Doing Research Before Moving into Piranha's

[afeld13]

I have been very interested in picking up some Piranhas lately.. and have found this site as well as Piranha Fury (which seems slow and almost unused)

I am thinking about going 75-150g and was wondering the maximum number that would comfortably survive in those tank sizes. I was also wondering what the ideal filtration, substrate and heating requirements would be.

It'd probably help if I let you know I plan on buying Red Bellies. If you think another species is heartier or more fun let me know that as well.

Thanks -

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

for the size tank that you are looking at, i would suggest sticking with either a solo serra or a small shoal of p. nattereri (red bellies), you could easily do three or four for life in that tank size range.

a wet/dry for bio filtration as well as a canister setup for mech filration would be ideal, but you can also go with just canister filters or a combination of canisters and hob filters. if you end up going with canisters or hobs, for a shoal of pygos, i would suggest aiming for a 10x filtration turnover rate per hour, so if you end up with a 75 gallon, aim for around 750 gph of filtration.

substrate will be personal preference unless you are going with a heavily planted tank, but i personally prefer black sand or very small size natural gravel.

i would recommend getting a visi-therm stealth for heating, they are unbreakable and are very high quality heaters, i have them in all of my tanks and i have never run into a problem.... just make sure you keep the temp around 80f.

any other questions, feel free to ask

[afeld13]

for the size tank that you are looking at, i would suggest sticking with either a solo serra or a small shoal of p. nattereri (red bellies), you could easily do three or four for life in that tank size range.

a wet/dry for bio filtration as well as a canister setup for mech filration would be ideal, but you can also go with just canister filters or a combination of canisters and hob filters. if you end up going with canisters or hobs, for a shoal of pygos, i would suggest aiming for a 10x filtration turnover rate per hour, so if you end up with a 75 gallon, aim for around 750 gph of filtration.

substrate will be personal preference unless you are going with a heavily planted tank, but i personally prefer black sand or very small size natural gravel.

i would recommend getting a visi-therm stealth for heating, they are unbreakable and are very high quality heaters, i have them in all of my tanks and i have never run into a problem.... just make sure you keep the temp around 80f.

any other questions, feel free to ask


Wow that's exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a lot.


Any filtration systems you reccomend? I don't think I am quite at the level of DIY'ing it.

[koop171]

i got a FX5 and two penguin 350Bs on my 125 (it has 13 juvie Red bellies) and it works good but not great it will work great when i get my second 125 set up so i can split my stock to 6 and 7 (i might sell one back to the LFS to have an even 6/6)

your heating needs are going to be based on your local and the local of the tank in the house, since u live in boston i would do at least 300watts for the heaters (depending on what size tank u get)

If u do go with a canister filter make sure it will fit under your stand. i did a DIY stand for the feeder tank i have and i didn't leave enough room for the canister so it sits behind the tank.

i think RBPs are what u are looking for if u want a "fun" P if by fun u mean something thats impressive to watch eat. other then that u might as well get a rhom for the size factor BUT u need like 180 gal for a single rhom and unless u buy a adult rhom it takes forever to grow them out. that being said i'd go with RBPs like u said u were looking at

[koop171]

is money an issue or space u have a wide array of tanks to choose from if u said 75-150 ???

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

for a wet/dry, there is obviously the diy route, but there are also good ones made by all glass aquarium and eshopps, they also make overflows.

for canisters, you could go with a couple xp3s, an fx5, or an eheim (you'd have a few options there), they are all good filters.

for hob filters, i really like marineland filters with the bio wheels, either penguins or emperors. i also really like the aquaclear line, i have never had a problem with either brand.

