2 Red Belly Piranha With Channa Pulchra?

[laurac94]

Hi, I have 2 6-7inch red belly piranhas in a 48 x 15 x 15 tank with a 12 inch pleco
Just wondering if anyone knew if I would be able to add an 8 inch Channa pulchra into the tank or will it go terribly wrong? I've seen people keeping them together on you tube and since I currently only have 2 piranhas they are not aggressive even when there is food around.
I am also looking at getting a tank upgrade in the next year or so.
Thanks for any advice

 

[Mikey1]

im asuming you are talking inches and not centimeters with the tank size?
 
your tank is pretty much fully stocked as it is, if the piranhas are well looked after and well fed, they can easily grow another 4+ inches,
 
piranhas are very territorial and will not take kindly to you dumping another large fish into thier established territory,
 
however, if you do decide to do this, i would remove the piranhas from the tank for a half hour or an hour, then re-arrange the tank decor, ornaments, plants etc etc,
 
put the Channa pulchra into the tank first, then put the piranhas back in, this way the piranhas have no established "territory",
 
more than one piranha usually dont work out well with other tank mates,

 

[laurac94]

Ok thank you, and yeah it is in inches
Should I get some more plants then to form more hiding places?
Ive currently got some long grasses in there.

 

[Aviici]

Big problem, Channa Pulchra are sub-tropical. They won't work with the piranhas because the Channa will need cooler temps, and a 3 month cooling period where the temp goes down to 17C, their maximum temp should be around 22C.
They get more aggressive as they grow older, and will eventually have a showdown with your reds for dominance of the tank space.
Also; You should really have more reds as they're a shoaling species, and should be kept in a larger tank.
 
All in all this species of Channa should only be kept in a species tank.