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I was wondering how many piranhas i could put in a 55 and do they like a planted tank with a few caves? Also what are suitable tankmates for them? I have read that teras are good b/c the piranha dont wanna waste time trying to catch the too fast tetras?

1 would be the most you could have but it wouldn't be ideal for it. They like to be in groups and there isn't enough room for more than 1. They like plants with many places to hide. Any tetras would be destroyed basically except exodons which would still be a 50/50 chance of being eaten.

i would keep piranha in a species only tank I beleive they are pack hunters., but ive herd of Plecostomus Catfish being keep with them. i would do 2 or 3 in a 55 gal. tank, but i dont know too much about them.

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I SUCCESSFULLY kept 3 pirhanas in a 55 and they grew and grew and grew, they are doing wonderfully... *side note* down to 2 because of a crash of the tank.. see *BROKE* but they survived just fine, being fed on average, once a day

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

Keep the Pirhana on their own & don't add anything with them. They also like to stay in a group, so i wouldn't keep 1 on it's own.


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i would keep piranha in a species only tank I beleive they are pack hunters., but ive herd of Plecostomus Catfish being keep with them. i would do 2 or 3 in a 55 gal. tank, but i dont know too much about them.

You got one part of that right, you dont know too much about them. Nothing will live succesfully with a piranha. Sure maybe a plec will live for a few months, maybe even a few years but eventually, he will becom food Secondly piranha's pack hunting has nothing to do with thier temporary tankmates. When it comes to living fish, piranha will hunt alone. Sometimes they will use the ambush method, but it's pretty useless. And finally by no stretch of the imagination can you keep 3 12" fish that feed on protien in anything below a 90g. Red bellies need 30g each. so go with two

ive raised 3 seperate shoals of red bellies in a 55g. in each of the 3 shoals there were 3 reds. and even at 10in. they were just fine. piranha dont take up alot of room unless they are hunting. most of the time they just hang out and wait as do most pure predator/scavengers.

And finally by no stretch of the imagination can you keep 3 12" fish that feed on protien in anything below a 90g

sure u can. but it requires a large filter. each of my 55's had enough filtering for a 100g. with piranha u can never have to much filtration. theyre strong swimmers n enjoy a good current.

Last edited by TIGER9 at 20-Jun-2005 23:47

a school of tetras may be ok, but only if the pirhanas are well feed, b/c i would think that if they are hungry they would eat the tetras. i think that catfish with body plates like a pelco, or amour cat would do ok.

as in the 55 gallon, you can probably hold a small school of 5 in there untill they get bigger. they will need a larger tank so they won't fight. etc.

Have a read of this - [link=http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=60939]http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=60939" style="COLOR: #0000C0[/link]

" And finally by no stretch of the imagination can you keep 3 12" fish that feed on protien in anything below a 90g"

sure u can. but it requires a large filter. each of my 55's had enough filtering for a 100g. with piranha u can never have to much filtration.

A 12 inch fish would not be fine in a 12 inch wide aquarium. It would barely be able to turn around...and 3 in a 55 is just insane. Also, like you said they are strong swimmers. Heres where a bigger tank also comes in. Bigger tanks have thicker glass, pirahnas are very strong and if they ram the glass of a 55 they could probably break it.

so at least a 120 gallon tank for a "school" of 4 I would say...

Last edited by Nameless at 26-Jun-2005 14:46

Piranha-Fury is quite a good site (not as good as FP)...I was just wondering if piranha's are aloud in Australia? are they illegal to import but legal to purchase once in Australia?? and what's the difference between piranha's and pacu's ??

i'm not to farmilliar with the legal status in australlia, but i do know the differences between pacu

Pacus have a very retarded look to them. ] They dont have razor sharp teeth like piranhas, instead they have strond blunt ones to chomp through nuts that fall from the trees. Also they're omnivores, and piranhas are strictly carnivores

Pacus aloso grow to a MAHUUUSIVE size and would be better suited to public aquaria IMO.

piranhas arnt strictly carnivors n there are many differences between red bellies n pacus
i raise my reds in a 55 gallon then upgrade them when they hit bout 6-7" each rite now i have 7 wild caught reds all between 4-6" in a 65 gallon tank with award winning colours n finage
all 7 r extremly active during daily feedings other then that they just hold there own in there caves n plants n drift wood
i have 2x filters that pump 320 gallons per hour n 2 powerheads onthe tank
scales from feeder fish never touch the bottom
tetras such as neons n black neons can n do survive with larger 10"+ piranha
ive successfully bred both in with larger piranhas some do get taking but very few

piranhas have a very undeserved title n many fish keepers dont understand the fish

i dont believe in keeping a few 10"+ fish in a 55g but reds can b shoaled or kept singularly

a well balanced diet is a must
mine get a daily feed of frozen krill, frozen blood worm cubes, 12 feeder goldfish at 2-3" in length with every third day 50 rosy red minnows n 2 pinky mce as well as small daily feeds of large flake

i also feed worms nuts seeds fruits n the occassional baby sparrow
the only plants that grow in my tanks r java moss java ferns n amazon swords all other plants r eatin and or destoried

i feed my pirhanas once a day with jumbo min large carnivore pellets made by tetra. and a guppy that i breed in another tank every now and then, just to make sure that they will eat their regular food. so many feeders arent that good especially farm feeders.. too many diseases. I also feed mine frozen bloodworm cubes, and if i get a dead fish, they take care of it too, unless there is a harmful disease. If you ever watch pirhanas, they arent really all that active unless food is present, otherwise they just hang out and move a bit, just like TETRAS!!!!!! observe them and you'll see what i mean! they arent zebra danios in any fashion!

72 gallon bowfront:Tanganyikan Lake set up
75 gallon: A. Baenschi trio,Cyanotilapia Afra Cobwe(4), copadichromis trewavase, protomelas sp. tangerine tiger(breeding pair)

A 12 inch fish would not be fine in a 12 inch wide aquarium

very true, but it takes quite a while for them to reach that size and in most cases they dont reach 12in. 10in. is usually the max. just because they CAN reach that size doesnt mean they WILL. and as i and others have said piranha(red bellies) are quite relaxed in home aquaria. bidding their time until their next meal. an excellent energy conservation method IMO.