[kath]

hi
its me again
i dont now were my chinese or siamese fighting fish so i am going to start a new one...
my dad sed it would be fun to get piranas so i wanted to now if they selled the real big piranas
theones that can eat a cow in 3 mins...
katherine
[email protected]

 

[joeshmoe]

well how big is your tank? theres a couple of diff kinds of paranas and then theres a pacu that gets 24" there a breed off of paranas.

 

[kath]

my tank isery big
it can fit nore than 20 fish init easy
i tis big
katheirne

 

[SimplySplendid]

How many gallons is it? What are the dimensions? Please give us as much information as possible.

 

[Lupin]

I don't suppose a 10 gallons tank would accommodate even a single piranha.:dunno:
You'll need 150 gallons to fit 6 piranhas. They do best in shoals rather than being alone. Let alone their being big poopers which will need a very powerful filtration system.

And the theory of them eating a cow may be true but that applies only if the cow has wounds which will most likely trigger them to attack. Piranhas don't attack until their prey has blood to attract to.
Another thing, their reputation of attacking humans is far from true. They are actually shy and will attack only if provoked.

Many countries ban such fish and you are living in a country banning piranhas, there's no way for you to obtain them. And neither will it be if your tank is not large enough for accommodations.

 

[pygomania]

And the theory of them eating a cow may be true but that applies only if the cow has wounds which will most likely trigger them to attack. Piranhas don't attack until their prey has blood to attract to.
Another thing, their reputation of attacking humans is far from true. They are actually shy and will attack only if provoked.

Not true... I've been a piranha collector, for 9 years now, and there are many different species of piranhas. Pygocentrus species are shoal fish, that are basically shy, and docile. Where as the serrasalmus genus, with the exception of maculatus, and geryis, have to be kept in tanks by themselvs, individually, because they will attack anything you put in the water, including your hand. The whole "blood" thing is completely a myth. I feed mine mice all the time, and theyre not bloody. Its hunger pains that get them to attack, Nothing more. The piranhas you're talking about in question with the cow, are Pygocetrus Notatus, Nattererri, Piraya and Ternetzi. This theory was made popular by Teddy Roosevelt, during his trip to south america. The locals blocked off the river, on both side of a walkway over the water, with nets, and filled the area with piranhas, starved them for days, then threw a cow in the water. Killer first impression of a foreign country eh? And as for tank size, 15-20 gallons per fish, is the bare minimum for ANY piranha, and most need bigger, but you can get away with 15-20.
I hope I've been helpful, and Blue, I wasnt trying to argue with you, just shed some light on our misunderstood friend, the great piranha. Good day to everyone!

 

[Lupin]

but you can get away with 15-20.

I don't simply encourage people to keep piranhas in a tank that small. Piranhas can reach 12 inches which is far too large for a 15 gallons tank. It seems you applied that rule only to keeping a piranha in a small tank rather than in a group in a big tank.

I'll cite discus as an example. If you want to keep discus, 10 gallons per fish is the rule but that will not mean you can get away with one discus n a 10 gallons tank. 10 gallons is still far too small and some fish like socializing, not to be isolated. So for 6 discus, 55 gallons is the minimum recommended.

I'm not trying to discredit you for this but piranhas eat a lot and filtration has to be sufficient. A small tank would require almost overfiltration which is not often advisable and several water changes.
40 gallons is the minimum for a single piranha but I'd prefer keeping them in a larger tank instead of cramping them in a small tank.

 

[joeshmoe]

A small tank would require almost overfiltration which is not often advisable .

y ? i have 75 gallon filter ging in my 55

 

[Lupin]

A small tank would require almost overfiltration which is not often advisable .

y ? i have 75 gallon filter ging in my 55

Joe, in such a small tank, if you are the fish, would you want to be carried away by currents while you are alive? Of course, you'd reply no.:dunno:

 

[joeshmoe]

sry i didnt see you said a "small" tank

 

[Lupin]

sry i didnt see you said a "small" tank

That's ok, Joe. No need to apologize.

