Red Bellied Piranhas

[zackish]

Can anyone lead me to some basic information about red bellied piranhas?
My buddy wanted to get some and I don't know much about them and I am trying to help him out.
If anyone has any and can give me a few pointers too that would be great.
Are they difficult to keep, etc?

[sailor]

I've never kept them but here are a couple of links for you

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile7.html

http://www.sheddaquarium.org/red_bellied_piranhas.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygocentrus_nattereri

[goleafs]

How big of a tank does he have? They get quite big.

[cocoa_pleco]

i used to have a few, theyre really cool. 55g is the bare minimum, and i believe its 20g for each piranha, so a 90g would hold 5

[NickFish]

55 gallon would be the minimum for 1, but since piranha are schooling fish they should be in groups of at least 6 or preferably more.
This being said you would need a 125 gallon bare minimum in order to hold a mature school of 6 red-bellies.

Also, word of advice. Don't give piranha live feeder fish.

[zackish]

How do they like their tank set up? Nice hiding places and such?

[NickFish]

They like caves, driftwood, good hiding places and a fair amount of plants (they really like amazon sword), but make sure there is still plenty of swimming space.
Here are some nice piranha tanks if you need some inspriation ;)
125 gallon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJ-4BHUAAss)

720 gallon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xa9RfC8nvTs&feature=related)

Also, piranha are illegal in some states. Check the handy-dandy piranha legality map to make sure you can keep them. Not sure about the legality in other countries, but I know that Canada pretty much every fish is legal (hooray)!

[squirt_12]

They like caves, good hiding places and a fair amount of plants, but make sure there is still plenty of swimming space.
Don't they like drift wood to??? I have seen a video of them in the wild and there were pieces of wood making archways (sp?) and stuff.

They like their water to be soft to acidic, with a good amount of water movement in the tank.

[NickFish]

Thanks Squirt, forgot to mention that.
They do like driftwood, and you can run some peat through your filter to keep your pH down. You could also add some black water extract if you wanted. 6.8 is ideal, althogh 6-7.5 can be tolerated.


Are they difficult to keep, etc?
They are not extremely difficult fish, but they sure aren't for beginners. Given a big tank, intense filtration, and more than frequent water changes (they're messy, as are all carivores), as well as a proper diet (no live feeder fish) they should do well. They would be just between moderate and expert,but closer to moderate, on the NickFish difficulty scale. :wink2:
Also, keep in mind they will attack their own species, and most of them will have their tails bitten off, providing an entrance point for infection and bacteria.

[squirt_12]

Thanks Squirt, forgot to mention that.
They do like driftwood, and you can run some peat through your filter to keep your pH down. You could also add some black water extract if you wanted.
You would probably want a powerhead or 2 in there to get the water moving a little faster.

[Tooch]

Hrm... I don't think they are difficult at all. I have 4 in a 75 gal with 2 very small (3-4") Raphael cats. I've had the Piranha since they were about the size of a dime. It's really neat to watch them grow up, as when they're small they are really bright silver with black spots.

We started with 5, but as they grew 1 fell behind. Eventually they killed him to keep the pack strong. Now they don't bother anyone at all. They do like alot of cover, as they are very shy fish. We used to feed them feeders, but now they are eating a mix of freeze-dried Krill and Hakari Bio-Gold. They probably occasionally eat some of the ghost shrimp we keep in there for the catfish to eat, as well.

They are messy, but not nearly as messy as when they were eating feeders!

[goleafs]

Hrm... I don't think they are difficult at all. I have 4 in a 75 gal with 2 very small (3-4") Raphael cats. I've had the Piranha since they were about the size of a dime. It's really neat to watch them grow up, as when they're small they are really bright silver with black spots.

We started with 5, but as they grew 1 fell behind. Eventually they killed him to keep the pack strong. Now they don't bother anyone at all. They do like alot of cover, as they are very shy fish. We used to feed them feeders, but now they are eating a mix of freeze-dried Krill and Hakari Bio-Gold. They probably occasionally eat some of the ghost shrimp we keep in there for the catfish to eat, as well.

They are messy, but not nearly as messy as when they were eating feeders!

