should i buy???

thanks in advance,mark.

 

[Gatorbait]

I don't know what a Jewel Rio is but a standard 75g minimum (4ft long-18" deep-21" high) for 1 rbp.

How large is a Jewel Rio?

You can put 3 in a 75g, but I would buy 5 to start out with if you're buying dime-sized because they will thin themselves out and the weak ones will be killed off. It's a little harder to introduce strangers once they get larger so better to be safe than sorry. It's best to get an agreement with the store or friend that you can give back whatever doesn't die if more than 3-4 are left. They grow fast, they will grow 7-8" their first year with good husbandry practice and variety of foods.

 

[Davo86]

The rio 240 is slightly smaller at about 63USG (240litres)

 

[Gatorbait]

The rio 240 is slightly smaller at about 63USG (240litres)

Ahhh ok, thank you very much for the info.

In that case, I would have to say no you shouldn't get rbp's.

There are a few other piranhas you could get a couple that could live in that sized tank for life (like an S. irritans) and one that would be ok in there for about 4-5 years before you have to upgrade. (S. rhombeus) Both have to be kept solo and will kill anyhting you put with it.

Not sure if you can get them in the UK or not but I wouldn't doubt it. The cost here is $50-$150 for the smaller sizes depending on size and availabilty if you're interested in spending that much.

 

[Mr._Fishy]

You can keep several smaller species of piranha in that tank. Serrasalmus irritans, sanchezi, maculipinnis, marginatus, eigenmanni, medina, hollandi, and Pygopristis denticulatus will all fit in a tank of that size.

And you are correct, trying to keep a shoal of rbps in a tank that small would likely end in disaster.

 

[jonny_dw]

Hi

I believe red bellies should have at least 100G because of their eventual size so the tank you have proberly wouldnt be suitable. They behave and look best in shoal of 5 or more but should be ok with only 3.