most aggresive

[Baho]

yoyo, i have a 180gallon tank n im considering puttin some piranhas. i have no fish in it so itll prolly be devoted only to them.so wats the most aggresive piranhas i can get?!i live in canada btw.i also want it to get big
let me no wat u think i should get n do:headbang2

[Diogenes]

honestly a lot of piranhas are not the killers you might think they are. Most are really shy in captivity. I suppose a shoal of starved RBP's or a 12+ inch Rhom would probably be the closest thing to what your looking for, but a lot people say P's are boring fish. I personally think they're amazing, but mine won't even eat if he knows I'm watching. He's interesting because his behavior so different from other predatory fish like bigger cichlids and the like.

[austrian_predator]

serrasalmus rhombeus can become pretty big, and they look impressive too because of their body shape and black color
but you can only keep one, they're pretty aggressive from what i've heard :headbang2
if you want swarming piranhas, get some pygocentrus piraya, they're the biggest of the swarming species as far as i know

[dudey]

If you want shoal go for caribe, a lot less skiddish than natts. My natts will eat in front of me and rip things apart as soon as it hits the tank, but I have had them since they were nickel size, and it took them a couple months before they would do so.

If you want a solo get an elong, or a manuelli. From what I have heard mannuellis are very agressive and very fun to keep.

I have an elong and he is by far my favorite fish, agressive and just mean looking.

If you want large go with a rhom, but if you get a juvy, do not expect it to get much larger than 10 inches or so and it will take years and years to reach this size.

If you want a monster rhom you will have to buy it already at 13, 14 ++ inches.

You said you would probably devote the tank to the p's, do not get them unless you can devote the tank to the piranhas, they wont be able to cohab with anything else.

[jp80911]

most aggressive piranha is a hungry one or the one in a net or the one flopping on the floor. :D

but for real if you want to enjoy a feeding frenzy then I'd say a shoal of pygo is the way to go.
if you want a finger chaser then a huge rhom/elong/manny/gibbus would be nice in a 180g.
or you can just go for a HUGE shoal of exodons in that 180g would be really badass :D

[frontosablkrhom]

if you want one aggressive fish get a 12 inch+ rhom . or if you want multiples a shoal of caribe.....

[Baho]

thanx a lot guys!however i know nuttin about piranhas!ive kept every other fish except them.id really appreciate it if u guys can post some pics (ur fish or wtv) cuz ur naming all these fish n i dont no what they look like.

[Diogenes]

thanx a lot guys!however i know nuttin about piranhas!ive kept every other fish except them.id really appreciate it if u guys can post some pics (ur fish or wtv) cuz ur naming all these fish n i dont no what they look like.

try google for more:

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN3181.jpg black rhombeus (serrasalmus rhomebeus)

Big fish kept alone.



http://gallery.pethobbyist.com/data/19280piranha.jpg Red Belly Piranha (pygocentrus nattereri)

Big fish kept in schools. The shoaling piranhas are the true piranha.

OPEFE: http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/

This a great resource. It has descriptions and pictures of just about all of the named and identified piranha species. If you don't find it here your not going to find it at the fish store. Happy researching and good luck.

[Baho]

wow the black piranha is SICK! any info on it?! where can i find?! where can u find any piranhas?! i never see at my lfs

[akskirmish]

Simply put-

The most aggressive Piranha will be a Hungry Piranha

[austrian_predator]

sorry to derail your thread, but it's kinda on-topic anyway: would a mixed shoal of nats/caribes work? like, 3 nats and 3 caribes?
are caribes significantly rarer/more expensive than nats?
'cause i'm considering getting some caribes instead of/in addtion to the nats i'm probably buying
what about rhomb/manueli, does a manueli grow faster? because a rhomb is pretty impressive as a black, red eyed adult but not so much as a young fish, and he grows very slowly...

[Diogenes]

wow the black piranha is SICK! any info on it?! where can i find?! where can u find any piranhas?! i never see at my lfs

yeah well they don't look like that until they get really big as in like 12+ inches. They grow extremely slow, so if you want one of those you're most likely going to have to buy a wild one that size. There's a LFS near me that has a couple in the $500-$600 range. Other people might no better deals. Like I said in that last post, OPEFE should have all the information you're looking for. Just click the link in the post with the pics. There are a bunch of other species too, these are just the most common.

