hellohefalump
Fishaholic
how many can I keep in a 100gal?
pirahnas
- Thread starter hellohefalump
- Start date
Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
What type of piranhas? theres quite a few types from what i have heard 
hellohefalump
Fishaholic
I was thinking red bellys, because they're easy to get hold of!
Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
I know this may sound a bit disapointing, but 5. Piranhas will often cannibalise each other when they feel their tank is not big enough for them and they will also fight alot over food and can get their food mistaken with each other, none the less they have been known to fully recover from wounds that would kill most fish on the spot.
Heres a link with more info on them;
http
/www.timstropicals.com/Inventory/Pir...PiranhaInfo.asp
Heres a link with more info on them;
http
/www.timstropicals.com/Inventory/Pir...PiranhaInfo.asphellohefalump
Fishaholic
thankyou!! oh that's wonderful! I was hoping for that sort of number actually, I was worried someone would say my tank was too small... I didn't want like, 1 or 2 fish, I wanted somewhere 4+ so five is great!
It won't be for a long while because at the moment my 100gal is a heavily planted community tank... but I've always wanted pirhana because they look like lovely fish to keep... Maybe when I've got more money/space I might get another 100gal to put them in.
I have to persuade my housemates first though because the tank is in the living room. They think they are man eating monsters, I keep telling them they are timid and would only try and eat human if they were very hungry... but they won't listen! They think I'm mad.
Is it true you can't keep them with plants? because at the London Aquarium they are in with loads of vallis and the vallis is surviving...
This is probably a stupid question... but can you keep any other fish with them? Like something that hid all day and only came out at night? I was thinking something like a striped raphael?
It won't be for a long while because at the moment my 100gal is a heavily planted community tank... but I've always wanted pirhana because they look like lovely fish to keep... Maybe when I've got more money/space I might get another 100gal to put them in.
I have to persuade my housemates first though because the tank is in the living room. They think they are man eating monsters, I keep telling them they are timid and would only try and eat human if they were very hungry... but they won't listen! They think I'm mad.
Is it true you can't keep them with plants? because at the London Aquarium they are in with loads of vallis and the vallis is surviving...
This is probably a stupid question... but can you keep any other fish with them? Like something that hid all day and only came out at night? I was thinking something like a striped raphael?
Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
I've never kept piranhas myself but i have done alot of research on them- they would probably be similar to sailfin/common plecs i.e tear up the ocassional plant but leave them alone in general as long as the plants all well rooted and matured.
One of my friends keeps piranhas and i would have to back up that they are realy very shy little fish and very timid and will often rush and hide at the back of the tank everytime you go near them, but my friend once got his hand bitten when he hadn't fed his piranhas so i would suggest giving them a good feed before you do any tank maintance so they don't feel the need to nibble your fingers .
One of my friends keeps piranhas and i would have to back up that they are realy very shy little fish and very timid and will often rush and hide at the back of the tank everytime you go near them, but my friend once got his hand bitten when he hadn't fed his piranhas so i would suggest giving them a good feed before you do any tank maintance so they don't feel the need to nibble your fingers
.Teelie
Fish Aficionado
Piranha tankmaets should be larger fish like common or sailfin plecs. I think larger catfish would work as well. I saw a load of different fish in with piranha at the Audubon Aquarium a few months ago.
Snotgrob
New Member
Over the years I've had around 7 piranhas and I doubt I'll ever keep them again. The novelty wears off very quickly, as they become very shy and nervous. They are gorgeous fish to observe though and in good condition they are very colourful. Mine used to be quite active at night, swimming the length of the tank backwards and forwards. The most I had at one time were 3 in a 48x24x15 tank and it wasn't long before they had shredded fins.
I did manage to obtain a serrasalmus notatus (black eared piranha) and he was an awesome specimen.
I also had a juvenile in with a common plec that was 5 times the size of the piranha but it managed to kill it. Bit about 12 little holes in the poor plec.
The last time I kept them were around 6 years ago. They were juveniles and although well fed, I came home from work to find one fat one and the other just had it's head left!
After you've seen them feed a couple of times they become boring but if you do decide you want them then go for it. Take care when cleaning the tank, water changes etc and ensure you invest in a powerful external filter along with an UGF also. They can be very messy and wasteful and will often shred softer foods.
I did manage to obtain a serrasalmus notatus (black eared piranha) and he was an awesome specimen.
I also had a juvenile in with a common plec that was 5 times the size of the piranha but it managed to kill it. Bit about 12 little holes in the poor plec.
The last time I kept them were around 6 years ago. They were juveniles and although well fed, I came home from work to find one fat one and the other just had it's head left!
After you've seen them feed a couple of times they become boring but if you do decide you want them then go for it. Take care when cleaning the tank, water changes etc and ensure you invest in a powerful external filter along with an UGF also. They can be very messy and wasteful and will often shred softer foods.
sarahw20000
Fish Crazy
We've got 5 red bellies at the moment in a 50 gal which are about 3 inches long but when they get bigger we're going to move them to a 120gal tank.
I would recommend to get six as they will probably kill the weakest one at some point and that way you are left with 5.
Don't have less than 4 as they are shoaling fish and the less of them the more terrotorial they are and the more likely they are to attack one another, with 3 two of them will gang up on one and then the last two would pretty much fight to the death.
The novelty hasn't worn off for us yet but we've only had them for 6 weeks, i don't think it will as they're quite entertaining, especially at feeding time, and they're colours are nice.
Also i don't entirely agree with the shy and nervous thing. They were very shy to start with and would hide when anyone was in the room or even just with the light on. However over the few weeks we've had them they've got progressivly more confident and now they're not bothered by people close to the tank or even in it!
They don't go for me or the gravel vac but they'll swim right past and are not bothered, i keep a close eye on them though and i'll be more careful when they're bigger.
I've noticed little scuffles with them and small bits of fins missing but other than that nothing major and they have a very good regeneration rate so thats not a problem.
I've heard that you can keep them with big catfish or a shoal of neons but i think that depends on your particular fish.
Overall i think if you've always had a thing for them (like my boyfriend has, they were his idea) then i don't think you'll get bored of them, and to help with the viewing issues if you were to get low wattage lights (if it's not planted) or some moonlight cold cathodes they would be swimming about happily all the time
I would recommend to get six as they will probably kill the weakest one at some point and that way you are left with 5.
Don't have less than 4 as they are shoaling fish and the less of them the more terrotorial they are and the more likely they are to attack one another, with 3 two of them will gang up on one and then the last two would pretty much fight to the death.
The novelty hasn't worn off for us yet but we've only had them for 6 weeks, i don't think it will as they're quite entertaining, especially at feeding time, and they're colours are nice.
Also i don't entirely agree with the shy and nervous thing. They were very shy to start with and would hide when anyone was in the room or even just with the light on. However over the few weeks we've had them they've got progressivly more confident and now they're not bothered by people close to the tank or even in it!
They don't go for me or the gravel vac but they'll swim right past and are not bothered, i keep a close eye on them though and i'll be more careful when they're bigger.
I've noticed little scuffles with them and small bits of fins missing but other than that nothing major and they have a very good regeneration rate so thats not a problem.
I've heard that you can keep them with big catfish or a shoal of neons but i think that depends on your particular fish.
Overall i think if you've always had a thing for them (like my boyfriend has, they were his idea) then i don't think you'll get bored of them, and to help with the viewing issues if you were to get low wattage lights (if it's not planted) or some moonlight cold cathodes they would be swimming about happily all the time
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