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i was thinking of getting a reb belly piranha in a 20 gallon. if i just get one will it still be agressive?

i heard that pirnhas are only agressive if they school with other pirnhas is this true?

if i just get one will it still be agressive?

In which way? Are you putting other fish in the tank? DO you mean aggressive towards you when come near the glass? The 20 would be max for just one and that is pushing it.

Side note: I think you accidently posted this question in the cichlid forum.

red bellied piranhas would get way too big for a 20 gallon tank. as I mentioned in your other thread, they'll get to about 12" each and need a fairly large tank.

also, when red bellys are kept alone they're usually very skittish and will hide most of the time. they do much better being kept in schools of 6 or more. this is when they'll be much more active, though still not really what I'd consider aggressive. they will eat anything they can...that makes them a predator, not aggressive.

Id go with that, in a tank on its own there wouldnt be anything to be aggressive with, except maybe your fingers The aggression they show in groups, fin nipping, eye gouging, generally eating parts of each other and cagemates of different species is usually entirely food or resource related. In themselves when not thinking about feeding theyre usually pretty calm.

If you want a fish that is agressive , try convicts, sunfish or similar, snakeheads can be pretty vicious too.Not that I would promote keeping aggressive fish for the sake of it since those that attack things the other side of the glass may damage their jaws or stress out, and obviously trying to house other species with them will just mean deaths.Personally Im sure there is a nice institution with padded cells in every county that should cater for those people who like to see fish ripped apart by their aggressive pet. A lot of them go beyond normal live feedings into the realms of fish torture, and this is in no way acceptable.

Choosing a pet on the basis of aggression alone is usually an ideal that is contrary to the premise of good fishkeeping. I have an arowana myself but it was chosen because I wanted to learn the principles of keeping larger fish, and frankly its just plain beautiful. Have since learned lesson, keep hand behind food, not between fish and food OOOOWWW!