piranha

[bringthepain 39]

anyone ever owned any?

[staffs riffraff 1,068]

Yeah I got pair of adults in a 4 foot tank wanna buy them lol serious

[bringthepain 39]

lol what do you feed them and how much?

[staffs riffraff 1,068]

They very hardy fish to be honest I feed them sometimes every couple of days to once a week I give them any red meat, prawns bits of fish rabbit kidneys anything really

[Ratreeper 441]

yeah I used to have 8 in a 6 1/2 foot tank. They are interesting fish, but very shy so don't expect them to be swimming around attacking their shadow all the time. I would recommend feeding sprats/mussels and other fish for most of their diet, but don't feed them too often expecting them to put on a show all the time. But don't let them go hungry either or they will eat each other.

 

Good luck

[scothunter 12,609]

dont they live in brackish water?seen them in a few shops and the water was always that murky looking.way,and that was what i was told when i asked the guy.

[Millet 4,497]

I had them year's ago and they are proper mucky fooker's and it is hard work keeping the tank clean..and every now and again one of them would take a 10p size bite out of the other but it was mad how quick they heal up..

I used to feed them on any fresh meat..plucked sparrow's/mice/chicken but they where pretty keen on goldfish..the two i had where nervy as fook and if you went near the tank too quick they would swim the length of the tank at full speed and smash into the glass..so a strong tank is needed for the bigger ones..also forget trying to catch them in a fishing net..they just bite they way straight through the bottom..if i had to catch mine to clean the tank out i had to use a big plastic tub..

I must say they are immpresive to watch when feeding but most of the time they are just boring skittish fish.

[shroob 9]

I will echo the other comments here. Most people who buy them think they are the fierce, bad-ass killing machines that you see in films, but the reality is that they are often skittish, nervous and a pain to keep. There are also quite a few species of piranha, the common one being the red belly, these are often mistaken for pacus (a relative that's vegetarian and grows to massive proportions). Some piranhas are best keep in groups, while others (such as the rhom) are solo fish.

 

If you want a fish that attacks as a shoal, then I suggest you look at exodon paradoxus. These are small tetras that shoal better than piranhas and put on a great feeding display, swarming the food like hornets.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O7kGYlrjPE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31sXXllDa5E

 

 

What sort of fish are you after? What equipment do you have? What experience do you have?

[rob190364 2,594]

I've had coldwater fish since I was about 13 and what I would say to anyone who's thinking of getting any type of fish.....don't bother unless you're really into them, cleaning out the tank etc. is just a pain in the arse. People don't realise how long fish live for aswell I don't think, I had a ghost carp that lived til it was 21!

 

You'll get them, think they're cool, novelty factor will wear off and then they'll just do your head in cos the tank will need cleaning just when you can't be arsed to do it.

 

Sounds like I'm being negative but it's true.

[scothunter 12,609]

i had a jewel vision bow typed tank in my living room for years.cost an absoulete fortune when i first got it.55gallons it held huge f****r.like rob says they all look great and folk think that would look smart in my house,but the reality is.it can be costly and tme consuming keeping on top of it.got rid of it,and now i have a 60litre bio orb with wee neons and blue tetras and a cpl of rummy noses.its easy to keep clean and looks ok.

[rob190364 2,594]

i had a jewel vision bow typed tank in my living room for years.cost an absoulete fortune when i first got it.55gallons it held huge f****r.like rob says they all look great and folk think that would look smart in my house,but the reality is.it can be costly and tme consuming keeping on top of it.got rid of it,and now i have a 60litre bio orb with wee neons and blue tetras and a cpl of rummy noses.its easy to keep clean and looks ok.

mines's a jewel bow type tank aswell pal, don't think it's 55 gallons though, that's fookin huge!!! My fish have slowly died off, three of them popped their cloggs last week when the electric went off and I was away, I've only got one white goldfish in it now.......rumour has it he's thinking of emigrating to the nearby lake pretty soon

[Mrquinn 106]

Red bellies are timid and hide all the time and if fed often a boring fish to keep I used to feed mine a mouse very 10 days I kept English bread ones at first then imported some from peru carribas I think they was called still red bellies but silver and the red was a brighter colour they was a bit more aggressive but still quite timid also they messy and constant part water changes is nessasery there is lots of other just as aggressive fish out there wat don't hide and feedings good to watch like convict syklids or believe it or not perch and arrowarnas are good to have a good look about before u decide coz maintaining and buying fishtanks cost more than you think

[gnasher16 31,119]

[mines's a jewel bow type tank aswell pal, don't think it's 55 gallons though, that's fookin huge!!! My fish have slowly died off, three of them popped their cloggs last week when the electric went off and I was away, I've only got one white goldfish in it now.......rumour has it he's thinking of emigrating to the nearby lake pretty soon

 

Those Juwel vision tanks are still only 4 ft.....any of those 55 gallon tanks with a 24 inch height will be 4 ft

Never seen the attraction with Pirahna myself.....pretty boring fish with little colour and no way of making the tank into a piece of nature....its a bit like keeping a lion in a big cage in your garden just for the sake of saying you have a lion...your never going to see the animal at its best.

Personally i like a tank thats a living piece of natural beauty rather than " a pet "....but each to their own.

[shroob 9]

I'm sorry but 55 gallons is not big.... I had two 90 gallon tanks and considered them on the small side for what I would like.

 

With regards to the time/effort of fish tanks - they are considerably less maintenance than dogs. I did a 20% water change once a week, which is a doddle with a hose and you syphon it out. Took less than 30 minutes.

 

So what size tank do you have?

[rob190364 2,594]

[mines's a jewel bow type tank aswell pal, don't think it's 55 gallons though, that's fookin huge!!! My fish have slowly died off, three of them popped their cloggs last week when the electric went off and I was away, I've only got one white goldfish in it now.......rumour has it he's thinking of emigrating to the nearby lake pretty soon

 

Those Juwel vision tanks are still only 4 ft.....any of those 55 gallon tanks with a 24 inch height will be 4 ft

Never seen the attraction with Pirahna myself.....pretty boring fish with little colour and no way of making the tank into a piece of nature....its a bit like keeping a lion in a big cage in your garden just for the sake of saying you have a lion...your never going to see the animal at its best.

Personally i like a tank thats a living piece of natural beauty rather than " a pet "....but each to their own.

Oh right, maybe mine's 55 gallons aswell then? 55 gallons is over 250 litres isn't it...........seems a lot? dunno, maybe it is then.