Your best bet is going to be to buy like 10 juvie reb bellies the size of a quarter and grow them out in the 180. You might lose a few along the way. Adults get up to about a foot (12"). They like dim light, and floating plants. They eat beefheart when they're little, live fish, shrimp, and other kinds of meat, but they're diet should consist mostly of white fish and meat. Never feed cypronids (gold fish, barbs, rosy reds) as they contain high amounts of B vitamin inhibiting hormones which slows the growth of your fish and cause disease. The typical feeders are usually full of parasites too. I only feed my pirambeba cichlids, tetras and frozen shrimp.

[Baho]

finally i think imma go with the black piranha.my guys sellin them for 90$CAN each. is it a good deal?!theyre 5inches. also can i put 2 together?!i ahve a 180gallon tank.wats their growth rate?r they actif or just sit arround like plecos?!any info would help...
thanx guys

[jp80911]

finally i think imma go with the black piranha.my guys sellin them for 90$CAN each. is it a good deal?!theyre 5inches. also can i put 2 together?!i ahve a 180gallon tank.wats their growth rate?r they actif or just sit arround like plecos?!any info would help...
thanx guys

you can only keep one rhom in a tank by itself other wise they will kill each other.
5" will take years go reach monster size, they grown very slow. maybe 1" a year?
they are very skittish when young, but again it is different from fish to fish but usually are skittish. sometimes take years for them go come out of their shell.
better off buying a 12"+ to start with if you want something aggressive or don't get one at all unless you are really into it for what it is.
a solo 5" in a 180g by itself can be very boring.

[Diogenes]

you can only keep one rhom in a tank by itself other wise they will kill each other.
5" will take years go reach monster size, they grown very slow. maybe 1" a year?
they are very skittish when young, but again it is different from fish to fish but usually are skittish. sometimes take years for them go come out of their shell.
better off buying a 12"+ to start with if you want something aggressive or don't get one at all unless you are really into it for what it is.
a solo 5" in a 180g by itself can be very boring.

yeah exactly. Thats why I said go with a shoal of pygos. That way you have a lot of piranhas.

[jp80911]

for 180g you can get about a dozen caribes and grow them out, will be just impressive as a monster rhom if not better.

[fishyjoe26]

www.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/.../index.asp (http://www.tropicalfishandaquariums.com/Piranha/index.asp)

[Baho]

yeah u guys r right...if its gonna grow really slow imma get bored.so a shoal it is.wat do u guys recommend?red bellies,pygos or others??can i mix??and how many?6-10-12??

[Diogenes]

yeah u guys r right...if its gonna grow really slow imma get bored.so a shoal it is.wat do u guys recommend?red bellies,pygos or others??can i mix??and how many?6-10-12??

get some P. piraya. Absolutely sick.

http://www.piranha-info.com/default.php?lang=en&id=p_piraya

BTW typo on that site. binomial nomenclature is Pygocentrus piraya.

[jp80911]

yeah u guys r right...if its gonna grow really slow imma get bored.so a shoal it is.wat do u guys recommend?red bellies,pygos or others??can i mix??and how many?6-10-12??

Either one will be nice. red bellies are the most common ones since can be breed in captivity easily now. it's also the most skittish one compare to others in the pygo family. however, if provide proper care and condition they can be very nice too. they are the smallest so you can probably have 12-15 in 180g (not the 20g per fish rule but as long as your filtration can keep up, over stock it :D) you can also get wild reds (super red I think)

Piraya is the most colorful and from what I have read that their color doesn't go away with age like other pygos do. they are also the the largest and most expensive and cannibalistic compare to other pygo. for 180g I'd say 3-5 for life.

Caribe is one of the less skittish compare to red bellies and more aggressive. cheaper and smaller than Piraya but still more expensive than red belly. don't think is their season now so hard to find them in couple inch in size. 8-12 for 180g

Ternetzi is similar to red belly I believe but yellow instead of red, hard to come by and should be less skittish and more aggressive than captive bred reds. 8-12 for 180g

