# Just picked up a Piranha



## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

A red belly. Its only 1.5" right now and i have it in a 10 gallon tank. Gonna keep it there until it starts to grow a bit and transfer it to a 55gal. Anyone know the growth rate of them?


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

wow be careful! they can inflict nasty bites, and possibly take a finger off!! I thought it was illegal to import pirahnas into the US and if u are in the US u most likely got ripped and what u have is a pacu, which will need a much bigger tank.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

illegal? Everyone around here sells them. I'm in Michigan. Its a piranha for sure.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

u checked the teeth? are they super-sharp? if u really have a pirahna, they need to be in schools of about 3.


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## aspects (Feb 22, 2009)

I would love to see pics of this "piranha"


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

wow, a lot of nay sayers on this board. Guess i will head back to the piranha Forum.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

petlover516 said:


> u checked the teeth? are they super-sharp? if u really have a pirahna, they need to be in schools of about 3.


oh, and i have been told by people on piranha forums that red bellies should be alone or in schools of 3. It depends on the breed of piranha.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

I dont have any pics of it, but here is a quick google search of what it looks like. identical.












referenced web page-How to Breed: Red-Bellied Piranha - WaterWolves - Exotic, Rare and Predatory Fish Since 1998!


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

ok well its definately a pirahna. heres a care link: Piranha - Pygocentrus nattereri


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

petlover516 said:


> ok well its definately a pirahna. heres a care link: Piranha - Pygocentrus nattereri


Thanks for the link.


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## krause the kid (Oct 11, 2008)

that is an awesome fish. good luck


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

krause the kid said:


> that is an awesome fish. good luck


thanks, im excited to watch it grow. They had them for sale already 3-4" but i wanted to watch him grow and have it a little longer. And the large ones were $40-50.


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## DarkRevoultions (Sep 5, 2008)

petlover516 said:


> u checked the teeth? are they super-sharp? if u really have a pirahna, they need to be in schools of about 3.


Nah, they don't need to be in schools of three.. a lot of tetras like to be in schools, but I normally buy them just one only...


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## DarkRevoultions (Sep 5, 2008)

ELewandowski said:


> I dont have any pics of it, but here is a quick google search of what it looks like. identical.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Woah! the baby piranha looks scary enough, but the adult is like a MONSTER!!


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## DarkRevoultions (Sep 5, 2008)

ELewandowski said:


> A red belly. Its only 1.5" right now and i have it in a 10 gallon tank. Gonna keep it there until it starts to grow a bit and transfer it to a 55gal. Anyone know the growth rate of them?


They grow really fast. They grow faster than angels I can say that.. it takes about 6 - 7 months just for an angel to reach about 5-7" I believe.. but if you feed piranha's a LOT of food, then they will for sure grow fast.

Just like Oscars, they are rapidly fast growers. What do you have in the 55 gallon tank right now?? the Piranha's can't really stay with anything except for plecos.. and other piranhas, or aggressive fishes like cichlids..


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

DarkRevoultions said:


> They grow really fast. They grow faster than angels I can say that.. it takes about 6 - 7 months just for an angel to reach about 5-7" I believe.. but if you feed piranha's a LOT of food, then they will for sure grow fast.
> 
> Just like Oscars, they are rapidly fast growers. What do you have in the 55 gallon tank right now?? the Piranha's can't really stay with anything except for plecos.. and other piranhas, or aggressive fishes like cichlids..


no fish in it yet, its empty. I was gonna set it up soon and let it cycle a couple weeks and put some plants in it. Still researching that. But i was thinking a pleco, but might just give whole tank to the red.


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## Fishboydanny1 (Jun 13, 2008)

cichlids are too slow. the piranhas will eat cichlids alive.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

Fishboydanny1 said:


> cichlids are too slow. the piranhas will eat cichlids alive.


dont worry, not putting anything else in there except maybe a large pleco.


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## Fishboydanny1 (Jun 13, 2008)

Just a warning to anyone who is thinking of doing it..... the plec should be fine


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

Fishboydanny1 said:


> Just a warning to anyone who is thinking of doing it..... the plec should be fine


yeah, i have heard a large plec can defend themselves pretty good if they need to also.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

UPDATE. I still only have the pic in my av of him. He just wont come out long enough for a picture. He is a bit camera shy. But he has grown a wopping 0.5" in about 3.5 weeks or so. He is at a solid 2" now. I believe he was about 1.5" when i got him. Thats eyeballed of course, its a little hard to judge. His favorite food to date is tropical fish crisps, bloodworms, and jumbo shrimp pieces.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

I will put in a piece of shrimp and see if i can grab a pic of him while he eats.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

Piranha update. He's grown about 2 inches since i got him.


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

oh, and he is in a 4foot 50gallon all to himself.