I read that they're supposed to be kept in schools of even numbers or else that happens.

[YaYgoldFish]

Actually, Alot of people keep them alone. I keep one alone and feed it tilapia fillets, shrimp, smelts,and pellets.

[NickFish]

Yes piranhas can be kept alone, but not as happily as they would be in schools.
Piranha are schooling fish, and in the wild travel in groups made up of hundreds of individuals. You really need to keep it true to their natural way of life and provide them with a school made up of at least 6 piranha.


I read that they're supposed to be kept in schools of even numbers or else that happens.
Not sure about that, since they are not pairing up for breeding it shouldn't really matter whether it is even or odd.

[cocoa_pleco]

i heard about that even thing too, i think its true

[RainMan]

I had a lonely red belly (years and years ago). He was extemely timid. But, he did well.... he was about 4.5" when I finally moved and had to get rid of him. But, you could tell he wanted company anyway. Definitely a 55g or bigger. They like to move sometimes (really fast). Keep a portion of the tank swimable if you can... they'll use it. (I think they need to let of some aggression once in a while?) LOL

If you put driftwood in the tank... try it upside down so it resembles roots. and I had half of the tank planted with amazon swords. and about 1/4 of it more open for his need for speed. :) Anyway, he spent 90% of his time either in the roots or swords. He hated bright light. I had one of those split hoods with lights on either side. I ended up taking out half of the lighting. He turned a really deep red after that. Suprisingly, the plants didn't seem to mind it either??

I fed him small live feeders... about once a week (as a treat).... proceeded by cleaning and water changes a few hours later. He liked thawed frozen shrimp a lot and would tolerate pellets... I think I used Hikari? I remember them being in a bag?? Sorry. Make sure whatever you feed him... it sinks. He rarely came to the surface.

I would definitely do Piranha again if I had the room for a large tank with a half a dozen of them.

Oh and another funny thing... I was told back in the day... that they should be in schools of odd numbers? 3, 5, etc. ?? I was told over and over again to not pair them up. I think 2 is bad news though. 3 or more is a school. But, could be wrong.

[NickFish]

Yes 2 is definitely not going to work out too well...unless you had a 1000 gallon tank.

I think you could go as low as 5 piranha if you had lots of hiding places and they would be ok together.


He hated bright light.
That's another thing. Many people say their fish will only take feeders and can't seem to get them on prepared food, this is often because piranha prefer to eat in the dark. With live food they take the opporitunity and get it whenever they can, but with a sinking pellet the instinct isn't as much there.
The best way to get piranha to eat is to turn off the lights and leave the room. For some reason they hate light when they are eating.

[RainMan]

Oh that reminded me of something when you said, "leave the room" If you only have one piranha... it will rarely eat when you are watching. Unless, you are patient, distance yourself, and be completely still for up to an hour. That's why I fed him before i went to sleep. I could lay there and watch him from my bed. I think they are more aggressive with feeding when they are kept in numbers. ?? But, low lighting is definitely key.

But, it is suprising how timid and shy they can be. Considering their reputation as being such a "killer". :-)

[NickFish]

But, it is suprising how timid and shy they can be. Considering their reputation as being such a "killer". :-)
I always wondered how piranha got the reputation as blood-thristy killers. Maybe it's just because they have sharp teeth? Sure they are agressive, but only to each other and other fish, they are very shy and timid. At the petsmart I work at, we have 8 full grown piranha in a show tank and you can stick your whole hand in there, move the decor around, doing gravel vacs and they run away from you and hide in the corner. Meanwhile all the customers around you are watching in horror waiting for you to lose a finger! :c2:
Piranha need their hiding places, they are extremely shy and docile, even though they have a sinister reputation remember that they need hiding places (still do not neglect swimming space however) and it would be best to keep their tank in a quite room, away from the noises of a busy household. They get spooked way too easily.

[snapdragon9]

Rightly said!! The piranha get a bad reputation. I work at an independant pet store, and people always ask me to feed them. If you are keeping them for that reason, you won't be too pleased, granted they are awesome fish! I have one and he is spoiled, I "pet him" when I do weekly water changes, he's really nice.