# Piranha



## jjmirks (Feb 9, 2009)

hello everyone, just wanted to know how many of you keep piranha


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

haha i wouldnt mind keeping them but there illegal in California but it wouldnt be hard for me to get some lol know some people who could probably get them but i dont know if they can get the ones i want i want BLACK piranhas haha


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## jjmirks (Feb 9, 2009)

haha, nice nice, black is the most violent! i found one at my LFS for $99
i just bought a red piranha. here in the cold cold north they are legal!


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## apistomaster (Jun 22, 2006)

jjmirks said:


> hello everyone, just wanted to know how many of you keep piranha


You need to research the species of Piranha you wish to keep.
Many are loners and others are best kept in groups.
Black Piranha should be alone while Red Breasted Piranhas do best in schools of 10 or more. I would allow at least 15 gal per Red Breasted Piranhas kept in groups. They become extremely nervous and shy when kept singly and 2 or 3 will usually end up being just one.

There are many smaller Piranha species that are fin and scale eaters and should be kept singly along with some fated prey fish.

I have kept an 11 inch Black Piranha, a 10 inch Pygocentrus piraya and many Red Breasted(P. nattereri) over the years.

I have also kept S. hollandi, Catoprion mento, Wimple Piranha and Pygopristis denticulata, all of these fairly small scale and fin eating species.

That was before my state banned Piranhas.
The owner of a LFS(in Idaho) kept a group of 10 adult P. nattereri, 8 to 10 inches long which regularly bred in their display tank. He had little tank raised specimens for sale for $4.00 until the sale of Piranhas was banned. He recently replaced his aging breeders with some he raised. The breeding fish were almost 15 years old before they were replaced.
Piranha keeping represent a long term commitment by their owner.
Here is a good web site full of info about identification and maintenance of Piranha.
http://www.piranha-info.com/default.php ... n&id=index


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## esob0i (Oct 5, 2008)

apistomaster said:


> jjmirks said:
> 
> 
> > hello everyone, just wanted to know how many of you keep piranha
> ...


did you get your black piranha when it was big already or small?


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## JWerner2 (Jul 7, 2008)

apistomaster said:


> jjmirks said:
> 
> 
> > hello everyone, just wanted to know how many of you keep piranha
> ...


Good info. 15 gallons per fish is a lot. Dont forget they like to shred things apart which fouls the water so volume is something that you must keep in mind and something like red belly's that need to be kept in schools tends to be a problem.

I dont keep Piranha, the reds are punks and not that active at all when kept in small groups or as one. Even in the wild any that become loners for any reason are easily out done. This leads to them being over rated as pets in my opinion.


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## apistomaster (Jun 22, 2006)

I bought the Black Piranha already at 11 inches from the owner of a fish shop to use as a display fish in my old fish shop. That was 40 years ago. Same thing with regard to the P. piraya.

The other species I kept ran from 1 inch, 6 week old P. nattereri to 2 to 4 inches for the other Piranha species I have kept.
Back then, I could buy 1 inch P. nattereri for about $0.50 each in 100 lots.
The other less common species generally were about $10.00 each, my wholesale price.
Many of these species now sell or $75 to $175 each, retail but P. natterei juveniles are still available for bargain prices since they are not very difficult to breed and are very easy to raise.

Keep 10-12 Pygocentrus nattereri in a 240 gal tank with strong currents, very clean water, plenty of cover and within about 5 years they should begin spawning almost every month. They produce over 1000 eggs per spawn if the breeders are over 8 inches. They are being bred commercially in SE Asia and incidentally around the world.


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## jjmirks (Feb 9, 2009)

wow, they were quite cheap back then!

my red piranha is sometimes very inactive, and sometimes very very active, and at night he swims in circles...


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## Scooby01 (Apr 1, 2009)

I used to keep Piranha's but then found cichlids


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## getwithit (Jan 13, 2008)

yeah i had a tank with 8 of them.....they are quite boring and inactive like a fat lazy house cat...i added a few crayfish for some "color" the cray fish were whoopin them i had to save a piranha or 2 from their claws befor i got rid of them. to sum it up BORRRRRING!!!! but if you do get them they LOVE beefheart


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