Ownership question for Piranhas

[CremeFraiche]

Hey all, I'm in Louisiana where under the laws of ownership for Piranhas states:

D. No person shall have in possession or sell in this state a piranha or Rio Grande Cichlid; except that, piranha may be possessed and displayed at the Aquariumof the Americas, Audubon Institute, New Orleans, as authorized by a special permit issued by the department, under conditions the department deems necessary to prevent their introduction into waters of the state. Neither the permit nor the conditions and requirements thereof shall be required to be adopted pursuant to the provisions of the APA

My issue with this law is that it only states "piranha". Is there anyone that has the complete list or even just the genus' that this ban prohibits ownership of?

My other issue with this law is that the Rio Grande Cichlid, aka Texas Cichlid is banned... HOWEVER I can go down the street to PetSmart and buy 100 of the suckers if I wanted to.

From my understanding, Piranhas are not hardy fish and technically will die off quickly if water temperatures fall below 64 degrees.

Anyone have any more information or could direct me to a equal predator type fish?

I've read about Exodons and they do interest me, but my heart was set on some Caribe's.

 

[Matteus]

Have you looked into datnoids?

 

[Sacrifice03]

I'm with you about the states laws and such. It sucks that they have been banned, more than likely because someone caught a Pacu in a local lake and started screaming Piranha so they assumed that they could survive in your climate. Unfortunately no company can sell or ship you any type of piranha because they are banned. You might be able to find them elsewhere online but just remember they are illegal and you will suffer consequences if you're caught.

As far as equal predator type fish there are many many options out there. In fact most predator type fish are even more aggressive than piranhas. I will say though, I'm in a similar boat as you when it comes to Caribe. Many years ago a group of Pygos stole my heart and nothing else ever sounded interesting to me since. Many moons ago I had a large group of Reds, and I'm currently saving up cash for a group of Caribe myself one day.

 

[DOOB]

ive kept piranhas for almost 30yrs. mostly red bellies. a few months ago I put all my piranhas out to good homes. I now have a species only tank with over 30 exodons. let me tell ya ill never go back to the piranhas. these little guys are awesome fish. you only really see action from a piranha when they hungry. mostly they hide behind plants and branches when they not feeding and run and dart to hide when someone walks past the tank. not the exodons. man they never stop moving, have amazing coloration when kept in ideal water and fed mixed diets, and are packed with personality. the exodons were a suggestion to me from this site when i first joined and I am forever grateful for that. I luv my exodons and would highly recommend them to anyone lookin for a predator type fish. plus you can stick ur hand in the tank with these fellas!!!!!