Discus or Piranha?
- Thread starter Chaz88
- Start date
It really just depends on what you like.
Something a lot of people who have never kept piranhas don't realize is that they seldom live up to their killer reputation. Piranhas are exceedingly shy and retiring. They also aren't very active. As far as excitement levels go, think of piranhas as plecos with teeth. They're seldom seen swimming around the tank, don't "fingerchase" like cichlids, and you can't keep anything with them long term. They're ambush predators which mean they spend long periods of time hiding and waiting for food to swim by. When food does show up, they're mildly entertaining during the frenzy, but it's not recommended that you feed them live fish, and the feeding frenzy to me gets old fairly quickly. I got rid of my S. compressus because it was like having an empty tank in the corner with no fish in it, and you can't keep anything with them.
Having said all that, IMO they are simply stunning to look at. They're really quite unlike any other fish you'll ever keep, and they're endlessly fascinating to learn about. They aren't that difficult to breed as long as you have soft, acidic water, keep up with the water changes and have a good mix of male and females. Some people recommend simulating the rain/drought amazon rain cycle for this purpose. Piranhas are not sexually dimorphic until they breed, then the females tend to take on a slightly darker pigmentation, and appear slightly more plump when they are gravid with eggs. They're egg scatterers so breeding mops, water hyacinths, or something with a similar surface are recommended to catch the eggs. Piranhas are cannibalistic, they eat each other as adults and I would imagine it's no different for juvies although I've never bred them before. Nearly all piranhas are extremely hardy, easy to keep, and are easy to feed. RBP's (P. nattereri) get up to around 12", P. cariba 12"+, and P. piraya get up to around 24". A 125g tank (with standard footprint) is recommended for 6 RBPs. Tankmates are no recommended and will eventually be dinner. Serrasalmus species are best kept as individuals, with some species being shoaled (and even bred) in very large tanks by experienced aquarists.
Positives that I can think of right off the bat for discuss are that they raise their fry which wouldn't require a separate grow out tank, they can be kept with tank mates, and there are no laws restricting ownership of them in some states like there are with piranhas.
Negatives: they aren't piranhas =)
Alot of people overcrowd like this with juvie piranhas, but it increases your rates of cannibalism. FYI
If it were me I would for the discus. I'm on a cichlid kick right now, but besides that I have come to learn that I enjoy peaceful fish more than predators. One of my favorite things to do is to pull up a chair next to my tanks and watch what's happening in the little world that I have created. There's really not much to watch with P's unless it's feeding time. Also if you want to keep P's for the "wow" factor, that gets old pretty quick. Your friends will probably be much more impressed with a community of stunningly beautiful fish, cute little cories foraging across the bottom, and a school of brilliantly colored tetras swimming in unison, than they will be with a small group of supposedly vicious fish that don't do anything.
Something a lot of people who have never kept piranhas don't realize is that they seldom live up to their killer reputation. Piranhas are exceedingly shy and retiring. They also aren't very active. As far as excitement levels go, think of piranhas as plecos with teeth. They're seldom seen swimming around the tank, don't "fingerchase" like cichlids, and you can't keep anything with them long term. They're ambush predators which mean they spend long periods of time hiding and waiting for food to swim by. When food does show up, they're mildly entertaining during the frenzy, but it's not recommended that you feed them live fish, and the feeding frenzy to me gets old fairly quickly. I got rid of my S. compressus because it was like having an empty tank in the corner with no fish in it, and you can't keep anything with them.
Having said all that, IMO they are simply stunning to look at. They're really quite unlike any other fish you'll ever keep, and they're endlessly fascinating to learn about. They aren't that difficult to breed as long as you have soft, acidic water, keep up with the water changes and have a good mix of male and females. Some people recommend simulating the rain/drought amazon rain cycle for this purpose. Piranhas are not sexually dimorphic until they breed, then the females tend to take on a slightly darker pigmentation, and appear slightly more plump when they are gravid with eggs. They're egg scatterers so breeding mops, water hyacinths, or something with a similar surface are recommended to catch the eggs. Piranhas are cannibalistic, they eat each other as adults and I would imagine it's no different for juvies although I've never bred them before. Nearly all piranhas are extremely hardy, easy to keep, and are easy to feed. RBP's (P. nattereri) get up to around 12", P. cariba 12"+, and P. piraya get up to around 24". A 125g tank (with standard footprint) is recommended for 6 RBPs. Tankmates are no recommended and will eventually be dinner. Serrasalmus species are best kept as individuals, with some species being shoaled (and even bred) in very large tanks by experienced aquarists.
Positives that I can think of right off the bat for discuss are that they raise their fry which wouldn't require a separate grow out tank, they can be kept with tank mates, and there are no laws restricting ownership of them in some states like there are with piranhas.
Negatives: they aren't piranhas =)
Greez;3946163; said:Well, I love Piranhas so my answer is simple > Piranhas duh lol
You really want a 150 wide for them but a tall will do, I'd get 10-15 baby RBP and let them grow up, if all of them make it you can trade a few of them back to your LFS(if it gets crowded).
Alot of people overcrowd like this with juvie piranhas, but it increases your rates of cannibalism. FYI
If it were me I would for the discus. I'm on a cichlid kick right now, but besides that I have come to learn that I enjoy peaceful fish more than predators. One of my favorite things to do is to pull up a chair next to my tanks and watch what's happening in the little world that I have created. There's really not much to watch with P's unless it's feeding time. Also if you want to keep P's for the "wow" factor, that gets old pretty quick. Your friends will probably be much more impressed with a community of stunningly beautiful fish, cute little cories foraging across the bottom, and a school of brilliantly colored tetras swimming in unison, than they will be with a small group of supposedly vicious fish that don't do anything.
one more plus for discus that I forgot to mention is that they are better suited to standard 150 tall tank footprint than piranhas.
i had some rbp for about a year and when i sold them they were about 6-7". I think the rbp are boring, there colors are ok but they're super skiddish. I have discus now and they have some awesome colors. Im about to put in about five with my vatf and see how that works. go with the discus, they have cooler colors and have more of a personality
if i were you id do piranha all the way. there more hardy and in a tnak that size id do P cariba, or P piraya, or mix them up. there much more active and inteseting to watch as i find natts to be mroe lazy and shy. plus they get great color to them when they get bigger. defftiyl will be a decent frezny at feeding time if u get a few. do it up with soem nice live plants and bogwood. bit a current ur laughin. plus when there big u can usualy get away with dither fish, like some smaller cichlid or tetras to add some contrast. sure some get picked off but if there gettign feed enough they dotn pay much attention to them.
Wanted to thank everyone for the input. It is still kind of a coin flip at this point. I love the colors of the Discus and like a challenge now and then. On the other side I fell in love with the gold piranha years ago, at a pet store in Guam that got one in by mistake and got an exception from the law to keep it.
