Newbie looking for info

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shaner

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 21, 2010
12
0
0
wisconsin
Hello,
I am new to the site and in the process of researching on some serrasalmus, i understand there are differant types and such in this group, i have it narrowed down between a couple of hard to get ones, but i like the sizing of them, i am looking at the elongatus, the brandtii, and the spilopleura.

I have noticed after seraching thru some of the threads alot of you keep them in smaller tanks then i would have imagined, so i guess my questions is on the growth rate of these fish, i do not plan on buying a 12 incher right away, i am trying to find the youngest ones that i can and then go from there.

Tank size is not an issue, I currently have 9 tanks of assorted sizes and fish, and have a room dedicated to my fish, the plan is finding a 75 or larger tank and go from there, but how fast do they grow, could i use a 40 breeder to start and then move it to the 75 or larger tank, i know some fish grow way fast so i dont want to start them in anything to small.

I also understand that they can live for up to 10 years or longer if kept properly, which is my intention.

so....... let me know, any info will be appreciated
 
welcome to MFK :)
www.opefe.com has pretty much all the information you need.
the three fish you have mentioned doesn't get too big, 75g would be plenty for life with help of good filter and powerhead (especially for elong).
like other serras, they grow slowly, depends on the size you get them at and I think in most case 40 breeder would be fine.
 
It's been my experience that in the 1st year P's generally don't get any larger than 8". I use smaller tanks 30gal's to grow out all kinds of fish from Pbass to Datnoids to Serras. It's my choice - I don't think a 1" fish needs 4'x18" of tank space - that's just my opinion. In many cases with the fish I'm growin' out it's easier to feed the lil' guys in the smaller volumes of water, it's also easier to clean. Welcome to MFK.
 
great info, thanks, I will probably go with a 40breeder and get the 75 set up at the same time, that way i am ready to make the move.

I have found that the biggest thing mentioned is not the height of the tank put the width, this seem correct yes? obviously a 12 inch fish in a 12 inch wide tank will not do, wider and longer the better i am assuming?

I found a 125 on craigslist for 150bucks, i am waiting for the dimensions of it.

great site, thank you, i am sure i will have a ton more questions
 
when it comes to piranha the height of the tank isn't as important as width and length since they don't swim up and down. taller tank would be nice but if too tall it'll make regular maintenance difficult.
for elong since it is fast swimmer so a longer tank would be good, however, since they rarely get to 9" in captivity if grow one out from small a 125g will look empty. of course you can aquascape the tank by adding plants, woods, etc to make it look nice and put in tons of small fish to fill it up. it's really up to you, same goes for brandtii and spilo.
some other piranha keepers have noticed sometimes too big of a tank will actually make the fish more skittish as compare to a smaller tank, of course that is depends on the fish itself so you may find whichever piranha you end up getting might be more interactive in the 40 breeder than a 125g, but if you go with elong then I don't think the length of the breeder will be long enough.
I've never kept any of the species mentioned by you, what I've said are just based on what I have read from other keepers experience.
 
well, I could have but for some reason I'm not too attracted to them, to me they don't look too much different from rhombeus (body shape wise), maybe that's why.
If I could set up more tanks I would want something look a bit more different from each other. elong (black mask with red throat), manueli, geryi, spilopleura are the ones I can think of wanting if given the chance.
I also wouldn't mind a mac that looks like this
Macul_CarvalhoLN.jpg
 
nice looking fish, might have to look that one up too, I found a place on line called Aqua Scape, any one use them before? I have a few shops down in green bay that stock some, but kinda leary on them labeling them correctly, usually what i saw was the RBP's.

If i am going to start a tank for a specific fish them i want to make sure i get the fish i spec'd it for and not some behomth that will grow 4 feet in the first year.
 
I'm assuming you are talking about aquascapeonline.com ?
they are great, the other store you can look into is shark aquarium.
but stores are great for online orders.
personally I've never ordered online as they are my local fish stores but from what I've heard they are all great.
 
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