Piranhas...who has them?

JungleGuts

Arachnoprince
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May 7, 2006
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Well ive been looking into Piranhas for awhile now and i really want some. Im still not sure what kind as i dont want a HUGE tank(Massiveaggression.com has some options that im looking at for smaller species). Anyway post up pics of your piranhas/setups here if you have them. Also if you have any recommendations for me feel free,

-dan
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
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oh man they are awseome! and there are soooo many ssp. in the past ive kept the black,white,gold and of course the famous redbelly,some can be kept together(redbellies)the others no way,i had them when i lived up in NY,but i'm in fla and they are illegal down here.:( i had many of them for years they do live a long time,but they can be alittle shy/skittish,they need lot's of cover and lot's of swimming room to keep them happy,and they eat well,live/frozen you name it. good choice of fish! they rock,i'm still a big fish fan.
 

beetleman

Arachnoking
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oh man they are awseome! and there are soooo many ssp. in the past ive kept the black,white,gold and of course the famous redbelly,some can be kept together(redbellies)the others no way,i had them when i lived up in NY,but i'm in fla and they are illegal down here.:( i had many of them for years they do live a long time,but they can be alittle shy/skittish,they need lot's of cover and lot's of swimming room to keep them happy,and they eat well,live/frozen you name it. good choice of fish! they rock,i'm still a big fish fan.
 

Snake_Eyes

Arachnoknight
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I would get a Serrasalmus sanchezi (purple phase) They have awesome color but needs to be housed by themselves and only grows to 7".
 

ZooRex

Arachnobaron
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Checkout Piranha-Fury.com, all your questions will be answered. ~ Rex
 

EAD063

Arachnoprince
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My father kept them when I was kids, in seperated tanks of course. But I'd go catch a baby pike or muskie and keep that, they can most likely be kept together. Or try and oscar, which is a definent if you want to see something go from tiny eating pellets to huge eating fish.
 

Vanilla

Arachnosquire
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I would love a piranha.Someday when I get a new tank set-up I want one.
 

DavidRS

Arachnoknight
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Feb 9, 2003
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I used to have a group of 5 red bellies, which are the most common. You want to have as large a group as you can considering the size of your tank, as they are shy by themselves or in very few numbers.

What was discouraging in my situation was that I was constantly feeding them with either beefheart or live goldfish so they would grow and be aggressive eaters. Then ONE day I did not feed them, and one of the group got eaten. Then another, I was so pissed off that I just let them cannibalize each other. I don't recall what happened to the last one, though.

It was very interesting watching them eat, and if I was to take up aquariums again I would get some more (even though they are illegal here in California).
 

Big Red

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Jan 17, 2007
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I had a large red belly for years that I loved. 9 in long and ate good. You can keep some together as long as you feed them properly. Hamburger frozen dead rats and mice work from a pet store. Feed every day to every other day and feed till they are full. Mine was fed eo day and I could pet him.
 

JungleGuts

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I would get a Serrasalmus sanchezi (purple phase) They have awesome color but needs to be housed by themselves and only grows to 7".
sounds exactly like what im looking for, what would be the smallest tank size for one of these?
 

Bigboy

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30-40 gallon tank with ample filtration (100 gph w/ powerhead) ought to do the trick for that species. The put a massive bioload on the tank so its crucial to have a good filter. As tough as they are they seem to be big wimps as far as handling poor water conditions goes. But seriously they can only be kept in a tank alone. You'll read lots of stuff about people cohabing their serra but it never, ever lasts... ever. So never believe it'll work unless you have a custom made tank in the 2000 gallon range. The exception here of course are S. geryi, which seem to tolerate one another better than others, but the weak and sick will always be weeded from the group, with extreme prejudice. All the Serrasalmus are parasitic, they will eat other animals whole, but they love to eat the fins and scales of other large fish and in a small tank will kill anything with them. Even other piranha. Piranha-fury is an okay site, Its fine for a basic understanding but for the most part its just dumb folks keeping the most infamous of south american fish. I'd check the OPEFE site instead. You'll find heaps of information there about the fish. Good luck with your researching, if you do go ahead and get one be sure to post pics.
Cheers,
Zack
 

Bigboy

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I had a large red belly for years that I loved. 9 in long and ate good. You can keep some together as long as you feed them properly. Hamburger frozen dead rats and mice work from a pet store. Feed every day to every other day and feed till they are full. Mine was fed eo day and I could pet him.
How many years was it able to live on that diet?
 

phil jones

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i had a red belly in a 36inx18in x18in tank from a baby untill it dying at 8ins long it would eat live fish the i go it on to white bait frozen and it would eat 5 at a time it could be a bit nasty at times but lol it was a piranha phil
 

JungleGuts

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well i got a tank setup last night, im just turned on the water heater to get temps up a little then im gonna start the 6 week cycle. Ive been told to use zebra danios since their heardy. :)
 

JungleGuts

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its a 20g, which I was told by the owner of massiveaggression.com and people from piranha forums that a 20g is fine for Serrasalmus sanchezi. Though I may move to a larger one when it gets bigger(geting one around 3"). It will be a Purple Phase one. I got 5 zebras in the tank last night there doing well.
 
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