I bought a piranha.

[oneworld]

Well, i decided to get me a pet piranha. just a baby one, he is just around 1" big now. i was just wondering..how many should i put in one 65 gallon tank? my friend had 2..and within a week, he had one. the other one got hungry i guess. But if i put 3 in there, I heard they wont eat each other. Any body who has owned one(or more) before that has ANY advice on this fish is appreciated. Thanks





Jason

[oneworld]

Here is a crappy picture taken with my cell phone. i have a good video of him eating..but i cant upload it for some reason.

[Drachen]

I used to work at a pet store and was "the fish guy"...though I'm a little fuzzy when it comes to piranhas. Though from what I can remember, as long as they're around the same size...and a male and female, they should be just fine. Though you put two males together, there might be a bit of territory issues, which might be the problem your buddy had. Not sure what to do about putting three together though.

What about putting something like a gar in there too? If you're after the fish that eat other fish, a gar would too, and the piranha and gar would most likely avoid each other...

[ThePixelGuru]

My girlfriend knows way too much about fish... I'll ask her for you and then edit this post.

Okay. She says you should have three at a minimum because they're a schooling fish, but be prepared because they grow big enough that even a single fully-grown one won't be too happy in a 65-gallon tank. She recommends a 150-gallon tank when they're fully grown, and says that if it was her setup she'd have five fish in a 150-gallon tank.

As far as cannibalism goes, she says size is important. If one's a bit smaller it'll be easy prey for a bigger one. Also, piranhas will sense sickness long before you do, and they'll prey on any companion they think is sick or weak. Maintain the health of you fish and they shouldn't do that; water changes are particularly important, about 25% of your tank every week. Keep a close eye on water conditions anyway - one of the easiest ways to pollute the water (aside from fish poop accumulation without water changes) is overfeeding, since the extra food will just rot in the tank. Don't feed them messy, meaty foods, since the scraps they rip up will just end up polluting the tank. Shrimp are a good choice, since they're high in protein and not too messy. A good guideline for amount of food is whatever they can eat in a minute and a half.

That's off the top of her head. I told you she knew too much about this stuff.

[MANN]

hmmm. where to start. I use to own 4 piranhas. Here are a few pointers

-Decide what you are going to feeed them from day 1. If you are going to feed them shrimp then only feed them shrimp. If you are only going to feed them feeders only feed them feeders. It is hard to get them to switch.

-If feeding with feeders make sure you have a seperate "holding" tank. You need to make sure that the goldfish can live 10 days before feeding them. I lost my piranhas to bad feeders.

-Water changes I would say 50% changes every 10 days. Piranhas are very dirty for water. They can screw with tank conditions overnight.

-Piranhas will only bother each other if they are hungry. All of my Ps were ~ 6" long. They would occasionaly nip fins, but only if I was late on their feeding. IIRC I was feeding ~50 feeders a week when mine passed.

-Tank size. This is very important. You need minimum of 30 gal for 1, 50 gal for 3. I dont reccomend 2 Ps as they will sometimes compete.

-One of the good things about piranhas is that they are a very hardy fish. They can live through almost anything

-salt, salt, salt. This does wonders for piranhas. Mine were always more brilliant when I would keep low salt levels in the tank. It also kills any diesies that crops up.

-No fake plants. They destroy them.

- Make some sort of shelter. I had a hollowed log. Piranhas are shy they need a place to hide.

-low/no light. I usually let my lite on my tank on for ~ 4-5 hrs a day (usually at night) as during the day they got some sunlight. IIRC I also used low watt bulbs.

Thats all I can think of as of now. I have a 200 gal tank that I am debating if I want piranhas again or not. They are alot of work. This fish is not your average fish. Expect for it to take 5 hrs of your time a week.

[chafnerjr]

Wow, you guys know your fish... To be fair I honestly though I was more likely to see a picture of this


then an actual discussion about real fish!

[punkncat]

Pirahna are not legal to own here aside from Pacu, which are a vegetarian relative. The waters here are warm enough even through winter that they can survive and populate.

I worked at an aquarium and reef supply for several years. And have a few suggestions that are not specific to that fish, but worked well for other agressive types.

