Red bellied piranha?

Question

i have a 55 gallon tank, how many red bellied piranhas can i get in there? they're about a quarter - half dollar size, (at the moment). whats the best filter for this size of tank, live plants, and piranhas?

Answer 1

Red Bellied piranhas grow quite a bit. A former teacher of mine had the same sized tank, and it held 5 I believe. You want to give them enough space to roam freely. You don't need plants, but if you so choose to have them, I suggest you research native South American plants to see what might be suitable. You can get a filter at Petco or Petsmart or any other pet store. It should say on the filter if it fits large tanks like that.

Answer 2

Piranha are schooling fish and do better when kept in numbers greater than 5. An experienced piranha breeder once told me and some other pirahna keeping friends that they need to be kept in odd numbers. While I am unaware of any science to back it up, any time we had an even number, it was a short period of time until they made the number odd again.

I would say your tank can handle about 7 fish when they hit 6 or 7 inches, which will be rather quickly. They are rather shy and like places to hide and are very inactive when not feeding. Make sure hiding places have multple exits, they will corner and kill each other.

Good filtration is a must, as they leave lots of scraps in the take when they feed, particularly when small. I recommend a canister filter like a Fluval 403, which will allow you to clean it with out putting your hands in the tank. You will need a lond siphon tube for cleaning the gravel. Several of us had luck with keeping large bottom dwellers in the tank to clean up after them as long as the pirahna were well fed, get the bottom dweller while the little ones are small.

They like live plants, it gives them a hiding place.

Never forget that they are pirahna, you will find that they recognize you after a period of time and will not hide when you pass the tank. I had friends that had close calls when cleaning tanks because they thought the piranha recognized them. One friend got a slash on a finger by a passing fish while cleaning the tank. Another had a small piranha (quarter sized) that took a bite out of the tip of one of his fingers, lucky for him it was a small piranha. If it had been a 6 incher he would have lost a portion of his finger.

These are amazing fish, their immune systems are phenomenal, big wounds heal fast and without infection. The can be lightning fast when they want, which is terrifying when cleaning a tank.

There are several good books on piranha, I recommend getting one before you buy the fish, particularly if you have access to more than one species, as the max sizes and personalities differ.

Answer 3

From http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/5962/Piranhas_in_Aquariums.html-----

Tank Size:
Before buying Piranha consider the size of the tank you will need for your piranha, the bigger the tank the better. I would recommend only keeping 2 piranhas per 60gallon tank (depending on species), and at least 20gallons extra for each additional fish. It is possible to add more fish, but if you want your piranhas to live happy and show natural behavior, this is the best formula, in my experience. Do NOT get any kind of 'tall' tank or hexagon style tank for them.

Tank Furnishings:
When keeping Piranhas its a good idea to use some type of tank furnishings to make them feel secure in the aquarium. Probably the best of these would be plants (plastic or real), driftwood, small rocks, and gravel. They create a natural appearance and places for your Piranhas to hide when frightened.

Plants, real and plastic:
If you choose real plants the best kinds would be hardy low-light plants, such as hornwort, java moss/fern, etc. or some types of floating plants. If you choose plastic, you can use whatever types you prefer, since they are not live plants they don't require any care. Or use a combination of live and plastic plants.

Answer 4

My advice is to keep the number as high as you can. The more there are the less they will pick on each other. 55 gallons is pretty small for piranhas though. They grow to be about 12 inches. i would go about 5, maybe 6. You also want a very good filter on your tank, something ranging between 40-55 gal won't be good enough, I would look at something ranging between 75-100gals. Since they are carnivours, they have a lot of waste. You also need to look at what they are eating. The typical feeder fish (i.e. guppies, goldfish, etc) aren't that good for them, I would give those as treats and give them frozen as regular food.