Advice on Buying First Piranhas

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C

Claw

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 20, 2007
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Dubai
I already have 2 jardinis and 2 Pacu in one partitioned tank, the lfs guy did not tell me that 2 jardini will fight with each other. I have a separate 10 gallon tank but i am willing to buy a 40 gallon tank. Unlike when I bought my jardinis, I am checking if there is anything I need to know before buying piranhas. I did not actually see the pirhanas and I am not sure what type of piranhas they are because I just met him at another LFS's store and he gave me his number; He said the he was selling pirhanas for:
1. 2-3inch- $40 each
2 4-5 inch - $80 each
I need to know whether I can buy 2 2-3inch piranhas and keep them together without a problem. If i have to spend more than $100 on the fish that is really stretching it. Please help me.
 
1. Unless you can provide for a school of 6-7+ Piranha's, forget about it.
2. A pacu need hundreds upon hundreds of gallons of tank space.
3. An arowana have the same needs as a pacu but in a smaller volume. IE 300-400 gallons of tank space.

Not to be bashful, but if you are 'willing' you buy a 40G, it seems to me that you simply cannot provide for these fish. Stick to small fish.
 
Dont worry about my arowanas please, because if I see that the arowanas or the pacu are outgrowing the tank then they will probably be big enough to sell. What if they are red bellied pirhanas, then how many should I get? Can you please tell me the tank size I need? I think I saw in one of the threads that if you you keep 4-5 piranhas together
 
Dont worry about my arowanas please, because if I see that the arowanas or the pacu are outgrowing the tank then they will probably be big enough to sell and I can sort something out. What if they are red bellied piranhas? Then how many should I get? Can you please tell me the tank size I need? I think I saw in one of the threads that if you keep 4-5 piranhas in one tank it will be alright but i do not want to buy more than 2 unless I have to. When I said 'willing' I meant that I can have the 40 gallon tank ready and set up in the house before I get the piranhas. My problem is not the price of a tank, it is just that I do not have space in the house, if I can keep the tank out on the balcony then I can get a much bigger one; the temperature outside is from 30-50 degrees in summer and 13-30 in winter. I just basically need know how many gallons an individual pirhana needs for about a year if I plan to purchase a couple or more 2-3inch red belly pirhanas.
 
Ahh yes, my friend lives in Dubai. Great/warm place to live.

Piranha are schooling fish that NEED to be in groups on generally 6 or more. You are much better off buying them the smallest possible for mainly finnancial reasons so you can save money and buy a larger tank. All red belly/black piranha have the same requirements. You just need a tank thats roughly 6ft long, 2ft high and 18" wide. 125 Gallons. If your balcony can support it (And knowing Dubai, your balcony could probably supprt a truck) then you could have your tank outdoors but expect nearly 2x a week algae cleanings as direct sunlight makes algae grow like steroids.
 
Is it alright to keep them at those kind of temperature fluctuations? So your sayin that I need to buy atleast 6 because I was thinking that if it is rare to keep 2 together then I might just buy 1. My friend in Sri lanka is the one who got me going about piranhas, he kept 2 2-3 inch rbp for about a year in a 10 gallon. A year after that 1 of his rbps was killed by his pitbull terrier then after his silver arowana died he put the remaining rbp into the 1m tank that was holding the silver. I went to Brisbane in december last year, it is a nice place.
 
Sorry to burst your bubble but a 10G is only suitable for <1.5" Piranha's. You will need a heater in case your tank drops below 24 degrees and an air strone to help drive off heat in the summer. Idealy, having the tank positioned in shade is good.
Although a Piranha can live but itself, they need to be in groups.
 
I might be able to buy 4 2-3 inch ones, is that also considered as a group? What about 2 2-3 inch ones? Is the piranha growth rate the same as jardinis?
 
A Jardini far surpases that of a Piranha. Jardini's get 2ft+. Piranha get roughly 12".
What you could do is purchase as many as you could now, then buy some more when you have the money. But be prepared for a big tank.
 
So it has to be 6, nothing less? Are you sayin that if I buy 2 or 4 that they will kill each other, even if I am can identify the gender? My friend in Sri Lanka's piranhas bred but unfortunately he was not in town and they ate their eggs, anyway he identified the difference between a male and female.
 
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