There are few websites have very good information on them

These three are translated from French

Red Bellies (http://66.102.1.100/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.piranhas-fr.com/especes/nattereri.htm&usg=ALkJrhjEu-DmZeeXWc0Vcp2fIrZJuioi2g)
Caribe (http://66.102.1.100/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.piranhas-fr.com/especes/caribe.htm&usg=ALkJrhgIYpsMQ-Sychr_4PGeVbIv__G9mg)
Piraya (http://66.102.1.100/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.piranhas-fr.com/especes/piraya.htm&usg=ALkJrhhCPeW7T0xAPhqKE3KH3K7PSYqMLA)

http://www.piranha-info.com/default.php?lang=en&id=page_1

and of course http://opefe.com/

If you couldn't find the them at lfs, then you can try to order them online.
Aquascape (http://aquascapeonline.com/) is great, so is Shark Aquarium (http://sharkaquarium.com/)

If I miss anything or put down incorrect info, please feel free to add in and correct me.

[Baho]

So I guess ok between the piyara and the caribe.which 1s more active and not shy?!n which 1s more aggresive

[Diogenes]

Either one will be nice. red bellies are the most common ones since can be breed in captivity easily now. it's also the most skittish one compare to others in the pygo family. however, if provide proper care and condition they can be very nice too. they are the smallest so you can probably have 12-15 in 180g (not the 20g per fish rule but as long as your filtration can keep up, over stock it :D) you can also get wild reds (super red I think)

Piraya is the most colorful and from what I have read that their color doesn't go away with age like other pygos do. they are also the the largest and most expensive and cannibalistic compare to other pygo. for 180g I'd say 3-5 for life.

Caribe is one of the less skittish compare to red bellies and more aggressive. cheaper and smaller than Piraya but still more expensive than red belly. don't think is their season now so hard to find them in couple inch in size. 8-12 for 180g

Ternetzi is similar to red belly I believe but yellow instead of red, hard to come by and should be less skittish and more aggressive than captive bred reds. 8-12 for 180g

There are few websites have very good information on them

These three are translated from French

Red Bellies (http://66.102.1.100/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.piranhas-fr.com/especes/nattereri.htm&usg=ALkJrhjEu-DmZeeXWc0Vcp2fIrZJuioi2g)
Caribe (http://66.102.1.100/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.piranhas-fr.com/especes/caribe.htm&usg=ALkJrhgIYpsMQ-Sychr_4PGeVbIv__G9mg)
Piraya (http://66.102.1.100/translate_c?hl=en&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http://www.piranhas-fr.com/especes/piraya.htm&usg=ALkJrhhCPeW7T0xAPhqKE3KH3K7PSYqMLA)

http://www.piranha-info.com/default.php?lang=en&id=page_1

and of course http://opefe.com/

If you couldn't find the them at lfs, then you can try to order them online.
Aquascape (http://aquascapeonline.com/) is great, so is Shark Aquarium (http://sharkaquarium.com/)

If I miss anything or put down incorrect info, please feel free to add in and correct me.

I wonder how they ship P's online. When I bought my guy he bit through the bag when we were trying to wrangle him. We eventually had to triple bag + brown paper sack, plus fish sedative so I could get him home. I wonder what keeps them from biting through the bags in transit when you order them of the web?

[jp80911]

I wonder how they ship P's online. When I bought my guy he bit through the bag when we were trying to wrangle him. We eventually had to triple bag + brown paper sack, plus fish sedative so I could get him home. I wonder what keeps them from biting through the bags in transit when you order them of the web?

I went to aquascape to pick up my rhom since I'm only about 30-40 minutes away but I guess the way of packaging is similar.
They put the P's in a plastic container with small holes cut out and place the plastic container in a large plastic bag. This way those nasty teeth won't be able to get to the plastic bag but water can flow through the container and keep the ps alive and feisty.

[frontosablkrhom]

i heard piraya cannabalize more. my friend started with 15 one inch red bellys. i started with 5 caribe in same size tanks. i have 3 fish left and so does he! i guess its all in how you feed them. i would get some caribe there not too shy and look really really cool with that black spot.you wont be dissapointed. you may have to wait till june tho :(

[jp80911]

That's what I've read too that piraya are more cannibalistic than other in the pygo family. Originally I wanted to get some piraya since their color won't fade with time but can't afford to loose a $100+ fish due to they turn on each other..I'm too poor for that.
So I'm waiting for caribe season to come and get maybe a doze to start with.
They are just as cool but as they age the red will start to fade but will probably take years. seems no one knows when the color will start to fade, I'll just have to find out myself.