tank landscaping...?

[newfishguy]

i have 3 RBP's...sand or gravel ?(color)... lots of plants or few plants ? i see alot of people that have very little plants in there tanks, is that just so they can see there P's better...? i would think that having lots of hidding places would be better for them...? or do they get used to being out in the open ?

 

[shookONES]

Piranha as a whole are very skittish fish. Most people run as few plants as possible for the reason you mentioned. Personally, I've noticed dark, course gravel is ideal for color and cleanliness.

 

[Cyclop3000]

Natural habitat for RBP is densely planted, fine mud. Therefore the fish will thrive in a well planted tank, and sand substrate. Now for the real life...

Sand
Since they are nervous fish, when you approach the tank too fast they go nuts and slam on the glass...moving a lot of sand in the process, which then gets sucked in the filter. Therefore I go for very fine gravel, and not sand.

Plants
Mines never touched the plants, and if the are planted well with a good thickness of gravel, they will not be uprooted. The more there is, the better for this fish. They will hide in it, and will love you for it. Personally I think plants are messy, therefore I am not a big fan...

Hope this helps!

 

[DiXoN]

when i started out with new piranha i added loads of plants and decor and slowly reduced it over time when they settled in.
it seemed to work for me i ended up with 3 bits of wood and 4 fake plants