# Piranhas and Mbunas Good Idea??



## YeLLowLab60 (May 19, 2008)

I have a neighbor that is in the hobby and it was to my surprise because he's always saying how much of nerd I am for owning some, but anyways he has an 180gal tank but it bothered me to see that he had stocked about 3 medium sized Piranhas along with assorted rather highly aggressive Mbunas. I know compared amongst each other and community they pretty hold their own if not the whole tank but is this even safe for the Mbuna?? I wanted to find out before i try to persuade him otherwise so please all opinions, experience, and suggestions are highly welcomed. It's just that the whole idea didn't sit well with me so i had to ask, Thanks.


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## gaqua (Apr 11, 2008)

Are you sure they're Piranha and not Pacu?

Piranha and mbuna are not a good mix, in my opinion. Those things get huge and mbuna would be a snack for them at some point.


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## Joea (May 25, 2004)

For a myriad of reasons, piranha and mbuna should not be kept together.


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## soupy1977 (May 25, 2007)

I would never have that mixture. There are to many reasons to list!!!


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## cichlids _killer (Apr 13, 2008)

piranha and mbuna is " good luck with that " not a good idea :dancing: :dancing: :dancing:


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## grafxalien (Mar 26, 2008)

i keep piranhas and mbunas, but the closest they will ever get to each other is the 2 feet between their tanks


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## myselfdotcom (Sep 19, 2006)

you guys should be a screenwriter...we need more creative thinking in those **** reality show 

how the heck you come up with that mix? Lol


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## why_spyder (Mar 2, 2006)

gaqua said:


> Those things get huge and mbuna would be a snack for them at some point.


I had been thinking about this statement and I had wondered this before: would the piranha even have a chance to get big before the mbuna had bullied them to death? :wink:

I've seen my mbuna at work on non-cichlids in the past - its not a pretty sight.


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## gbleeker (Jul 31, 2007)

I think the answer should be based on this question:

Would you get in a tank with piranhas? If not, then I doubt Mbuna would like it much.


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## zazz (Apr 5, 2008)

for arguments sake somone should drop equal numbers in a tank ....and report back in the morning. :wink:


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## Gibbs (Apr 21, 2008)

gbleeker said:


> Would you get in a tank with piranhas? If not, then I doubt Mbuna would like it much.


LOL :lol:



> for arguments sake somone should drop equal numbers in a tank ....and report back in the morning.


I'm gonna save my money but i got $20 bucks on the Piranha :lol:


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## thinking_fish (Aug 13, 2007)

Well it depends a equal sized cichlid would torment piranha IMO
I never found piranhas to be the savage beast they are lead on to be more like shy/skittish IMO . Some Rhoms get pretty nasty but I still dont think they would hold up in a tank with a large Dovii or red devil that think the tank belongs to them.


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## Regulatorocks (May 10, 2007)

one piranha by itself would probably have a hard time against a fully grown male Crabo or SA/CA.

but piranhas in numbers are a much more serious threat.


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## Hawks (Feb 7, 2008)

There is no way a cichlid (Red Devil, Butterkofferi or whatever) would be able to handle an aggressive piranha like an Elongatus or Altuvei. Most piranhas sold in fish stores are the Red Bellied which are one of the least aggressive and boring type of piranha.


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## Hawks (Feb 7, 2008)

Check out these pictures of the record piranha-




























wouldn't want to swim in that water!


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## cichlids _killer (Apr 13, 2008)

Hawks said:


> Check out these pictures of the record piranha-
> 
> 
> 
> ...


the last pic look like cousin of shark :lol:


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## Jonesboy75 (May 11, 2007)

No piranha species could handle any of the more aggressive mbuna one-on-one. Youtube is full of videos showing piranha and CAs going up against one another. The CAs hold their own pretty well. Considering that CAs usually fight by locking lips (not good in a fight with a piranha) whereas mbuna use their speed to torment and harass their opponents into submission (hitting their opponents' sides, tails, etc.), the piranha's chance of winning a fair fight is pretty small. I'm open to changing my mind if a piranha accolyte can show evidence of piranha superiority but until then I'll continue to consider the piranha the superior predator and the mbuna the superior fighter.


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## convictkid (Jul 28, 2004)

Thats not a piranha thats a tiger fish.


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## 96firebird (Apr 5, 2008)

gotta love snopes
http://www.snopes.com/photos/hunting/piranha.asp


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