Piranhas

[aquamanis]

Hi guys, the other day while having a conversation with a mate about fish and aquariums he jokingly mentions he would love a tank full of piranhas. He was shocked and excited all at once when I told him the LFS sell piranhas. Now this mate hasn,t had fish before but I can show him the basics and help him setup. Now my question is are piranhas suitable for a begginer in the hobby? Are some varieties more suitable than others and are some varieties easier to care for? I was supprised to read how big they get (thanks smb) and was wondering what size tank would you need for a small school of Ps. Whats the requirements for filtration, heating etc? , same as tropicals or different? Anything else he should know? Thanks heaps. smb, are piranhas clasified as cichlids?

 

[juanveldez]

no Pirhanas are not classified as cichlids, but both have similar requirements for filtration, and that is LOTS. as far as how big of a tank that all depends on how much your friend is willing to dish out. for a really good set up with a small school of 4 or 6 red bellies a 75 would do perfect. just remember that there is the general statement that pirhanas need to be kept in a school that there are some species that also need to be kept alone as they don't school in the wild and would surely kill each other in a tank, one of those being the black pirhana.