Piranhas

[mackay55]

hi I was thinking of getting another tank for red belly piranhas would this tank be ok for them


http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/330L-Cabinet-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Tropical-Marine-120cm-4ft-with-T5-Lighting-New-/310347150702?pt=UK_Pet_Supplies_Fish&var=&hash=item484221b56e#ht_2550wt_1397


and how many should I get

 

[Chad]

In my opinion that's not the right tank for them. That tank isn't long enough for the fish as even in aquaria they get nearly a foot long. they are also quite messy eaters so more water volume helps with water quality issues.

 

[dbanner]

Iv kept red belly piranhas before. They are considered boring fish which to be fair mine were unless it was feeding time. Watching them hunt and eat like they do is fascinating but the novelty soon wears off when you find yourself constantly cleaning the tank because they are such messy eaters.

I had 5 in a 4 foot 260 litre but all hell broke loose. 1 died and I'm still unsure why and then the dominant male killed and ate the remaining 3 leaving me with just 1. He was a psycho and grew to around 7-8 inches before I rehomed it.

They need loads of filtration... At least 5x the tank volume so say in a 350 litre you would need 2 external canister filters giving a combined water turnover of around 2000lph but preferably more. They also need dim lighting and lots of hiding places.

They don't tend do a lot in means of moving. They will just sit there at the bottom of the tank. Ideally for a group of 5 you will need a tank of 5-6 feet long and around 2 feet wide giving you 500-600 litres

 

[Chad]

Great 1st-hand information dbanner! You paint a good picture of keeping this fish.

 

[dbanner]

Thank you the bit I forgot to mention about my remaining psycho piranha was it got to a stage where I couldn't put my hand in the tank to clean/vacuum as he would just try to attack me so I had to get a long metal pole and attach my syphon to that to clean/vac the tank. When he was in the group he was very calm and none of them would come near my hands, if anything they were very skittish and swam away from me but then one day he just went nuts lol

 

[mackay55]

ill look for a better fish

 

[Chad]

There are so many to pick from I'm sure you will find species that you enjoy.

 

[dbanner]

Is it a predatory fish you after? And a shoaling (group) fish? Or would you rather a single predictor? Community fish?

Iv owned a few other predictors apart from the piranhas. Iv owned rainbow snakeheads (dwarf snakeheads) which get to around 7-8 inches and a pair would be good for the tank you posted, bichirs like senegals, delhezi and most recently an ornate. Iv had a Lima shovelnose catfish but that tank wouldn't be big enough. Iv also had numerous South American and Central American cichlids such as dovii, jaguar, red terror, red devil, jack Dempsey, firemouth, jewels, severums, oscars, Texas and now I have a blue Thai silk flowerhorn.

My flowerhorn is the only fish I have in my 5 foot 450 litre. He is around 3 1/2 inches at the moment and I'd say is the meanest iv owned at the current size. Again the 330 litre tank you posted would be good for a single flowerhorn.

As tcamos said, there are many fish to choose from. Some with more personality than others, some also known as "wet pets" such as oscars and flowerhorns amongst others. My FH recognises me and goes mad if I walk up to the tank. He also does funny summersaults to get my attention what I would do is visit some fish stores and make a list of the fish u like the look of then ask questions about them on here or do some research on various other sites to see if they go together or if they are good for your tank and their need/requirements and so on

 

[Chad]

I know people who treat their oscars like dogs!

 

[dbanner]

Haha yeah so do I. They become very interactive with their owners and can easily recognise their owner from a random person. My oscars were like that but I wouldn't say they react quite as we'll as my FH does. He craves attention and iv even got him taking food from my hands already he's currently being fed 3 times a day with 1 day a week off and he's growing quickly. Can't wait for him to get a decent size... Say 6-8 inches. Can't see it taking long haha

 

[Chad]

That's why I'm such a big fan of puffer fish, they are just like water-dogs.