Piranhas At Walmart

[AMS]

This may be a daft suggestion, but perhaps they were black pacu? It seems unlikely that anyone with such a desirable fish as piranha would give any to Walmart, considering the ridiculously low prices Walmart pays for their fish. For the record, I believe juvie red-bellied piranha have spots like red-bellied pacu do.

Yes, juvenile red belly pacus and juvenile red belly piranhas both have spots, but both outgrown their juvenile markings and colorations into slightly altered forms. If indeed there were piranhas in the pacu tank I wouldnt doubt it. Aside from the mouth there is no real way to distinguish the two species. An experienced dealer would clearly know the difference, but we're talking about Wal-Mart so who knows where their shipments arrive from.

 

[AMS]

LOL I dont think Id be trying fishkillers suggestion . The juveniles are real nippy little bastards (can I say that on this forum?) and will bite frequently if given the chance. Unlke the adults who can be skittish quite often and will hide from hands in the tank.

 

[JCA]

i thought piranhas were illegal in a lot more states than that

 

[AMS]

According to Fish and game laws, the following US states are illegal to own piranha (assume that if a state is not listed it is legal):

Washington
Massachusetts
Maine
Connecticut
Kentucky
Virginia
North Carolina
South Carolina
Georgia*
Florida
Alabama
Mississippi
Arkansas
Texas
Louisiana
Oklahoma
New Mexico
Colorado*
Arizona
Utah
Nevada
California
Hawaii
New York*
* These states require a permit to own piranhas, permits usually wont be allowed to be given to anyone/organization except zoos, public aquariums etc. It will take a miracle for your everyday Joe to be given a permit by Fish and Game.


Note any typo's as I will put this in my "Piranha keeping 101"
Also note the above list is accurate as of 2002, and no bans have been lifted since.

 

[Nevergone815]

hmmm. my cousin owned 2 piranhas and we live in NY. well it was years ago so who knows how much the laws have changed.

my question is... although they are cool, why would you really want them? they grow rather big need to be in schools of a decent size, can be dangerous. i mean i would like to own them, but after i have lots of experience in fishkeeping and i could insure myself that noone can get to them to do something stupid. the last thing i would need is some punk kids in my family think it would be cool to put my cat in with piranhas. i would need to keep them in a room under lock and key. also what about the risk that you would get a pacu? they get a millions times bigger don't they? and piranhas and pacus usually school together in the wild.

 

[AMS]

Nevergone, not all piranhas school together. Alot, in fact almost all do not shoal and require a tank to a single specimen. Your cousin in NY may have owned piranhas, but they are still illegal there. Even with the laws, hobbyists are still easily availabe to purchase Piranhas, and proudly display them in their shops.

With pacus there is no risk, they have sharp teeth but not nearly as sharp as piranhas, and they are herbivores. And piranhas and pacus "usually" shoal in the wild is not true. Red belly pacus and red belly piranhas sometimes are known to shoal but thats it, no other piranhas or pacus will shoal.

 

[blitztidus]

That has to suck, my neighbors have owned 3 or so, so far and it is perfectly legal. It has got to suck if you want a piranha and you live in one of those other states. I live in Wisconsin so it is PERFECTLY legal

 

[Nevergone815]

Nevergone, not all piranhas school together. Alot, in fact almost all do not shoal and require a tank to a single specimen. Your cousin in NY may have owned piranhas, but they are still illegal there. Even with the laws, hobbyists are still easily availabe to purchase Piranhas, and proudly display them in their shops.

With pacus there is no risk, they have sharp teeth but not nearly as sharp as piranhas, and they are herbivores. And piranhas and pacus "usually" shoal in the wild is not true. Red belly pacus and red belly piranhas sometimes are known to shoal but thats it, no other piranhas or pacus will shoal.

i was just stating what i have been told or have read on other threads about them and on other forums dedicated to piranhas and the such. i guess i might've misremembered or misinterpreted what they meant to say.

i was stating not that the pacus were dangerous but grow big and could be an issue if purchasing a piranha and get a pacu. that is where experience keeping would come into play. well i forgot to say red bellied i'll have to watch my typing and make sure i give all info before posting lol. i'll actually proofread all my posts now to make sure that i don't miss anything. i am usually pretty good at getting it right on the first try.

 

[AMS]

Thats alright nevergone, I didnt intend to sound pushy! sorry!

 

[Nevergone815]

its ok i figured you didn't i just wanted to clarify so that others didn't think wrong. now with the corrections the post doesn't seem as bad now. gotta love info when it is actual put in posts lol

edit: btw AMS is that a pacu or piranha in your sig. i don't know much about them, thats why i'm relying on others to teach me. i want to own them (piranhas that is), too bad i live in NY, oh well like you said they are still sold in lfs' even though they are technically illegal. so as long as you don't get caught i guess its ok. i just don't want to get pacus. i also wanted to get a seperate tank for exadons (sp) i hear they are like miniature piranhas.

is there any type of piranha that stays small doesn't need a school (can be kept single or in pairs or trios) that are reasonable prices. also i don't want one that will eat my arm off!!! (you said that there are types that are actually really timid? or did i misunderstand?). also if you could give me ideal living conditions of them, i.e. tank size, amount needed, planted non planted, water parameters, etc. i know they can't have tankmates really for obvious reasons.

well thank you

 

[Nevergone815]

dang slow computer and needing to click everything twice

sorry for the double post

 

[AMS]

Nevergone, feel free to PM me for any help with piranhas, but first I need to know important factors such as tank size etc. before eccomending a species.

And yes, those are piranhas in my signature, I spent $500 on the pair (damn wallet burners!). But dont worry, almost all piranhas are not this expensive.

 

[Morquinn]

I used to own 2 red bellied pacus, I actually got one from walmart, and the other from petco or petsmart, cant remember which one. Anyways, they outgrew my 55 gallon so I gave them to a friend with a much much larger tank, and now they are the size of two dinner plates. I dont believe many, it any petstores at all sell black pacus, they get twice as large as their red bellied cousins. Pacus have black spots when younger and lose them as they get older, but arent as noticeable as pirahna's. Also, pacus, at least the ones I have dont carry an overbite like pirahna's, but look very similar as babies. Pacu's are herbivors, but my friend keeps my old ones with an alligator ghar (dont ask me where she got that from, I have no idea) and she regularly buys minnows for her ghar, and the pacus readily take and eat the minnows, so omnivourous maybe. Thought I would just put my 2 cents in on what I knew...
Oh yeah, and they are about 2 years old now, I bought them when they were the size of quarters, and thats how big they got, so quickly. I really like the pacus though, I think they are neat fish! I think they have personalities too, kind of like oscars.

 

[AMS]

Morquinn, yes pacus are naturally herbivores, but like you said omnivorus in captivity. They are one of the very few fish that eat feeder fish and plants readily.

 

[Nevergone815]

Nevergone, feel free to PM me for any help with piranhas, but first I need to know important factors such as tank size etc. before eccomending a species.

And yes, those are piranhas in my signature, I spent $500 on the pair (damn wallet burners!). But dont worry, almost all piranhas are not this expensive.

well i don't have a tank set up yet, but i just want to research them first. i don't really want to get larger than 150 US gal (if that is possible) as i don't have a lot of room or money. i will pm you for more info