Piranha Growth Rate?

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Hey guys, i bought my 3 red belly piranha about 3 - 4 weeks ago (now have 2 as 1 jumped through a gap in the tank lid that iv now covered). When i got them they were very small, around 2 inch from head to tail (maybe smaller). Now they have and still are growing at an incredible rate. A lot faster than i ever expected. They have now doubled in size within 4 wks. They are around 4 - 5 inch (maybe a little more).

Does anyone know if their growth slows down at all through their life? And how long about does it take them reach adult size? Which i believe is around 8 - 10 inch.

Here are some pics of what they look like now....

Thanks for checking out this topic hope you like my fish....

 

[BigbruiserAl]

A few things from when i used keep them.

Red belly piranhas look much better and settle into aquarium life easier if kept in groups of at least 4 individuals. The red belly, will if given proper care grow to more than 12" in length. Piranhas grow quickly , red belly juveniles will grow from 1" to 6" in less than 1 yr with proper care, from then on they will grow approximately 1 to 3" per year depending upon species and conditions. The minimum size aquarium for a group of 4 red belly piranhas would be 4ft long, 18" wide and 18" deep . This may seem like a large aquarium, but, as a general rule, piranhas need approximately 20 gallons of water per fish
It is sometimes possible to keep piranhas in two's or three's but invariably one fish will become dominant and eventually kill the others, keeping four disperses aggression sufficiently to ensure that all will bare only a limited amount of the aggression.

Hope it helps?

 

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Hi, thanks for your reply. That is really helpful. As it is now i have got them in a 46 gal, moved my 2 kribs and 6 cories to my 30 gal and rehomed the fish that could not go in the 30. My 46 gal is 3ft x 22 inch high x 16 wide. maybe it would b a bad idea 2 get anymore piranha as i told have the room for them and don't have the room at home for a bigger tank