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

I have 3 red bellied Pacu in my 55g FW and they grow super fast. But believe it or not they are IMO not that aggressive compared to the other cichlids their in with


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

well, the pacu is a lot dif than the piranha. not to mention they get friggin huge. How big a tank you got for those pacu's?


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

they are in a 55gal for now but they are going in a pond when they get to big for the tank

then they are going in my pond

where did you get your piranha?


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

ELewandowski said:


> yeah, i have heard a large plec can defend themselves pretty good if they need to also.


my pleco use to eat live fish i actually saw him catch one , so i would say they could hold there own very wellhttp://www.aquariumforum.com/images/smilies/bear-caught-fish.gif


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

phil_pl said:


> they are in a 55gal for now but they are going in a pond when they get to big for the tank
> 
> then they are going in my pond
> 
> where did you get your piranha?


All the local fish stores around here carry piranha. Mostly Red Belly Piranha. I'm trying to get a different species now, but no one stock them. I might pick up a Gold Piranha this week. But I would love a Rhom or Mannie.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

your pirahna is looking could! gettin some red in him, i see! the 1st time i went to this aquarium specialty shop, "Aquarium adventure", they had a big, shallow cichlid tank, and 1 of the fish in there was a _Blue_ Pirahna. it was really cool-looking


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

petlover516 said:


> your pirahna is looking could! gettin some red in him, i see! the 1st time i went to this aquarium specialty shop, "Aquarium adventure", they had a big, shallow cichlid tank, and 1 of the fish in there was a _Blue_ Pirahna. it was really cool-looking


never heard of a blue piranha, do you know its scientific name by chance? A lot of places give different species all sorts of different names. Depends on what region of the world your in.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

ELewandowski said:


> never heard of a blue piranha, do you know its scientific name by chance? A lot of places give different species all sorts of different names. Depends on what region of the world your in.


yes, and the blue pirahna is probably the 1 with the most variety of common names:red-eye pirahna, rhom pirahna, niger pirahna, gold rhom, black rhom, diamond rhom-but its scientific name is _Serrasalmus rhombeus_


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## ELewandowski (Mar 2, 2009)

petlover516 said:


> yes, and the blue pirahna is probably the 1 with the most variety of common names:red-eye pirahna, rhom pirahna, niger pirahna, gold rhom, black rhom, diamond rhom-but its scientific name is _Serrasalmus rhombeus_


ok, very cool. I have heard of all those names, just never the blue, lol. usually I just here it referenced as Rhom. They are awesome fish. I want one eventually. But my next piranha is the Elongatus Piranha.

THIS


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

yeah, the rhom has a few different color forms: Black-Diamond, Blue Diamond, and Gold. i heard about the elongatus, too. looks cool.


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## jshank (Aug 16, 2008)

I live in St. Louis. You can buy them here too. Just for an update to what you said about buying them in Michigan.


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## jerrym (Apr 29, 2009)

i raised 4 rbp and even got them to breed 3 times they grow pretty quick and you got to be carefull about decro also they move fast and any thing in there way there teeth will shred they also are high care fish you have to keep their water just right for them and better double your filter they are very dirty mine were about 1 inch they got to be about 8.5 inches when they died. they were a blast to have and worth it you can import some of their species that are less aggressive but you have to be carefull due to state bands on them pet stores will sell them under differ name any ? ask help if i can a good place to go is piranhafury.com is a good forum for info also


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## flyin-lowe (Oct 3, 2009)

I was surprised reading this to see some doubters. I have seen piranhas in Wal Mart here in Indiana. I was reading up on Pacu as I had some years ago. From what I remember they start out aggressive (mine would chow down on guppies) when they are really small and mimic the piranhas. As they get larger (in the wild) the become more vegetarian and forage on plants and they don't eat much live food. I know when mine got bigger they would no longer eat guppies or goldfish, only stick food.


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## garfreak526 (Aug 15, 2009)

To tell if it is a pirrana stick your finger in the tank. LOL!

I love large predatory fish (I keep a gar and a rope fish) so good luck with your pirrana. Post some feeding vids k.


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## TankMateDiz (Oct 30, 2009)

Fish is looking very cool!


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## 67chevelle (Aug 13, 2008)

petlover516 said:


> wow be careful! they can inflict nasty bites, and possibly take a finger off!! I thought it was illegal to import pirahnas into the US and if u are in the US u most likely got ripped and what u have is a pacu, which will need a much bigger tank.


Wow,know much about fish?


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## SteelGluer (Nov 7, 2008)

ELewandowski said:


> A red belly. Its only 1.5" right now and i have it in a 10 gallon tank. Gonna keep it there until it starts to grow a bit and transfer it to a 55gal. Anyone know the growth rate of them?


