S. Rhombeus

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Hi all! I've always wanted a shoal of red bellied piranha but upon seeing a S. Rhombeus I just had to get him. He's only about 1.5 - 2inches. Right now he's alone in a 20gal with a bunch of plants and wood (originally, I was going to get a couple of dwarf puffers in here). My question is, what size of a tank will I need to keep him?

 

[Davo86]

Hi all! I've always wanted a shoal of red bellied piranha but upon seeing a S. Rhombeus I just had to get him. He's only about 1.5 - 2inches. Right now he's alone in a 20gal with a bunch of plants and wood (originally, I was going to get a couple of dwarf puffers in here). My question is, what size of a tank will I need to keep him?

You would need a 75USG minimum for an adult, ideally with a minimum width of 2 foot,

 

[Mr._Fishy]

I'd say you need 100g as an absolute minimum. A 125g would be better. They can grow to over a foot even in captivity. They take a very long time to reach that size though.

 

[jonny_dw]

I'd say you need 100g as an absolute minimum. A 125g would be better. They can grow to over a foot even in captivity. They take a very long time to reach that size though.

I agree, a 125g for an adult, they can easily get to 14" in captivity all though this takes a very long time.A 75 gallon would do nicely for quite a few years.

Have you a pic of your fish though?at that size it could easily be mistaken for a rhom when it could be another serrasalmus species.

 

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Thanks for the replies guys.

Ok then, 75 gallons for now sounds good.

Here a pic for a ID;

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Looks like a rhom to me, abeit one a bit larger than 1.5-2". It's always really hard to be 100% sure when they are that small. It could wind up being a compressus too but I doubt it given the already distinct and circular spotting.

 

[syntax_error]

Great, thanks for the ID. I was told by many other too that it's hard to ID at this stage...lol, for me they all look alike!

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Yeah, piranhas, especially small ones, can be a real pain to id.

If you haven't already, check out frank magallenes' site, opefe. Frank is a great resource for id's and whatnot.

 

[jonny_dw]

Yeah, piranhas, especially small ones, can be a real pain to id.

If you haven't already, check out frank magallenes' site, opefe. Frank is a great resource for id's and whatnot.

Spot on, my feeling is rhom but as already said, young serrasalmus species are hard to be 100% sure on an ID.Nice looking fish though