About to be a Piranha owner!

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Christos

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 1, 2008
42
0
0
Williamsburg, Virginia
Hello Everyone,

I live in Virginia and go still go to high school and in the next couple days I am planning on buying two piranhas with my buddy to put in a tank in one of our science rooms. We are excited to buy them and take care of them but we do not have any experience with piranhas. So I was just looking for some tips and pointers on things to know and things to beware of.

I was also looking for some places that we could order them from. The only place I have found so far is www.aquascapeonline.com.

Thanks Guys,

Christos
 
Are you getting Red bellies? What size tank are you working with?

Make sure you have plenty of filtration, they are messy eaters.
What size are you planning to buy the fish at? They are cannibalistic when younger and I would recommend getting more than you're interested in if getting them small.

Many people will tell you to get them in odd numbers, and 2 will eventually kill each other- I have successfully kept 2 adults together for several months without problems, but if you don't want to risk it get 3+.

I have heard really great things about aquascapeonline.com, but I would try to get them at your local fish store if possible.
 
OK well its great that you guys are taking the plunge you will not regret it. There are a few things that you will need to know before buying your fish. Piranhas need room to thrive and grow and they work better in odd number in my opinion so 2 might not be the best idea. 3 is better if you can get a tank large enough, a 75 gallon is ok but still a little small for 3 full grown fish( 55 will be good for 2 fish if you decide to go that rout). And is your tank cycled yet? if not it is very important if you would like your fish to survive. i am not sure what your exp with fish keeping is so just post your questions here and you will get a response.
 
Okay, I am here to answer the questions and give you a better description. Bear with me and read the whole thing, sorry if it is a little long.

We are doing this for pleasure, we love fish, and just thought it would be cool to have piranhas. We go to a boarding school so there is money here, we are starting out with a tank that is about 50-70 gallons, I don't know the number off the top of my head. It has had fish living in it before, and we are getting it ready for when they arrive (Still haven't ordered yet). We are working with a science teacher who knows his stuff, so he is helping us to make sure the tank is ready and good. We are planning on buying 2 Red Bellies, one for me and one for him. We were looking at getting 4" ones, just because they are bigger and we want some fun with them since they will be able to eat goldfish and things of that sort. That is what we are starting with to see how it goes, they will be kept in good hands and we are planning on taking good care of them. We both have betas, but that isn't saying much on taking care of a fish, Ha.

Then when the winter months come around we will be setting up at 750 gallon tank in one of the classrooms, and our teacher is giving us half of it if we help him set it up. That will be 375 gallons to do whatever we want with. We can put whatever we want in it, and manage it however we want it. Once that gets all set up, and things are going good with the piranhas that we have, I would like to get plenty more. I was thinking of starting with 1" or 2" and letting them grow. Any idea on the maximum we could have in a tank of that size, because I am hoping to get some interest in the school and be able to have someone maintain it next year since I will be graduating this year. It would be real nice to get people caring for these fish.

As to ordering them, I live in Virginia and according to the chart that is on the site, they are illegal in Virginia. Which is unfortunate for people who want to have them as pets and not abuse it. So as far as I know fish stores around here are out of the picture, so I need websites that I can get them from.


Any other questions ask?
I'll be looking over this topic till around 4.

Thanks Folks,

Christos
 
50-70 gallons is fine for 2-3 Red bellies, especially at 4 inches. Make sure the tank is cycled before you get the fish, although Reds are pretty hardy fish and can be somewhat forgiving of water quality. (In my experience)

Since its for a science class, I would get a water testing kit to test your parameters, this will help you keep your fish healthy as well as getting into the scientific aspect of it.
 
well first off they are illegal in your state...so they will not ship to you...and i cant see a school allowing their kids to break their state laws and wanting to pay thousands in fines. also 2 at 4" is still to young...and how are they giving you half a tank? you gonna cut it in half? im confused. and its only for a year then your gonna "hand them off" thats a big deal to just hand off fish to other people...not very responsible...and goldfish are bad for piranhas. just so you know :) lol
 
bumpylemon;2267408; said:
well first off they are illegal in your state...so they will not ship to you...and i cant see a school allowing their kids to break their state laws and wanting to pay thousands in fines. also 2 at 4" is still to young...and how are they giving you half a tank? you gonna cut it in half? im confused. and its only for a year then your gonna "hand them off" thats a big deal to just hand off fish to other people...not very responsible...and goldfish are bad for piranhas. just so you know :) lol
Click to expand...

Id think he meant by using divider

and

no one will going to ship to you!

so thats out of the picture too!

No PIRANHA for YOU!! :P hehe :D
 
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