 

[pygomania]

A small tank would require almost overfiltration which is not often advisable .

y ? i have 75 gallon filter ging in my 55

Joe, in such a small tank, if you are the fish, would you want to be carried away by currents while you are alive? Of course, you'd reply no.:dunno:

If Joe was a piranha, he would. Seeing as how piranhas love the currents, and a strong power head is greatly appreciated.

Filtration is the key factor in piranha survival. Without it, you have nothing. Bio Wheels are the cheapest, most cost efficient way to go. Water parameters will clash otherwise, with the high bio load piranha waste produces.

www.opefe.com < that should answer any more questions anyone might have about piranhas.

 

[KishFeeper]

lol what are you guys fighting over? just go with the 1 inch per gallon rule and you will be fine.

i also heard they produce alot of waste, heh prob no more than my swordtails :/

 

[KishFeeper]

O ya i forgot, Yes you can buy Large piranha's but i dont no if they have a "Big Als" were you live

 

[Lupin]

O ya i forgot, Yes you can buy Large piranha's but i dont no if they have a "Big Als" were you live

Not unless you have a tank of more than 200 gallons.:shake: Piranhas are large waste producers. Let alone what they eat.

 

[KishFeeper]

O ya i forgot, Yes you can buy Large piranha's but i dont no if they have a "Big Als" were you live

Not unless you have a tank of more than 200 gallons.:shake: Piranhas are large waste producers. Let alone what they eat.

ya i stated that i was right i guess my research was good.

 

[KishFeeper]

Oops wrong quote you have to look at my other post to see that.

 

[bettababy]

I will have to side with Blue on this one. His information is accurate.

There are other species of piranah, and yes, some are more aggressive, but to eat a cow you would need many fish. The stomach on a piranah can only hold so much at a time, and there is a lot of waste involved, as was also pointed out.

If you take a dinner plate and hold it up to a 15 gallon tank, or even a 40 gallon tank, you'll get a good idea of how big most species of piranah will get. In the case of wanting up to 6 of them, hold up 6 plates, and common sense would tell you that it won't work. The fish need room to swim and turn around comfortably, which, in a small tank, won't be possible once the get too big. The same problem is true for 55 gallon tanks, they are too narrow, and the fish can't turn around properly once they get larger.
It would be very helpful to know your tank size, either number of gallons or dimensions.

 

[pygomania]

lol what are you guys fighting over? just go with the 1 inch per gallon rule and you will be fine.

Sure... if you want to stunt their growth. It dont work like that with piranhas. They will will be runts. 15-20 gallons minumum per fish

 

[bettababy]

The thing that stunts the growth is a high nitrate level over a period of time. With that said, it also will slowly poison the fish and cause a lot of internal damage if not cleaned up. A healthy fish in good water quality will grow to its full potiential size.
Putting a piranah in a 10 - 15 gallon tank will only accomplish one thing overall... it will kill it!

I have told this story in other threads here on ff, but I will tell it one more time to get the idea across.
A few yrs ago, while still working at the store, a guy came in with a 10 inch jack dempsey. This was the prettiest dempsey I had ever seen, bright colors, etc... but the spine was "kinked" severely. We put the fish into a 40 breeder quarantine tank, and it died within about a wk.
The customer told us how he'd raised it in a 10 gallon tank, doing 100% water changes every day and feeding good foods twice/day. Now, picture a 10 inch dempsey in a 10 gallon tank, and you'll understand why the spine was kinked. By the time the guy brought it to us, it could not swim, nor could it hold istelf upright in the tank, because of the deformities in the spine which were due to lack of space.
The fish was almost the same size as the tank. This was one of the saddest things I've ever seen.

In the case of a piranah, when full grown, it would be too tall for a 10 gallon tank... and the same problem would be an issue as with the dempsey. So, could you raise a piranah in a 10 gallon? NO. Plain and simple... NO. The average life span of a dempsey is about 50+ yrs... the average life span of a piranah is about 40+. The dempsey was about 2 yrs old when it died... what a waste. Piranah tend to grow faster than even the dempseys, so you're talking about maybe an 8 month - 1 yr lifespan for a fish that should live 40+.

How else to say this? JUST DON'T!