View Full Version : The Big One
I admit that I am clueless when it comes to pirahna. This question may have been asked before. What is the biggest pirahna, and is the biggest one also the most dangerous? :eek:
IoStrisciare
09-12-2005, 2:19 PM
think its the piraya
piranha45
09-12-2005, 3:18 PM
contrary to popular belief, all piranha are pretty shy timid fish. they just have really powerful jaws and teeth. More often than not, they prefer to flee in the face of a physically-inferior aggressor, than deliver a debilitating bite.
that aside, I hear the biggest is between the S. manueli and P. piraya. I hear both can exceed 20".
I understand that a pirahna can devour an animal in minutes, even humans. Is that correct?? :WHOA:
piranha45
09-12-2005, 6:25 PM
No, a 10" fish does not have a gut capable of housing a 150 lb human, don't you think?
Perhaps 200 10" piranha could, though. And such a large animal would have to be pre-killed, otherwise the last thing on the piranhas' minds would be attacking it.
don't buy into the ludicrous hype surrounding the fish.
They have been known to eat living large animals such as capybara or javelina under rare circumstances. Many areas where they live have large seasonal fluctuations in water levels, as the dry season progresses the water level falls sometimes trapping large populations of piranha in small pools. After they have eaten all the other fish and weaker piranha they start to starve. At that time any disturbance of the water gets hit. I saw an old film, Multual of Omaha's Wild KIngdom" I think, that showed a capybara frightened into an oxbow like that and it was killed and eaten quickly. It was that kind of staged filming that helped lead to the inflated hype about them. The old scene of a young steer being eaten was from a film showing the old custom of butchering a cull steer down stream of a cattle drive crossing to draw off the piranha that in some areas have become pests by biting crossing cattle causing small wounds that attract screw flies and get infected. Fun to watch though, that same film clip shows up in at least a 1/2 dozen old movies.
mikestack
09-12-2005, 7:16 PM
the black pirahna serralsalmus niger ; is supposedly the biggest and most aggressive
Thanks guys, for all the good information
JD7.62
09-13-2005, 5:27 PM
The largest piranha are the P. Piraya or S. Manuelli both are capaple of reaching lengths of 24" in the wild. I would not suggest getting either one of these unless you are experienced and have a tank of at least 150 gallons. The Manuelli can only be housed alone while the Piraya can be housed with a shoal of its own kind any other Pygocentrus species, but with extreme caution because Piraya seem to go on random killing sprees. Serrasalmus Niger is a name no longer used. It is now Serrasalmus Rhombeus. Rhoms grow up to 20" but VERY slowly and their aggresion like all piranhas depend on the individual fish. For a first P you can not go wrong with a shoal of 3-5 P. Nattererri (red belly) or a single Serra species such as a Rhombeus Irritan or Spilo. A 75 gallon should be fine for any of these fish except for the Rhom who after many years will reguire a larger tank. And remember be patient with your Ps and they will eventually come out of their shell. Sorry for the long first post!
IoStrisciare
09-13-2005, 7:05 PM
Serrasalmus Niger is a name no longer used. It is now Serrasalmus Rhombeus.
i'm sorry but nigers are not rhoms.
nigers are the only ones that are entirely jet black.
rhoms are slate grey and have very obvious red eyes.
JD7.62
09-13-2005, 9:12 PM
Im sorry you are wrong. Serrasalmus Niger is NO LONGER A VALID NAME for any fish. Serrasalmus Rhombeus is now the name. The common name is "black piranha" but that is also the common name for other species of Serras such as Compressus, Altuvie, Brantii, ect. especially as juvis because they are so hard to tell apart. True Serrasalmus Rhombeus have very extreme color variations from an almost pure white to jet black depending on its collection point, but a Serrasalmus Rhombeus is a Serrasalmus Rhombeus rather it be black or white.
I still have a hard time not calling nats serrasalmus, I hate it when they change names. I have seen rhombs sold as silver piranhas also (in the white varient) very pretty, I have also once in Germany seen a few melanistic nattereri that were a beautiful dark black with just a sprinkling of red speckles on their breast, with the silver reflections off scattered scales they were a very striking fish. They all came from a single breeding out of some university there and most of the brood were normal coloration.
piranha45
09-14-2005, 11:27 AM
word to that guppy, I still have a "piranhas in the aquarium" book by Wolfe Schulte, from like the late 80's. That book was a bible to me for far too long.
