penguinpimp1990
Fish Addict
Common Names: Wimple Piranhas
Scientific Name: Catoprion mento; synonyms Serrasalmus mento, Mylesinus macropterus
Family: Characidae
Origin: Select streams and river basins in Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Colombia.
Maximum Size: Up to 5 inches in aquariums, up to 7 inches in wild.
Care: Minimum tank size of 25 gallons, but more comfortable in tanks of 45 gallons or more. Requires high oxygen levels and extra heavy filtration. Leave some open places for free swimming, and some resting places. Does better in planted aquariums, but will also live comfortably with artifical plants. pH levels of 5.5 through 7. Tempature of 74-81 degrees. Likes softer flow rates, so an addition of powerheads is not neccesary. (Unlike most piranhas who like fast flowing waters). Never house this fish with any other fish, ever! The only exception to this rule is when they are juveniles they can be housed in a small shoal in a large tank, but eventually they must be moved to their own tank as the wimples will tear each other to death, literally.
Feeding: Is carnivorus, but leans heavily towards piscivorous. The bulk of its diet should be fish, either frozen aquarium silversides/lance fish, or live quarantined feeders. Do not use frozen fish used for human consumption, they are oily and fatty and make a mess of the tank and clog filters. Its hard to get wimples to eat things other than fish but they may accept things like krill, ocean plankton, bloodworms, and beef heart. Ive even got mine to take carnivore pellets. Also live crickets and fruit flies are favorites.
Breeding: Never been bred in captivity.
Comments: Wimple piranhas are not true piranhas because of the teeth alinement (spelling?) but certainly look like them and act like them. All wimples are wild caught, so dont expect this to be a cheap fish. It has beatiful colorations with the body being mostly silver with hints of a blue/green. Orange and red gill patch and bright red anal fin. Caution: Without proper precautions wimples may bite if felt nervous, defensive, or intimidated. They can give out some nasty bites, usually ending up with a trip to the emergency room for stitches. Luckily Ive never been bitten. But other than that wimples are straight up one of the best fish to have with everything you want: nice colorations, active, and a personality.
Scientific Name: Catoprion mento; synonyms Serrasalmus mento, Mylesinus macropterus
Family: Characidae
Origin: Select streams and river basins in Brazil, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Colombia.
Maximum Size: Up to 5 inches in aquariums, up to 7 inches in wild.
Care: Minimum tank size of 25 gallons, but more comfortable in tanks of 45 gallons or more. Requires high oxygen levels and extra heavy filtration. Leave some open places for free swimming, and some resting places. Does better in planted aquariums, but will also live comfortably with artifical plants. pH levels of 5.5 through 7. Tempature of 74-81 degrees. Likes softer flow rates, so an addition of powerheads is not neccesary. (Unlike most piranhas who like fast flowing waters). Never house this fish with any other fish, ever! The only exception to this rule is when they are juveniles they can be housed in a small shoal in a large tank, but eventually they must be moved to their own tank as the wimples will tear each other to death, literally.
Feeding: Is carnivorus, but leans heavily towards piscivorous. The bulk of its diet should be fish, either frozen aquarium silversides/lance fish, or live quarantined feeders. Do not use frozen fish used for human consumption, they are oily and fatty and make a mess of the tank and clog filters. Its hard to get wimples to eat things other than fish but they may accept things like krill, ocean plankton, bloodworms, and beef heart. Ive even got mine to take carnivore pellets. Also live crickets and fruit flies are favorites.
Breeding: Never been bred in captivity.
Comments: Wimple piranhas are not true piranhas because of the teeth alinement (spelling?) but certainly look like them and act like them. All wimples are wild caught, so dont expect this to be a cheap fish. It has beatiful colorations with the body being mostly silver with hints of a blue/green. Orange and red gill patch and bright red anal fin. Caution: Without proper precautions wimples may bite if felt nervous, defensive, or intimidated. They can give out some nasty bites, usually ending up with a trip to the emergency room for stitches. Luckily Ive never been bitten. But other than that wimples are straight up one of the best fish to have with everything you want: nice colorations, active, and a personality.
