What Fish To Get?

[sryan0609]

So i had a bit of an incident...i had 8 RBPs and i went on a trip. got back all were cooked...my heater had a great malfunction and fried them all....i am greatly disappointed but i want to make use of the tank. I want to get another fairly agressive fish. that is as interesting as RBPs. i was thinking either a Black Rhombus piranha or a red fin wolf fish. any insight on which one is "better" would bevery usefull.

and i was gonna buy from aquascapeonline.com

thanks in advance!

 

[Mr._Fishy]

I forget what size tank you have but unless you have a 150g+ tank for a full grown rhom, they are out of the question. However, they grow extraordinarily slowly, so something in in the 50-80g range could last for a good amount of time if you buy a small rhom. However, when you start buying large serras when they are less than 3-4" you really can't be 100% sure of what fish you are actually buying. Just something to be aware of.

Ery erys tend to be hit and miss in terms of activity and aggression. I wouldn't put one in your tank (somewhere around 70g iirc) as that would be a waste of tank space, and I wouldn't attempt to keep those kind of fish together unless you have large qt tanks laying around.

Tbh, if it's sheer aggression and entertainment you are looking for, larger american and african cichlids would probably be a far better idea. Serras tend to be rather boring fish along with most wolf fish.

I would suggest that you try and search before asking questions. Most of your questions can be answered easily by a quick google search or a search of other forums. I'm not trying to be condescending, I'm just saying you can try and answer your own questions too. Frank at OPEFE and his site are great resources for piranhas.

 

[sryan0609]

I forget what size tank you have but unless you have a 150g+ tank for a full grown rhom, they are out of the question. However, they grow extraordinarily slowly, so something in in the 50-80g range could last for a good amount of time if you buy a small rhom. However, when you start buying large serras when they are less than 3-4" you really can't be 100% sure of what fish you are actually buying. Just something to be aware of.

Ery erys tend to be hit and miss in terms of activity and aggression. I wouldn't put one in your tank (somewhere around 70g iirc) as that would be a waste of tank space, and I wouldn't attempt to keep those kind of fish together unless you have large qt tanks laying around.

Tbh, if it's sheer aggression and entertainment you are looking for, larger american and african cichlids would probably be a far better idea. Serras tend to be rather boring fish along with most wolf fish.

I would suggest that you try and search before asking questions. Most of your questions can be answered easily by a quick google search or a search of other forums. I'm not trying to be condescending, I'm just saying you can try and answer your own questions too. Frank at OPEFE and his site are great resources for piranhas.

ya. i have an 85 gal.

and i was also looking at the gold piranha, and red spilo too

and where should i look for piranhas? Freank, who is he?

and i know that cichlids are more agressive than piranhas, but i like the piranhas more. my reds that i had were begginning to be very active and not as shy as they used to be....

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Frank is the guy who runs the show at OPEFE. Google "opefe" and it should be the first result. Gold piranha I assume means gold spilo? They would work and are a pretty cool fish imo. I am not aware of a red spilo. Perhaps you mean a sanchezi? Btw, it's usually better to use latin names instead of common names with piranhas and other preds to avoid confusion.

Shark aquarium (not sure if they're still around and active, a few years ago they were) and aquascape online are generally good places to buy p's online. Try looking around locally if you haven't already too.

Oh, and I sent you a pm with other piranha related stuff. Not sure if I can post it here so I figured I'd just send you a pm.

 

[jonny_dw]

Do you live in the UK?Those places are US sites, dont send to these shores, try piranha warehouse or wildwoods for the UK.

Its hit and miss with rhoms, very slow growers at 1" a year and dont come into their own usually till sub adult sizes, some are always shy, some are monsters. An 85g would be a good size for a 7" sort of size one, a smaller one would probs just hide in a tank that size.

I find wolf fish boring, sit there looking like a log all day isnt my kinda thing.

 

[sryan0609]

Frank is the guy who runs the show at OPEFE. Google "opefe" and it should be the first result. Gold piranha I assume means gold spilo? They would work and are a pretty cool fish imo. I am not aware of a red spilo. Perhaps you mean a sanchezi? Btw, it's usually better to use latin names instead of common names with piranhas and other preds to avoid confusion.

Shark aquarium (not sure if they're still around and active, a few years ago they were) and aquascape online are generally good places to buy p's online. Try looking around locally if you haven't already too.

Oh, and I sent you a pm with other piranha related stuff. Not sure if I can post it here so I figured I'd just send you a pm.

ok cool. and yes i mean the red sanchezi, and the gold piranha's scientific name is Serrasalmus Spilopluera, so yes gold spilo.

and i am assuming that ordering fish by mail in the winter isn't a good idea, what do you think?

i have talked to my local store but they said hey cant order big piranhas because they have nowhere to put them. im going to try and work something out, and tell them that i will pick the fish up the second they get it but i am not sure if they will order one or not....

and also, for both the gold piranha and the red sanchazi i read that they should be kept alone, unless the tank has enough room for 35-40 gal. per fish. whats your thought on this? basically how many can i get for a tank the is 85gal.?

