RED BELLY PIRANHA
WHERE DOES IT LIVE
the red bellied piranha or red piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is native to south america it is found in the amazon river basin, coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil,and the basins of the Paraguay and Parana
WHAT ARE THEY
They are omnivorous and they mainly feed on insects, worms, crustaceans and fish.as you know they travel in shoals for self defines as it makes them stornger and this way they can overcome their meal.
DESCRIPTION
they are ferocious predators, but still they are kept by thousands of fish keepers. as the name suggests they have red belly's as they grow bigger( but their true colours come out when they are fully grown. juveniles are silver with darker spots as shown in the picture. they grow to a maximum length of 13 inches. but in the aquarium hobby their length can be smaller. Females can be distinguished from males by the slightly deeper red color of their bellies, female red bellied piranhas can give to about 5000 eggs in vegetation nest made by the male.as far as the growth is concerned they grow to about 1-2 inches a month until they are 6 inches and once they hit the 9-10 mark they grown less then 1 inch a year., but aquarium quality can have a huge impact on growth. as you know they have razor sharp teeth which is capable of ripping flesh from their pray, they are mainly shy and when frightened they will play dead. they have lifespan of 12 years. which means they live with you for a long time.
(juvenile)
AVERAGE TANK SIZE FOR RED BELLIED PIRANHA
One single red belly piranha can be kept in a 20 gallon tank, so a hundred gallon tank can house at least 5. never keep a pair of red belly piranhas as the dominate one will bully the weaker one which will either cause it fatal injury's or even death.
IN THE AQUARIUM
The tank should have driftwood and dim lighting. Soft, acidic water preferred. Live plants will help to remove excess nitrates and CO2 from the water. A strong filter waterfall type filter is recommended. Under gravel filters are not a good idea, as the less your hands are in the water, the less stress they will be under, and lessen the likelihood of a nasty bite.Never keep a pair of red belly piranhas as the dominate one will bully the weaker one which will either cause it fatal injury's or even death. you need to have a lot of hiding spaces for the fish as they are shy, you can compare them with the silver dollars. They will try to nip live plants.
TANK MATES
i do not prefer putting other fish with red bellied piranhas as they are extremely aggressive and when hungry and not feed they will most probably eat that fish alive and the only thing you'll find is the head.
there are some fish that people have managed to keep with the piranha, most people keep pacu piranhas with their red bellied piranhas and are mostly successful, but remember not everyone is successful. the most commonly kept pacu is the red belly pacu as they look just like the red bellied piranha but their is a significant difference between the two.View attachment 1032613 the pacu may be much bigger but still isnt as fierce as the red bellied piranha.
other tank mates include oscars which is not recommended but some people have pulled it off and plecos.
oscar
pleco
FEEDING
the red bellied piranha is a meat eater and a feirce pradator is will start nipping and ripping flesh from its meal while its alive, i do not suggest feeding live food, as they may pass a disease to your fish.you can feed them dead foods such as shrimp, fish, chciken liver and they will certainly enjoy it, some owners have managed feeding their piranhas cat ans dog food but it contains a lot of fat and will effect the water quality, over time they can be train to eat pellets.so basically the piranha can be trained to eat almost anything overtime,When feeding live food you should starve your piranhas for one day otherwise they might not start ripping it to pieces immediately.
CONCLUSION
over all the piranha is a great fish, but definitely not for everyone. they are banned in over 20 countries. they are someties expensive, small 3 inch babys can cost you 30-40$ each and big ones can cost 100$ each. overall they are awesome. give me your feed back guys.
WHERE DOES IT LIVE
the red bellied piranha or red piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is native to south america it is found in the amazon river basin, coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil,and the basins of the Paraguay and Parana
WHAT ARE THEY
They are omnivorous and they mainly feed on insects, worms, crustaceans and fish.as you know they travel in shoals for self defines as it makes them stornger and this way they can overcome their meal.
DESCRIPTION
they are ferocious predators, but still they are kept by thousands of fish keepers. as the name suggests they have red belly's as they grow bigger( but their true colours come out when they are fully grown. juveniles are silver with darker spots as shown in the picture. they grow to a maximum length of 13 inches. but in the aquarium hobby their length can be smaller. Females can be distinguished from males by the slightly deeper red color of their bellies, female red bellied piranhas can give to about 5000 eggs in vegetation nest made by the male.as far as the growth is concerned they grow to about 1-2 inches a month until they are 6 inches and once they hit the 9-10 mark they grown less then 1 inch a year., but aquarium quality can have a huge impact on growth. as you know they have razor sharp teeth which is capable of ripping flesh from their pray, they are mainly shy and when frightened they will play dead. they have lifespan of 12 years. which means they live with you for a long time.
(juvenile)AVERAGE TANK SIZE FOR RED BELLIED PIRANHA
One single red belly piranha can be kept in a 20 gallon tank, so a hundred gallon tank can house at least 5. never keep a pair of red belly piranhas as the dominate one will bully the weaker one which will either cause it fatal injury's or even death.
IN THE AQUARIUM
The tank should have driftwood and dim lighting. Soft, acidic water preferred. Live plants will help to remove excess nitrates and CO2 from the water. A strong filter waterfall type filter is recommended. Under gravel filters are not a good idea, as the less your hands are in the water, the less stress they will be under, and lessen the likelihood of a nasty bite.Never keep a pair of red belly piranhas as the dominate one will bully the weaker one which will either cause it fatal injury's or even death. you need to have a lot of hiding spaces for the fish as they are shy, you can compare them with the silver dollars. They will try to nip live plants.
TANK MATES
i do not prefer putting other fish with red bellied piranhas as they are extremely aggressive and when hungry and not feed they will most probably eat that fish alive and the only thing you'll find is the head.
there are some fish that people have managed to keep with the piranha, most people keep pacu piranhas with their red bellied piranhas and are mostly successful, but remember not everyone is successful. the most commonly kept pacu is the red belly pacu as they look just like the red bellied piranha but their is a significant difference between the two.View attachment 1032613 the pacu may be much bigger but still isnt as fierce as the red bellied piranha.
other tank mates include oscars which is not recommended but some people have pulled it off and plecos.
oscarplecoFEEDING
the red bellied piranha is a meat eater and a feirce pradator is will start nipping and ripping flesh from its meal while its alive, i do not suggest feeding live food, as they may pass a disease to your fish.you can feed them dead foods such as shrimp, fish, chciken liver and they will certainly enjoy it, some owners have managed feeding their piranhas cat ans dog food but it contains a lot of fat and will effect the water quality, over time they can be train to eat pellets.so basically the piranha can be trained to eat almost anything overtime,When feeding live food you should starve your piranhas for one day otherwise they might not start ripping it to pieces immediately.
CONCLUSION
over all the piranha is a great fish, but definitely not for everyone. they are banned in over 20 countries. they are someties expensive, small 3 inch babys can cost you 30-40$ each and big ones can cost 100$ each. overall they are awesome. give me your feed back guys.
