What Fish To Get?

[Mr._Fishy]

Well the first one isn't even an aquarium one, the second, I don't really know, I am really biased toward eheims, but they're pricy. Maybe try to look used? I particularly don't like the fluval x05 series, the hoses had a tendency to pop off and were a pain in general.

Aim for maybe 8-10x turnover rate but more important is the media capacity, hence my recommending canisters and aquaclears. A filter rated for 75g isn't going to be nearly enough. My sanchezi.

When the piranhas are full grown how many do you plan to keep? I'd suggest 3, 4 tops.

 

[sryan0609]

Well the first one isn't even an aquarium one, the second, I don't really know, I am really biased toward eheims, but they're pricy. Maybe try to look used? I particularly don't like the fluval x05 series, the hoses had a tendency to pop off and were a pain in general.

Aim for maybe 8-10x turnover rate but more important is the media capacity, hence my recommending canisters and aquaclears. A filter rated for 75g isn't going to be nearly enough. My sanchezi.

When the piranhas are full grown how many do you plan to keep? I'd suggest 3, 4 tops.

ya ok ill be sure to get a good filter, ill hae my LF help me out

and ya once they r full grown probably 3-4,and if worst comes to worst, like if i cant give them away, i hae several tanks i could put a couple in so they arent crammed. just until i find a new owner

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Alright, make sure your lfs is good and understands and has experience with what you're trying to do.

If you have a plan, I say if you want to get 10, go for it. But it doesn't really seem to make much sense to me spend $80 on 10 fish when you could spend $50-60 on 5-6 fish (in case of deaths) when you're only going to keep 3-4.

 

[sryan0609]

Alright, make sure your lfs is good and understands and has experience with what you're trying to do.

If you have a plan, I say if you want to get 10, go for it. But it doesn't really seem to make much sense to me spend $80 on 10 fish when you could spend $50-60 on 5-6 fish (in case of deaths) when you're only going to keep 3-4.

ya my Lf is really reliable and had helped me alot

well i mean its going to be a very long time for them to get to the size where i need to get rid of some, and imean i had nine before, not full grown though, but they were growing for about 2 1/2 or 3 yrs

 

[Mr._Fishy]

That right there should be a red flag. I'm pretty sure they should be almost full grown within 1 1/2 years, maybe about 7" or so. Pygos usually grow pretty quickly while serras are the ones that grow very slowly.

 

[sryan0609]

That right there should be a red flag. I'm pretty sure they should be almost full grown within 1 1/2 years, maybe about 7" or so. Pygos usually grow pretty quickly while serras are the ones that grow very slowly.

ok ya i didnt hae em that long that was just a guess, that was wayyy off. i joined this in january 09, and i got my fish a lil before then so i had em for a little more than a yr...it prolly sounds like im lieing now so i dont sound bad, but i have an EXTREMELY bad memory.

and im gonna sound like an idiot here, but whats the difference between pygos and serras? i bought my first batch of them from my LF and it didnt say the scientific name of them...

and also i started out in like september with 5 and had them for about 4 months but there was a huge storm and power went out all over cincy for a week, so my RBPs died obviously. then i got the ones that i had up until now, so i didnt hae the same ones for my whole piranha "career." i probably should hae clarrified that, sorry

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Haha it's fine, welcome to the club man.

Pygo = piranhas from the genus Pygocentrus, ie red belly, caribe, piraya.

Serra = piranhas from the genus Serrasalmus, ie sanchezi, rhombeus, altuvei, elongatus, etc. By far the larger genus. I think there's somewhere around 25 valid species in the genus as opposed to 3 in Pygocentrus.

Also similar to the above piranhas are the genera Pygopristis, Pristobrycon, and Catoprion. However, long story short, most scientists believe they shouldn't be considered true piranha, but instead pirambeba. In fact the only "true" piranha are Pygocentrus.

 

[sryan0609]

Haha it's fine, welcome to the club man.

Pygo = piranhas from the genus Pygocentrus, ie red belly, caribe, piraya.

Serra = piranhas from the genus Serrasalmus, ie sanchezi, rhombeus, altuvei, elongatus, etc. By far the larger genus. I think there's somewhere around 25 valid species in the genus as opposed to 3 in Pygocentrus.

Also similar to the above piranhas are the genera Pygopristis, Pristobrycon, and Catoprion. However, long story short, most scientists believe they shouldn't be considered true piranha, but instead pirambeba. In fact the only "true" piranha are Pygocentrus.

ya wel I'm going to that store right now..I'll let ya know how it is

 

[sryan0609]

well i got my tank complete, finally, yesterday, and its doing well so far.

i ended up just gettin 5 RBPs from the LF i usually go to, they are all just about 1". i may get a couple more but i gotta wait til thursday for more to come in.

even though i wanted to get some that were already big, they were just to expensive, and it'll be nice starting over again, and watching the whole process over again, like them growing. and plus it always feels very good, like u accomplished something, to nurture them from when they were just babies and getting them to be adults.

so, thanks again for all your help...ill probably have some more questions along the way. but until then see ya later

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Cool, 5 rbp's should work out nicely, I'm guessing you'll wind up with 3-4 fish.

Yeah, growing fish from babies to adults are always fun, especially with large oddballs or preds (for me anyways).

And no problem, that's what these forums are for. Do you have any pics of the tank?

 

[sryan0609]

I don't have any right now, but I'll take some tomorrow and post em

 

[sryan0609]

hey so i took some pictures, but how do i post them on here?

 

[Mr._Fishy]

You can upload it to a photo sharing site then insert the url. There is or used to be a way to upload it directly from your computer but I don't remember how to do that.

 

[sryan0609]

You can upload it to a photo sharing site then insert the url. There is or used to be a way to upload it directly from your computer but I don't remember how to do that.

ok, well can i just email them to you? itd be much easier

 

[Mr._Fishy]

Sure that would be fine. pm incoming