BEST Piranha for a Noob and WHY?

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Great Basin Benji

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 4, 2009
114
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Reno, NV
Of course we all enjoy seeing a shoal of Piranha devour something, and that is why WE here are "Monster" Fish Keepers.


SO, if a person was to wish to venture down the Piranha road, and had perviously NEVER kept Piranha, and had say a 75 gallon tank to start with, what would be the best combination, number, and species of Piranha for someone who never had kept them before to be able to enjoy their feeding frenzy enjoyment, as well as be able to appreciater them for their beauty? I've always tried to have my tanks set-up with a LOT of live plants and submerged Bogwood, so I would want to try and re-create an AMAZON planted type setting, but have NO CLUE as to the differences in species.

SOMEONE PLEASE HELP?
 
well first off, most piranhas actually come from areas where there are very little plants, so the heavily planted jungle look wouldn't really mimic their natural environment, but if that's the look you like, go with it.

getting the "feeding frenzy enjoyment" may take some time with any species that you decide on, but obviously the best choice for beginners is p. nattereri, the red belly piranha, for the simple fact that it is the cheapest and most readily available. if you have a 75 gallon tank, you could go out and buy 5-8 nickel-sized natts for less than 50 bucks and within a few months, if the conditions are right, you could have a pretty entertaining group of fish on your hands.

just don't be disappointed if they end up spending most of their time hiding in the corner rather than patrolling the front of the tank and attacking the glass every time someone goes near it... and that goes for all piranha species.
 
Great Basin Benji;3554061; said:
Also, I'm sure there's a sticky on it, but what about tankmates???
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tankmates = dinner
 
JoeDizzleMPLS;3554068; said:
well first off, most piranhas actually come from areas where there are very little plants, so the heavily planted jungle look wouldn't really mimic their natural environment, but if that's the look you like, go with it.

getting the "feeding frenzy enjoyment" may take some time with any species that you decide on, but obviously the best choice for beginners is p. nattereri, the red belly piranha, for the simple fact that it is the cheapest and most readily available. if you have a 75 gallon tank, you could go out and buy 5-8 nickel-sized natts for less than 50 bucks and within a few months, if the conditions are right, you could have a pretty entertaining group of fish on your hands.

just don't be disappointed if they end up spending most of their time hiding in the corner rather than patrolling the front of the tank and attacking the glass every time someone goes near it... and that goes for all piranha species.
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THANK YOU VERY MUCH... I Greatly appreciate this advice. The reason, I thought that they'd enjoy a more densely planted environment, is because most of the footage I've seen of Red Bellies in the wild, they are near Mangrove looking areas at the submerged root areas towards the bottom of the water column. I did recently see a dozen 3/4 inch-1" of this exact variey for only $50 + shipping. Is (8) in a 75 about MAX. and would it be adequate for the entire life of these fish, or would they eventually need a larger home?

Also, are there any Catfish (bottom dwellers) that make suitable tankmates, or should I just be happy with what detritus the snails are capable of taking care of , and forget ANY other tankmates? I saw some Purple looking Sanchezis (probably mis-spelled) that were absolutly gorgeous, so aside from their exciting nature, they ARE truly beautiful little fish as well.
 
i wouldn't put put more than 4 in a 75 for life, any more than that, you would need to upgrade to a larger tank. it's always a good idea to start out with more than you want because losses are common and you can always sell one or two down the road if you have too many.

tankmates aren't a good idea unless you don't mind providing expensive snacks for your piranhas.

sanchezis are a serra species (serrasalmus sanchezi) that would need to be kept as a solo fish in the tank, but they are neat little fish.
 
agreed with everything joe said.

I started out with 11 or 12 rbs in a 55g. Lost a couple and ended up with 8, moved them to a 125g and added 5 more so Im not up to 13. Will probably have to downsize the shoal fairly soon, but they are great piranhas to start out with.

I have had a big rhom, a couple smaller rhoms, two elongatus, a sanchezi, and a dentic along with what I have now and I don't think I would ever get rid of my group. The group is a lot more exciting to watch feed and interact then a solo. Don't get me wrong I enjoy all my p's but watching the group is the best.
 
Again, thanks everyone. This is all certainly great info, and very inspiring too. I think I'll have to order a dozen of those 3/4-1" ones soon. They are a little smaller than nickle size, but I'm guessing they won't be hard to train on frozen foods like bloodworms, brine shrimp, beef heart at first... At what point do they transition, or at ANY point do they transition to frozen silversides, or will they accept live feeders? I raise my own feeders due to an unfortunate "incident" with some LFS feeder guppies that were gut loaded with parasites! That was a real learning lesson to say the least! So I have a fairly regular supply of Guppy fry as well as Red Cherry Shrimp, but am wondering if frozen foods are the way to go? If not, what do you guys most commonly feed your RBP shoals?
 
I always thought that the Cariba were the Red Bellied Piranha? Is this a common misnomer?
 
Great Basin Benji;3554373; said:
I always thought that the Cariba were the Red Bellied Piranha? Is this a common misnomer?
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all pygos are sometimes referred to by the common name red bellies. In south america, in some regions Pygocentrus cariba are referred to as caribe (from an old word for cannibal -carib) instead of piranha.

there are 3 species of pygocentrus piranha, and they are the only piranhas considered true piranhas.

1 Pygocentrus nattereri- "red belly piranha" most common

2 Pygocentrus cariba- "caribes" aka "red bellies" sometimes. Primarily found in Venezuela.

3 Pygocentrus piraya- "pirayas" only found in one river in south america. They grow to 22" TL. There's a public aquarium in denver, CO which has an exhibit labeling them as "red belly piranhas."


frozen foods should make up the bulk of the P's diet. Smelt, squid, fish fillet, shrimp being the most common choices. These foods should be fed raw.
 
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