Pirhana

[martin_jones]

I was in a LFS at lunchtime and they had 4 or 5 pirhana in a small tank for sale.

Not one of them was complete. Each had missing eyes or chewed tails.

Is this the norm or was it just a bad LFS (Maidenhead Aquatics!).

Martin

 

[AMS]

Assuming they were Pygocentrus I would say that it was a bad LFS. Piranhas need their territory, even if they are in a holding tank at an LFS temporarily, they still need their space. It is normal to see some minor nip marks of their fins, but missing eyes and chewed off tails is certainly not normal. I would definitely inform a manager on their condition.

 

[martin_jones]

I think they were red-bellied pirhana. Fairly small (1-2") in a selling tank.

I was quite surprised as Maidenhead Aquatics are normally OK, aren't they?!

M

 

[AMS]

Yup, probably red bellies, by far the most common piranha species for sale. At 1"-2" they shouldn't be that aggressive unless severly overstocked, which is usually the case during shipping or holding. Were there any more piranhas in that tank before you saw them? If so, I wouldn't be surprised if they have missing eyes and chewed off tails. I have seen some pretty nasty sights with 50+ juvenile red bellies in 20 gallon tanks