Hello I have been an aquaria Hobbyist for a many years now, but I finally have the cash flow to set up the tank I always wanted, a red belly piranha tank. I have been doing lots of research and receiving conflicting information about how big of a school/shoal is appropriate for my tank. It is a 190 Gallon custom tank. 54" wide, 36" front to back and 27.5" high. I am starting with baby piranha, maybe 2.5 inches long at most but I do not want to get too many and have them outgrow my tank. I made the mistake once of going into a fish species blind, and was sold 4 red belly pacu for my 75 gallon, and I was told the tank was large enough. needless to say they outgrew my 75 gallon very quickly. I do not want this to happen again.
Appropriate sized red belly school for my tank?
- Thread starter Vanica
- Start date
Remember to always start out with more than you intend to keep. They are cannibalistic lil buggers and you will almost always lose a couple growing them out. Id think a tank that size would be great for 6-10 full size adults. Also you can usually rehome a couple if needed, but adding fiah to an established shoal is difficult
My original plan was to start with a shoal of 12. And yes I know some of the weaker ones will get picked off. It's inevitable with a species like RBP.
Bruner I read that your a breeder of red bellies. Have you had any success with tank mates or do you keep them species only?
One more thing I have been wondering is how red bellies are with bubblers/ air stones. I have always liked the look of them but I'm wondering if it will just make my red bellies more skittish.
I had 8 introduced into the tank at the same time and didn't lose any. They are between 5-7" now and all are healthy. They even seem to leave other fish alone. I have 1 black tetra, 1 convict, and 2 green terror juvies in the tank that were meant to be feeders but they let them be.