Ripdevil
09-17-2005, 1:56 AM
manny's grow up to 24 inches, and piraya 20+, the thing is mannys can only be shipped and survive as juviniles, so more often large piraya are seen in the hobby. piraya are of the pygo family like red bellys, and mannys are of the serra family like rhoms.
i said no
09-29-2005, 11:51 AM
the wider view is niger is not a valid species, some rhom i have seen are jet others washed out grey most say it depends what river system the live in ie white, black ,clear odly most jet blacks come from clear water! as 4 largest the biggest i have seen with my own eyes was a s manuelli at 54cm some natives say the black (s rhom) and p paraya get well over two foot.
yosoniamcool3
10-20-2005, 4:57 PM
how maney people have Red Belly Piranha? :headbang2 i have 9 of them they are so cool they eat so much they just keep eating and eating :hitting:
Hiya Yosoniamcool, welcome to MFK, don't have any rpbs right now but, yes they are cool, how big are yours and what do you keep them in?
yeps blacks (s niger) are rhoms its a very old and not valid name, rhoms come from a very wide range and from many different rivers with differring water types and this is where the difference in colours comes into play.
piraya are the biggest pygocentrus and manueli or possibly rhoms are the biggest serrasalmus specie.
never kept a manny although recently toyed with the idea but i have kept many piranha pygos and serras for quite a few years even having them shipped from the states.
dixon
i'm sorry but nigers are not rhoms.
nigers are the only ones that are entirely jet black.
rhoms are slate grey and have very obvious red eyes.
Huh? No, that's not correct. He was right.
RHOMBEUS
11-09-2005, 9:57 PM
Largest Piranhas are
1-Serrasalmus Manueli ( Manuel's Piranha BRAZIL ) 24-26"
2-Pygocentrus Piraya ( Orange Flaming Piranha King ) 24 "
3-Serrasalmus Rhombeus Highback ( Black Piranha ) 22"
Black Piranha = SERRASALMUS RHOMBEUS
SERRASALMUS NIGER ( NIGER'S PIRANHA ) = SERRASALMUS RHOMBEUS
guppy
11-09-2005, 10:59 PM
Wait and see, when everybody gets used to Serrasalmus rhombeus they will change it again.
Piraya's and rombus are the biggest! I have a 12" Piraya and he's still growing,growing,growing!
Tango374
04-10-2007, 2:12 AM
i'm sorry but nigers are not rhoms.
nigers are the only ones that are entirely jet black.
rhoms are slate grey and have very obvious red eyes.
S. niger was a mistake in taxonomic description and was most likely a rhom in breeding colors....
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/niger.html
NJKILLSYOU
04-10-2007, 4:17 AM
www.opefe.com
actual scientists. actual facts.
Elongatusowner
04-10-2007, 12:36 PM
Id like to see that guy tell frank at opefe he is wrong!!!
leviathon13
04-12-2007, 9:24 AM
Props to Frank! Hurray for OPEFE!
Hi Guys,
I have a 180 gallon tank. I have one Piraya and one red belly. My Piraya has grow two times faster than my red belly, maybe because he is more aggressive and eats first.
My red belly is maybe 7 inches and my Piraya is now about a 12 inches long maybe a little bigger. He chases the red belly sometimes but has not killed him yet.
Rando
Bsixxx
05-03-2007, 2:11 AM
most aggressive piranha is an elong i think!
or snachezi
not a piranha wxpert but this is what i have heard
Bsixxx
05-03-2007, 2:12 AM
Hi Guys,
I have a 180 gallon tank. I have one Piraya and one red belly. My Piraya has grow two times faster than my red belly, maybe because he is more aggressive and eats first.
My red belly is maybe 7 inches and my Piraya is now about a 12 inches long maybe a little bigger. He chases the red belly sometimes but has not killed him yet.
Rando
i would move the red belly out of the tank \
or i would suggest introducing more fish to lower aggression