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Serras must be kept alone. Don't attempt a cohab unless you have equipment and experience.

Ordering during during a blizzard when its -20 outside isn't a good idea for obvious reasons. But during the winter most places ship with heat packs so it is possible to ship fish during the winter. Try and order during a warm spell and be home when the fish get there. Where do you live? As for acclimating, rapid warming to some extent is ok, I usually throw some ammo lock in the bag as soon as I get the fish too.

If you want to keep a serra, I'd say any of the medium sized ones would fit the bill quite nicely (compressus, spilo, etc).

 

[sryan0609]

Serras must be kept alone. Don't attempt a cohab unless you have equipment and experience.

Ordering during during a blizzard when its -20 outside isn't a good idea for obvious reasons. But during the winter most places ship with heat packs so it is possible to ship fish during the winter. Try and order during a warm spell and be home when the fish get there. Where do you live? As for acclimating, rapid warming to some extent is ok, I usually throw some ammo lock in the bag as soon as I get the fish too.

If you want to keep a serra, I'd say any of the medium sized ones would fit the bill quite nicely (compressus, spilo, etc).

ok, so even though i have an 85 gal. 2 wont work? if not, i was wanting to get a couple or more piranhas. i dont think i would like only having one in the tank, so are there any others that are "better" than RBPs but can be with each other?

and i live in cincinnati ohio, the weather has been ranging from 30s to 40s lately. and what is ammo lock, can i get it from my pet store most likely?

also once i get the fish in the mail do i do the usual routine of putting it in the tank? just let it sit in the bag for 15 mins in the tank then let him out?

thanks

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Correct. Don't try to keep serras together. You will end up with 1 or no fish. Guaranteed. If you want something else you might want to look at caribas depending on the dimensions of the tank.

You should be able to find ammo lock or an equivalent at almost any lfs. Just look for something that neutralizes ammonia. I would do a drip acclimation rather than just letting the bag sit in the tank.

30-40 would be pushing your luck imo. I'd wait until around 50 or so especially with more expensive fish.

 

[sryan0609]

Correct. Don't try to keep serras together. You will end up with 1 or no fish. Guaranteed. If you want something else you might want to look at caribas depending on the dimensions of the tank.

You should be able to find ammo lock or an equivalent at almost any lfs. Just look for something that neutralizes ammonia. I would do a drip acclimation rather than just letting the bag sit in the tank.

30-40 would be pushing your luck imo. I'd wait until around 50 or so especially with more expensive fish.

dang...in your opinion is it worth having just one serra? Like with my rbps they were more active when I got more

and, just wondering, what type of piranha would u get if u were me? Price plays a part in my choice also, I don't wanna pay more than 35 or 40 per fish?

and what is drip acclimation?

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Well for me it certainly is but it sounds like you want a more interesting fish. A single serra is pretty boring in the eyes of most people. Different fish of the same species also can have vastly different personalities, one specimen may be a monster while another of the same species may hide in a corner all day.

I'd look into doing another rbp setup or maybe a cariba tank. Caribas are usually less skittish than rbp's when kept in proper conditions. Are you dead set on a piranha or pred tank or would you be interested in other oddballs?

Drip acclimation is slowly dripping tank water into the water the fish was shipped with to minimize ph shock. If you want a more detailed explanation, the search function is your friend.

 

[sryan0609]

Well for me it certainly is but it sounds like you want a more interesting fish. A single serra is pretty boring in the eyes of most people. Different fish of the same species also can have vastly different personalities, one specimen may be a monster while another of the same species may hide in a corner all day.

I'd look into doing another rbp setup or maybe a cariba tank. Caribas are usually less skittish than rbp's when kept in proper conditions. Are you dead set on a piranha or pred tank or would you be interested in other oddballs?

Drip acclimation is slowly dripping tank water into the water the fish was shipped with to minimize ph shock. If you want a more detailed explanation, the search function is your friend.

ya i feel like one serra couldnt possibly be as interesting multiple rbps...i was thinking about just buying some more rbps because i was quite satisfied with them. but then again i wanted to try something new.

i would like to stick to pirahnas because i really like them, and if not piranhas i still want a predatory tank. if there is another fish or fishes that r like piranhas i would be alright with gettting them too. i was also looking at gars and arowanas, but i think my tank is waayyyy too small... i also really want a snakehead, but they are illegal in the US...

 

[Mr._Fishy]

If you want to change it up a bit I'd think about a cariba tank. Imo they're alot prettier than rbp's too. I'm still kicking around the idea for my 80g.

 

[sryan0609]

If you want to change it up a bit I'd think about a cariba tank. Imo they're alot prettier than rbp's too. I'm still kicking around the idea for my 80g.

ya i hae looked at caribe before, they are cool, but the ones on aqua scape are 75$, and not in stock....

how many caribe would one get for an 85 gal.?

and u know anywhere i could get caribe for decent price?

 

[Mr._Fishy]

You could get 3 or 4 depending on filtration and dims. What are the dimensions of the tank?

I think they are usually seasonal fish, wait around a bit and they should come up. Maybe ask your lfs to get some smaller ones when they're available.