Im New, But I Have Had Experiance

[cuzzaUK]

Hi guys, for my 16th birthday i am getting some pirahanas ( red bellies 4 of em ) What is the stuff that i need l;ike what size fishtank and were to get it from etc.

I have had experiance with fish as i used to have some tropical, but it cracked and smashed everyewere since then i have not ewanted fish but i really want some pirahans.

Also are they expensive to keep etc ?

Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

I have no experience with piranhas so I am not sure but I had the impression that they only can be fed live food. If that is true, they will be expensive to keep because you will be constantly buying them food like guppies, goldfish, zebras and similar small fish. They do get to be a fair size, I have seen them at over 6 inches each, so it will take a fairly large tank to hold 4 of them. My first guess would be over 200 litres.

 

[oscars r ace]

they get bigger than 6 inch, ive seen them at about 12 inch aat lfs, you don't need to feed them feeder fish, frozen live food like krill, brineshrimp is fine, for 4 you will need a very big tank indeed id say prob 120 gal plus for 4 of them

 

[cuzzaUK]

is 120 gal tank expensive ? Because i have heard that they will adapt to there environment therofre if i have say a 100 gallon tank they will only grow to a certain size.

 

[lyotim88]

i'd say a 100gal is fine, it's probably uk gallons your talking about right? a 125usgal tank goes for $280 new

 

[OohFeeshy]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=141705

Piranhas aren't actually that exciting. Much more interesting fish available.

 

[cuzzaUK]

ahh yeh UK, u sure its ok to fit 4 red bellies ? so what all males or femals ? what else do i need ?

 

[lyotim88]

i agree with oohfeeshy. The biggest reason people want pirahna, IMO, is because of their nasty reputation and all the bad guys in movies have them. When in fact, there are much cooler fish you can keep in a 100uk tank. Might i ask why you're so interested in pirahna?

 

[OohFeeshy]

Dimension-wise, probably 4'x18"x18" at a push, better would be 4'x2'x2'. Or even larger.

 

[cuzzaUK]

I am interested in them becasue my brother in law had 2 of em and they were soo kool and mean looking. its cool watching the eat meat and just swim arund xD what other good fish do you know ?

 

[oscars r ace]

be ready for them to take chunks out of eachother when you feed them, i have seen a large number of them with mouth shaped chunks missing from them when the others have bitten them.

And like already stated, they really are boring fish, why not look at something else, if you want big fish what about oscars, tons of personality, or puffers they are always on the go, inquisitive and fun to watch.

 

[cuzzaUK]

they eat eachover ? what if i get all females opr all males ?

 

[lyotim88]

i dont think them taking chunks out of eachother has anything to do with male or female. More of a feeding frenzy thing i'd say

 

[cuzzaUK]

hmm ok. what are some other good fish to get, i quite like the poofer fish they look cool, are they expensive ? you see i want the pirahnas cause of there bad boy reputation and cause of the way they eat. what other cool bad boy fish are there

 

[lyotim88]

I don't know much about puffers. You can have a look here for a good variety of fish. You can even refine your search by temperament, tank size, etc. Pick out what you like, as it is hard to pick a "good" fish. I was thinking new world cichlids, maybe an oscar

EDIT: by "good" fish, i meant that most fish are good and it depends on your preference