[koop171]

for a wet/dry, there is obviously the diy route, but there are also good ones made by all glass aquarium and eshopps, they also make overflows.

for canisters, you could go with a couple xp3s, an fx5, or an eheim (you'd have a few options there), they are all good filters.

for hob filters, i really like marineland filters with the bio wheels, either penguins or emperors. i also really like the aquaclear line, i have never had a problem with either brand.


good call i was just looking at these yesteday at my LFS and the one they had was rated for i think 100 gal or so and it was 200$ and there was bigger ones but the store being limited in space didn't have anyt instock

also a good tip if you don't allready know this BUY EVERYTHING U CAN ONLINE !!!! u will save alot of money in the long run

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

i was also gonna say that if you ended up going with a 150 gal, you could probably do as many as 6 or 7 in there, the 3 or 4 was aimed more for a 75

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

good call i was just looking at these yesteday at my LFS and the one they had was rated for i think 100 gal or so and it was 200$ and there was bigger ones but the store being limited in space didn't have anyt instock

also a good tip if you don't allready know this BUY EVERYTHING U CAN ONLINE !!!! u will save alot of money in the long run
couldn't agree more, i have saved hundreds of dollars this year alone by ordering stuff from the internet

[koop171]

this ones for u Dizzle u use sand right ? if so do u have any problems vacumming it i.e. sucking up not only poo and stuff but your sand as well? i like the look of sand mayself but don't know what kind of hassle it would be to clean ?

[koop171]

here use these links to look at prices
http://www.aquariumguys.com/
http://www.pets-warehouse.com/

this is where i buy most my online stuff and i get my stuff from aquarium guys in 6 business days everytime

[afeld13]

Money isn't really too big of an issue, I make a pretty decent salary. Size isn't an issure either... I just moved into a new house and have a massive space in my living room fitting for a fish tank.

[koop171]

then go big my friend go BIG

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

this ones for u Dizzle u use sand right ? if so do u have any problems vacumming it i.e. sucking up not only poo and stuff but your sand as well? i like the look of sand mayself but don't know what kind of hassle it would be to clean ?
i have sand in a few of my tanks and i love it, it takes a bit of getting used to as far as cleaning goes, but now it's a breeze. the nice thing is that the junk just sits right on top of the sand, it doesn't get buried and stuck into cracks like it does with gravel so all you have to do is just run the vac right across the sand and it picks it right up. the negative to that tho is that since the junk sits right on top of the sand, you have to keep up with cleaning or your tank will look horrible in no time.

[fobrinkle]

I agree go BIG. It's nice having Koop and JoeDizzle around. They always have good answers for Piranha Q's. Nice work guys.

[koop171]

also would invest in a big powerhead or two to get a good current going the current i got in my tank isn't that much, or so i thought, till i throw in some feeders and they are just swimming there hearts out till they get to the corner that doesn't get that much current. But my Ps just sit there like nothing is wrong and the water is calm, its amazing how strong these fish are

[koop171]

I agree go BIG. It's nice having Koop and JoeDizzle around. They always have good answers for Piranha Q's. Nice work guys.


thanx i try but i think dizzle has more knowledge then I exspecally when it comes to the more exotic Ps i do the reds for now and maybe rhoms later but I'm just glad that what dizzle and i know can help u guys out and vise versa

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

i really like ordering from bigalsonline.com, they have a great selection and very low prices, plus they have a reward points system which can earn you discounts, it works out great if you're gonna order a bunch of stuff from them, especially if you do it on double points days

[afeld13]

Thanks a lot guys. I'm happy I found such knowledgeable people willing to share their information. I hope to get this all up and running in about 2-3 months just because I am still getting settled here. I will definitely be around these forums and will be sure to post pictures as soon as things start coming together.

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

Thanks a lot guys. I'm happy I found such knowledgeable people willing to share their information. I hope to get this all up and running in about 2-3 months just because I am still getting settled here. I will definitely be around these forums and will be sure to post pictures as soon as things start coming together.
we'll be waiting on those pictures... but in the meantime, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask

[koop171]

yes plz do ask away and don't forget to PM ppl to if don't feel like waiting to see who replys to your threads

[syxteenhmong]

my suggestion... if you had 8Ps when they were juvies to adults in a 125 or up gal., then it shouldn't be no problem.. even if you introduce new ones in the tank but they have to be almost the same size as your current ones or it'll be a sad story.. hahahahah...