Thats a red belly keep them in odd numbers 3 5 7 etc. I had a 55 with 3 red belly in it when youhg they swim alot as they get older you will see they like to hang out until feeding time they are shy. I raised them 4 about 12 years then sold all of them and went to saltwater. They are aggresive when hungry in nature when droughts come int to play and the food source gets scarce they get real aggressive.

Question: Are Piranhas Dangerous?
Answer: A really hungry Piranha will bite most anything, even his own kin. However, Piranha normally feasts on other species of fish or wounded animals -- not humans. In fact, more piranhas are eaten by people then people are eaten by piranhas. Although I haven't had the pleasure of eating piranha myself, people in some areas of South America eat them regularly and say they are quite tasty. 


Are Piranhas Legal?
Even though piranhas are not endangering humans, they do present a danger to native fish. For that reason many states restrict importing, breeding, or even keeping them in an aquarium. Why? Unfortunately people have, and will, dump fish they don't want into rivers or lakes. A piranha tossed into river or lake an easily fish that are supposed to live there, thus damaging the ecology.




How Dangerous Are They?
Fish expert, Dr. Axelrod, once stated on network television that piranhas are not dangerous to people. Later he was dared to prove it, and prove it he did. He waded into piranha infested waters wearing only swim trunks. Placing a large piece of meat on a fishhook, he dangled it in the water and waited to see what happened. The piranha tore into the meat but not Dr. Axelrod. Although I wouldn't recommend reaching in the tank to pet your piranha, as long as they are well fed they aren't likely to bite you.



Should You Keep Them?
Piranhas are not the most ideal aquarium fish. They can't be kept with other fish, because they would eat them. Unless your tank is bare, you won't see them out and about often, because they are rather skittish and hide a good deal of the time. Feeding time is when you will see the most action, and even then they may wait for you to leave the room before they feed.

If you are serious about wanting to keep piranha, study what they need to stay healthy. Piranhas are carnivores that prefer their food live. They need a quiet habitat with places to hide, and should not be kept with other fish, even their own species. Because of the danger they present to local habitats, piranhas are not legal in many states, so check your local laws before trying to bring one home.


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## Badfish (Oct 25, 2009)

I have eight four inch reds and love them. They grow on average 6 inches in the 1st year and 1 inch aech following year. And no they are only illegal in certain, ones where the water stays at a year round temp for them to survive. Ideal temp is between 78 and 85 degrees. I keep mine around 80-82.
What species is yours. If its in the red family its best to school them with the same size fish and keep them in a high traffic area to reduce shyness because they are a naturally skitish and prefer dimmer light. I keep a Pleco with mine, which they don't bother. I feed mine frozen beef heart cubes which you can pretty much find at your LFS with ocassionally tilapia. the beef gives faster growth rate. because it has lots of protein. Feel free to message me with any ?'s if I don't know the answer I'll put you in the right direction. Just saw the pic and yup you got a red belly. You Enjoy!


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

67chevelle said:


> Wow,know much about fish?


I guess you can say that yes, I know alot about fish. im probably 2nd place most knowledgable on fish in my entire school(1st is probably garfreak526).


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## BlueSaphire (Nov 3, 2009)

Yep, pleco's really tough fish and don't let anyone push them around.


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## cocoa3212000 (Jul 31, 2010)

i had 3 big red bellies had them a long time 15-20 years.kept a 8 inch long pleco with then.no problems just a tail nip now and then.my worry with your litte one is it would pick at the pleco.


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## davidfogleman (Jun 8, 2010)

Alright, how ya loving the little guys, i recently got 6 just like that and im going to breed them, i have a pre existing tank with adults. If you wanted to you might be able to form a semi community with chiclids, plecos, some catfish (nocturnal one so there is very little contact) and if there is cover i have heard neon tetras. I wouldnt, the pleco is enough the rest is just a risk. Be sure to get more though, at least 3 more is better because it will help prevent aggresion. One in a tank will most likely be very skiddish and no fun, and be sure you actually take care of them, to many people buy them as a feeding show and never get them to their prime. a WELL taken care of red belly is an amazing fish. Oh and yes you have a red belly, people in states that they are out lawed in dont bother to think outside their state and asume they are illegal everywhere in the US.
Good luck and happy fish keeping, I would love to keep in contact with you to see how your young ones are doing =)


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

You are supposed to keep them in schools but i actually kept 1 golden belly in a 10 gallon for about 2 1/2 years when i was younger. It ate 3-10 commets a week, never the whole fish, if you put in 3 he would just bite them in half, eat half and let the other half go to waste. He would never touch dead food. Its fun trying to pick out half a commet from a pirannha tank. He was fine in that tank and then i had to go away to college, my retard girlfriend of the time was in charge of feeding him, and also responsiable for his death.


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