Plenty of cover, as stated above will help. Give the fish plenty of places to hide and feel safe. If it is a schooling fish you will need at least three of the same size. Eventually one will become larger, and problems will arise from that, but that is down the road.

A lot of times your fish will hide unless there is some activity in the tank. With no other fish swimming about it will make the fish think there is a predator about and will hide. The trick is to purchase what we call "dither fish". The idea is to find something quick enough to stay out of the way of your aggressive fish, but also inexpensive enough that a loss will not be serious. Quick swimming community fish, such as danio's, etc. You can also try other aggessive fish, such as convicts, ect.

I do not suggest the use of feeder fish. Not only will you be risking the introduction of disease, but requires in most cases the addition of another tank for feed stock, but also makes your fish become more aggressive. If you feed them "other" foods, shrimp, plankton, etc. they will stay more passive and you can add supplements to the food like vitamins, color enhancers, etc.

In some cases keeping the tank mildly cooler can help with the aggression of the fish as well. This may or may not be possible according to the ambient temperature in your home. But the warmer the tank is (to a point of course) the more active and aggressive your fish will be. The more food they will eat as well.

As mentioned before, cichlid varieties are "dirty" and take more of a toll on your filtration system. I recommend a minimum 10% water change weekly. Make sure and siphon your gravel thourougly. Change filter elements a day or two AFTER the change, especially if larger changes are required, so as not to upset your bacterial balance. I suggest that you get a trash can on wheels and a supplemental pump. Prepare your water in advance so that chlorine can evaporate, full aeration, and that it has an opportunity to come to the proper temp as well as to adjust ph levels.
You will note that your tank will lean towards going acidic. The use of water stabilizers/hardeners as well as routine water changes will help that. Some folks will even get a small amount of coral gravel and put in the tank to help offset those changes.

Good luck with your fish. They can be a lot of fun

[BobTheCow]

Holy crap, I had no idea there was so much involved in having a damn fish tank. This idea actually sounded kind of cool, so I started doing some price shopping... screw that! $500+ for a big enough tank? Piss right off, thanks.

I envy those of you with the disposable income to do cool stuff like maintain badass fish.

[oneworld]

my friends 1 has been doing fine in a 60 gallon..you can get the ENTIRE kit..everything you need for $160 at walmart. the fish cost me $7. the worst part was staying up for 3 days straights looking up everything i could on a piranha. all in all i think im doing OK at my first shot.

[MANN]

Holy crap, I had no idea there was so much involved in having a damn fish tank. This idea actually sounded kind of cool, so I started doing some price shopping... screw that! $500+ for a big enough tank? Piss right off, thanks.

I envy those of you with the disposable income to do cool stuff like maintain badass fish.

500 is still somewhat cheap for a big tank. Most people's filteration systems cost more than that. A 200gal fully equipped is nothing shy of a 2 grand. That doesnt include the time involved.

[oneworld]

Poor guy..He def. did NOT like the tank cleaning..I used the self siphon gravel vaccum and was going for a few minutes just fine..then he just started freaking out..and so did I. the hose went from my bucket straight onto my computer monitor (D'OH). then i changed 50% of the water..and he didnt move at all for like an hour. i thought i killed him. now that its all done he seems happy to have a freshly cleaned tank. Ill reward him with some tasty goldfish! (ill make sure they live for atleast 2 weeks first) going to buy some tomorrow and put in a spare tank.

[splatterbrain]

tank cleaning

While cleaning your Phiranna tank, DON'T put your fish in the tank with your pet snapping turtle. Turtle will win! (Please Don't ask how I know this.)

[splatterbrain]

tank cleaning

While cleaning your Pirannha tank, DON'T put your fish in the tank with your pet snapping turtle. Turtle will win! (Please Don't ask how I know this.)

[questionful]

...
Good luck with your fish. They can be a lot of fun

I didn't know fish keeping could be such a serious hobby. All the technical stuff sounds really cool. It kind of reminds me of playing a real-time strategy game, where you have to manage all the factors to achieve optimum results. But, no offense to you fish guys, I can't see how the end result, having fish in a tank, is fun. Am I missing something?

[oneworld]

im so proud

He had his first real live food today..chased him down and ate it within a matter of minutes..talk about a proud parent. Who needs kids when i have my piranha