fh with red belly piranhas
- Thread starter Atfownz
- Start date
It is sometimes possible to house aggressive CA with RBP's, but if your keeping a fish for show it makes for a very poor tankmate. Absolute nasty on fins and lips.
I kept a single RBP in a CA community tank in the past, for about 5 years.....my brother did similar as well. I tried it again, 1st with just a single large RBP and then adding a group of 3 that I grew up, making a group a 4......almost 7 years now from when I originally purchased the large RBP; 6 years now for the 2 RBP's I have left, and over 6 years now that my male dovii has lived with RBP.
IME, agressive CA will often push and push......and push until the RBP is forced to fight back. Years ago, in a thread I had, someone refferred to RBP as "bi-polar"
....... sort of true though i prefer to call them "Jeckyl and Hyde". By the way, when they grow up in a cichlid tank, they are not so timid when they get large! Mine have done everything from very poorly to very well, and everything in between.....but for the most part have done O.K. The last number of years aggression from my male dovii has not been too excessive.......aggression usually starts between the 2 RBP and the dovii comes in to assert his dominance. On the other hand, IME, some CA really, really take a dislike to them......I had a couple male salvinis that absolutely hated RBP.I do not recommend it. And I'm not likely to do this 'combo' ever again. Usually on a cichlid, when a chunk of fin is bitten off, as long as it's ray and not spines, the fin will grow back to it's former outer shape. Though the fin is not really perfect anymore, as the rays are branched with in the fin. With my male dovii, his tail fin is permanently dis-figured. It's been bitten on top of being bitten, after bulleying them in the past. It's very odd shaped now and will never have anything close to a normal shape because of the number of times the tail has been bitten by the RBP over a period of over 6 years.
Never kept RBP with oscars. I've discussed this (cichlids with RBP) a number of times with my brother, who has also kept RBP with aggressive CA.......and were both in agreement, that at least in terms of temperment, oscars are a much better match with RBP, then are aggressive CA.
I'm sure that many people have had long term success keeping RBP in species tanks..........but for what it's worth, I have talked to a number of people around my area that have kept RBP, and every single one of them had their RBP turn on each other with in just a few years. No less cruel for RBP to kill other RBP then it is for them to kill a gar. Cichlids as well....not that unusual to experience cichlid killing another cichlid if you have kept them long enough. It can be difficult to house agressive CA, such as FH, trimac, RD/midas and especially dovii with other cichlids....and there is nothing 'ideal' about solitary confinement, though it is a practical way to house a fish meant for show.
In 12 years of keeping RBP with cichlids, I've not had RBP kill anything.....other then the few rare occasions that i have put fish in the tank meant as a feeder. But they do carry a weapon, and can do damage if they get their mouth around something, especially to fins and lips! That said, I don't recomend them with cichlids.
While an aggressive CA cichlid or an oscar may hold its ground, they will be always being ragged, deformed and scarred up from piranha bites. Even convicts, oscars and plecos are not 100% safe. You may get luck if the piranhas dont kill the cichilds for longer periods then one day you saw a floating head in the tank and it's not piranha. IMO not worth it a risk to house a flowerhorn or any fish with the piranhas.
Its a very bad idea to mix the two. Regardless, Piranha are illegal in California
2 smart and talented individuals giving you great advice, take it.
If you want fh or cichlids buy another tank, rbp should be with pygos, mixing and matching is cheap imo and unrealistic.
Rbp will indeed kill a weak or injured fish just on animal/survival instinct, not for fun.
Go S. Vettel #1 rb8
Well the only advice I can give you is just enjoy your piranhas as much as you can.