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Hi! Im new to fishprofiles.com, and I was suprised to see a Piranha profile.

piranha profile

(i hope this link worked! im not familiar with this forum)
I think it needs updating, most of it is right, but there is some reason for concern.

Examples:

Synonyms: Serrasalmus ternetzi

The scientific naming of piranhas was a quite a mess for long time, so fish of the pygocentrus genus could be labled as Serrasalmus, but Ternetzi is just a variant of the common red belly piranha, but it has a cool yellow color. Serrasalmus actually refers to a different, (generally) nonschooling type of piranha.

Care: The Red Bellied Piranha will only accept meat. Flakes are rarely touched and do not provide the correct nutrition. Earthworms and beef heart will also be eaten.

RBP's can be "trained" onto various things including cichlid pellets, shrimp pellets, etc. A lot of piranha owners feed them white meats (chicken or fish). Beef heart is ok but should be limited as it is quite fatty. Obese fish have health problems just like Obese people!
Baby reds can be fed flakes (supplemented with bloodworms and such).

There is debate about lighting for piranhas, but they prefer as little as possible, some people partially cover the aquarium lights with everything from tinfoil to electrical tape (dangerous). Some dont even bother with lights.

It should also be noted that RBP's should be kept in shoals, solitary fish are usually quite skittish and pairs will often fight to the death in territorial disputes.

IMO, for pygocentrus natereri you also need AT LEAST 20gallons per fish. The more room they have the less likely territorial disputes will happen.

Potential Size: 30cm (11.8"

Generally true, there are exceptions.
pygo's grow REALLY fast when young, IMO dont bother with "grow out tanks" and then upgrade when they get big, cause 6 inches of growth in 6 months is not unheard of!
A close relative of Pygocentrus Natereri, known as Pygocentrus Piraya, can grow to 2 feet in length!


Im not an expert on breeding them, but I know it is extremely difficult to get them started. I have heard that they breed like convicts once you get a pair, but that IS NOT something I have experienced myself. I have seen pictures showing them changing color dramatically when breeding.

Gender: Difficult to determine. Females usually have a darker yellow tinge to their bodies.

In my experience piranha's ARE NOT sexually dimorphic. "Darker yellow tinge" could mean anything from nutritional differences, genetics, water quality, even lighting.

LifeSpan: 4 years

These fish can live MUCH longer given the right conditions. I have no idea what the oldest recorded p is, but im sure 10 years is a conservative estimate. Im gonna double check this.

EDIT: Several piranha owners have stated 12-15 years, some as much as 20+ years. There is a dubious claim of a 37 year record.


The reason for the LONG post is that I love my piranhas and they are truly a great fish. Most people get into them for all the wrong reasons (bloodthirsty machismo feeding frenzy) but if you keep them then you will appreciate how truly great they are. Mine havent been fed live food in months (feeders are dirty little fish that spread diseases). Please check over my rant for errors and/or omissions. Any comments are welcome.


ps, go to [href]http://www.aquarank.com[href] and check out all the piranha related sites, most of the people are more knowledgable about these fish than I am.





[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-08-19 23:52][/span]

Admittedly not all of us here think all the profiles are 100% correct. Since these profiles are submitted by members, and not all of them actually correct when they do so, it's just the first person who submits it that gets their profile posted. Not a really good system, but hey, these forums are where further questions can be asked. :%)

But for all your Piranha-philia, why did you still post this in the Cyprinid section? They're not Cyprinids.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Shinigami 2004-08-19 18:51][/span]

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

oops

Move this post to characins plz!

I just wanted to help out with the profiles, i know about the hobby, not the science. For more of that go to

Oregon Piranha Exotic Fish Exhibit (OPEFE)

It is run by Frank Magallanes, who has worked with National Geographic in the past. He is also a GOD on the pfury forums!

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-08-20 04:54][/span]

Im diggin around for more accurate info, can i submit some profiles on the different species of piranha's?