Tank Questions

[Rahied]

I was just wondering how many red belly's this would hold.. it's a 55 gallon.. kinda long.. and should ithave anything in it.. because I've seen a few tanks that are bare?

 

[Bderick67]

At best you could have 3 RBPs in the 5-6" range. If ya can even upgrade to a 75 gallon which is about 6" deepre from front to back they would be more comfortable, plus you would have some room for aquascaping.

 

[Tango374]

But also keep in mind that 6'' is only half the size that a nattie can possibly grow to. If the 55 is going to be the only tank you get for the entire life of the fish...I'm going to say one RBP safely.

Welcome to MFK

 

[NJKILLSYOU]

But also keep in mind that 6'' is only half the size that a nattie can possibly grow to. If the 55 is going to be the only tank you get for the entire life of the fish...I'm going to say one RBP safely.

Welcome to MFK

no offence but that makes no sense. rbps max out at around 12" even having one in a 12" wide tank is bad news.

a standard 55gl is unsuitable for life when it comes to pygos. a 40gl or 50gl breeder tank would be the minimum for 1 pygo for life. a 75gl with 3 pygos is what you should do

 

[Tango374]

no offence but that makes no sense. rbps max out at around 12" even having one in a 12" wide tank is bad news.

a standard 55gl is unsuitable for life when it comes to pygos. a 40gl or 50gl breeder tank would be the minimum for 1 pygo for life. a 75gl with 3 pygos is what you should do

Actually natties get bigger than that by 2'' but in the wild. I should of been more clear. In all of my time of keeping fish I have never heard of a piranha reaching its maximum length in captiveity. I have never heard of somebody growing a rbp to a length of even 12 inches or more in a tank of less than 200 gallons. 9 to 10 inches is what these fish typically reach if they are raised from a small size in captivity. A standard footprint 55 gallon tank with awsome filtration, good water movement and weekly water changes would be fine for a single specimen but only a single specimen. There are better tanks out there but this set up would work

 

[---XR---]

i know one guy who grew his natts to 13", but they were overfeed and just obese, and were in a very large tank, now the fact remains, Yes reds CAN be kept in 55 gallons tanks, and will live in them, Can they thrive in them< No, in fact they can't thrive in a 75, they can't thrive in a 125 ethier, you'll need a BIG ass' tank for them to live comforably, consider this, you have to live a a tank for the rest of your life, the tank is 4-5 times your length, and a little wider then your lenth, you are used to being able to go wherever you want, do you think you'll be happy in a tank now? and yes 2x your length would be great for the width of your enclouser, but it is no simulation to accually keeping the fish in the wild, so imo you should have a tank that is the biggest you can possibly go for the fish, and in my opinion, you should not, keep them in a 55.

 

[importracer]

3 comfortably....Upgrade to a 100 LONG when the guys grow to 5 inches....Basically longer the better...I suggest nothing less than a 180 for a shoal of 5 to thrive....

 

[ChrisG23]

Hey guy's, keep your flamethrowers in their holsters, but i have a 55G and kept 7rbp's for several years. Never lost a fish, never even any fin nipping after the first few weeks. The dominant fish grew to 8 inches and the rest were in the 5 to 7 inch range. Obviously these are not the optimal conditions for the fish, but they were very healthy, athough it took a lot of work to keep it that way. 30% water changes weekly, and the tank was very over-filtrated. Now i'm gunna sit back, and with my fire extinguisher.