# Are piranhas easy to keep ???? from your experience



## [email protected] (Jan 9, 2009)

are piranhas easy to keep from your experience 

i was interested in having some but dont know what to do il ask around about fish i want but i am more interested in piranhas..



COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT THIER LIKE TO KEEP I WANT TO HEAR IT FROM YOU .....??


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

Hey, 
I look after an 8000l amazon tank at work with piranha, motoro's and plecs etc. in. I reckon so long as you provide them with enough filtration to handle the waste and any excess feed, they are hardy as hell. only fatality ive had in a year and a half has been one instance of hierarchical aggression within the group. I regulaly get in with them to clean the glass and maintain the themeing and they are shy, retiring fish. i think for the home aquarium, so long as you provide them with sufficient filtration, good hides (especially overhanging vegetation) a tank they can grow into, and dont spook them, they are an easy and rewarding fish to keep!


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## TUBBS (Mar 16, 2009)

boring as hell to keep, if fed regular the feeds get tp the point where they dont do alot either

not worth the large tank space


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## Leliel (Mar 1, 2009)

my mum used to keep em like you would normal fish, but back in the 70s, she said they died quickly, (but then if she kept em like normal fish they wouldnt have had their requirements met) and they dont like bacon.


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## The Chillinator (Jun 26, 2008)

They don't exactly move around very much so many people eventually find them rather boring. A single specimen will require a 75 gallon tank, whereas a group of around six will need something around 200 gallons and upwards. Pairs should be avoided as the smaller of the two will become dinner. Piranha produce a fair amount of waste so a powerful filtration system is a must. I recommend feeding them on a varied diet including whitebait, river shrimp and as a treat, small pieces of trout. Aside from this they're fairly straightforward.


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## HalcyonInverts (Jul 22, 2009)

TUBBS said:


> boring as hell to keep, if fed regular the feeds get tp the point where they dont do alot either
> 
> not worth the large tank space


gotta agree here... mine have got to the stage where the feed is dull as hell. they eat fine but there is no shoaling frenzy like there used to be...

maybe try a medium Channa Sp. instead... now theres a predatory fish that never stops giving


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## DaveM (Oct 18, 2006)

yup they are easy to keep, and rather boring really


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

A waste of a large tank!
Are the worst "predator" ever... so boring to feed!


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## rum&coke (Apr 19, 2009)

Yep found them pretty boring also,But I do love the sparkly scales on them.
They really don't live up to the reputation they have, all in all they are just like a big tetra with teeth.
Get a nice big cichlid if you want a fish with attitude


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## Mr.Happy (Feb 14, 2007)

I have to agree with the above.
I found a shoal of Rbs were very nervous and a black piranha was a waste in a 6x2x2 tank.


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## geodaryl (Jan 17, 2009)

I agree with everyone above, they get really boring, they don't do much except hide. They are not what the movies make them out to be, they are shy and skittish. Feeding time is fun to start with, but, the maintenance of the large tank gets to be a lot of work (they are very messy eaters). Best kept in a shoal, but a shoal of ten at full size would need a bigger tank than most people have room for...

get a pair of jaguar cichlids, awesome predatory fish...

daryl


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## strictly_scales (Sep 10, 2008)

Red Bellied Piranha are great. I have a shoal of 5, all rescues, that live in a 200 litre Amazon Community. They are very timid fish, don't live up to the reputation at all, but their feeding behaviour and social hierachy is interesting to see. 

Plenty of filtration, low lighting levels, and a mixture of meaty foods such as Prawn, Raw Red Meat, Cooked White Meat, Whole Fish etc, offered twice a week.


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## lionfish (Jul 15, 2009)

If you want a large south american fish with personality , I'd say go for an oscar or a jaguar cichlid , though both are messy feeders and need large tanks with good filtration


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## Reptile-newb (Jul 13, 2009)

lionfish said:


> If you want a large south american fish with personality , I'd say go for an oscar or a jaguar cichlid , though both are messy feeders and need large tanks with good filtration


Oscars, like piranhas tend to lose personality after a while being semi-aggressive fish, although I gotta admit jaguars and red devils do very well at maintaining it, but those two are pretty nasty...especially the latter.

Red belly piranhas are easy to keep in general, but expensive, boring and as they get older, ugly too (imo juveniles have the best appearance.)
People forget Piranhas are a peaceful to semi aggressive fish in general, just very predatory - diet and temperament are different.

If you really want the 'piranha' feel, get a few bucktooth tetras for a species tank. They behave very similarly, but don't grow anywhere as large. In fact, they are so similar to piranhas they are often mixed with red bellied and black piranha in public aquaria.


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## ctarry (Jan 24, 2007)

as been said, they are boring.

piranha from the pygocentrus family are skittish, don't swim alot, apart from feeding time, just huddle together in one part of the tank

serrasalmus species aren't skittish, but they don't really move either, just sit in a corner until someone walks past the tank, and they will follow you

the best piranha i had was a pygo piraya, just for the colour.


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## Paul B (Apr 16, 2008)

Oscars are great and as long as you have a clean up crew that will eat the bits they spit out they are easy to keep and do have an attitude.
I have two 14inch specimens in a 5ft tank with large Plec and 3 sun perch. They gat on fine as long as the Oscars get the high ground.

My Pirahna run for cover if i put my hand in the tank.
My Oscar has swallowed my little finger up to the knuckle.....doesnt hurt just frits the life out of you. lol. 

Giant Gouramis are fun too but do need big tanks.


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## Love_snakes (Aug 12, 2007)

They are kind of like pond goldfish in a tank, big, boring and messy. They dont really do much, arnt overly attractive and you will need a really good filter and lots of waterchages. Not to mention a big tank.


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