Do Vegetarian Piranhas Exist?

Question

i would like to find out if there is such a thing as a vegetarian Piranha i have heard that they may exist but am not sure and would like to know for certain, if they do exist any information on them would be nice.

Answer 1

A well-known hymn says that the Lord God made ‘All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small …’ but could this possibly include the fearsome piranha? Dwelling in South American river systems,1 this fish is renowned for its razor-sharp teeth and its capacity to skeletonize within minutes any hapless animal that might fall into the water.

One species of piranha, Pygocentrus cariba,2 is notorious for being in schools of 30 or more, waiting for baby birds to fall out of nests overhanging the water. Evolutionists would assert that the ‘terrible piranhas’ bear witness to a world of ‘nature red in tooth and claw’, the result of long periods of evolution, with death and struggle acting to remove the weak and preserve the strong. How can the piranha’s gruesome behaviour be consistent with the Bible’s claim of a ‘very good’ world (Genesis 1:21,31), created by a God of love?

The answer is that today’s feared piranha and its behaviour was not a part of the ‘very good’ world that God originally made. It is living in a world that God made but has changed because of man’s Fall into sin. Through Adam’s sin, death, the ‘last enemy’ (1 Cor. 15:26)3 entered the world (Romans 5:12), and carnivory (meat-eating) by animals, fish and birds did not come about until after the Fall (Genesis 1:30).

For any particular carnivore, it is difficult to be certain whether its post-Fall features were (re)designed to cope in this fallen environment, or whether it just happened to adopt a different way of life — for example, in vampire bats, sharp teeth possibly once used for puncturing fruit could later be used to draw blood.4,5


The piranha's vegetarian relatives, known as pacus.
However, there is evidence that the ancestors of the piranha were once plant-eaters. Many species of South American pacu fish, identified by taxonomists as being ‘very closely related’ to piranhas, use their teeth and strong jaws to eat aquatic plants, and fruit that falls from overhanging trees. How closely related to piranhas are these herbivorous (plant-eating) species? Though some ichthyologists (scientists who study fish) in the past tried to distinguish between carnivorous piranhas and their vegetarian cousins on the basis of appearance, even experts found it hard to determine whether a specimen was a ‘piranha’ or ‘pacu’, and fish were frequently misidentified.6

The blurring between piranhas and pacus also extends to their diet. Piranhas, though primarily carnivorous, are known to eat vegetable matter as a component of their diet, and as at least one observer has noted, are probably more accurately described as ‘omnivorous opportunists’ rather than carnivores.1 I.e. they will eat ‘whatever comes along’. Their food varies according to season, food availability and age (young piranhas mainly eat microscopic plants and animals, and later, insects). Pacus, too, though mostly vegetarian, will eat meat rather than starve (though not known to nip off flesh from living animals) — thus explaining why anglers reel in pacu from time to time.7,8

On the basis of the similarities of all pacus and piranhas, creationist biologists would have presumed that they probably descended from the same created fish ‘kind’ (Genesis 1:20–22). Recent DNA analysis is consistent with this, in showing that there is no clear genetic difference between carnivorous and vegetarian species9 — with some species even merging, to the surprise of experts.10 As one authority says, ‘There is evidence that some “pacus” are more closely related to piranhas than other “pacus”, i.e. that some pacus share a more recent common ancestor with piranhas than with the other pacus.’ 10

So why did some of this kind (piranhas) become carnivorous while others (pacus) remained vegetarian? Possibly it came about like this: as fish populations increased in the South American river systems, there would have been increasing pressure on traditional food sources (aquatic vegetation and fallen fruit). Given the natural variation within a kind due to normal genetic processes, one might expect variability in tooth structure.

Are the vegetarian pacu’s teeth different from the carnivorous piranha’s teeth? One report says that the plant-eating pacus have a double row of teeth10 — and pacus are clearly well-equipped for their vegetarian diet. By contrast, the carnivorous piranhas are reported to have only a single row of teeth (possibly loss of information by mutation?),11 but each upper and lower tooth interlocks in such a way that piranha teeth and jaws have been likened in strength and effectiveness (not size) to ‘a bear trap, but one with teeth so sharpened on the edges, and the spring so strong, that they would clip off the bear’s foot instead of merely holding it.’ 12 (Piranha teeth are so sharp, they are used as razors by the Tucuna Indians of South America.)1

Interestingly, the pacu species which is the most piranha-like in appearance, Pygocentrus denticulata13 (which lives on a diet of plant seeds), does not have the piranha’s razor sharp teeth but instead has rounded notched teeth ideal for shearing the husks off seeds.12

One can imagine a scenario where, with increasing competition for food, hungry fish, already endowed with piranha-like teeth, would have learned to put them to use in biting the flesh from carcasses of drowned animals or dead fish. Also, if a genetic copying mistake (mutation) caused some of the fish to lose one row of teeth, they would be less able to survive on plants, so would be forced to eat meat. This is not evolution, as it involves a downhill process, a loss of information. Once having learnt to scavenge carcasses, the classic piranha feeding behaviour could have followed soon after. One researcher studying piranha teeth commented, ‘The teeth are not made to lacerate, crush, tear, or even used to hold on to prey fish. They are meant to clip off small pieces of flesh or fins.’ 12 Piranhas apparently do not habitually eat whole fish but generally feed on small pieces of fins and flesh, ‘thus leaving a ready food supply …’ .2

This possible scenario for piranhas has a modern equivalent in the so-called ‘Vampire Finches’ of the Galápagos Islands. In the face of increasing competition between finches for traditional vegetarian foods, some have recently been filmed raiding the eggs and sucking the blood of nesting booby birds.14,15 The transition from herbivory to carnivory, seen in the context of God’s Word, makes sense, gruesome though it is. The created animals, birds and creatures of the sea were to multiply and fill all the earth, which after Adam’s sin became a corrupted world of death, pain and suffering.

Thankfully though, there is a Redeemer, in whom we place our hope ‘that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God’ (Romans 8:19–21).

Answer 2

If you are looking for a true Piranha, then they are not by nature vegetarian. However this doesn't mean they need to eat goldfish (what many people think are the best thing for them). Fact is, feeder goldfish are one of the worst foods you can give your fish.

Most piranha will live perfectly fine on prepaired foods (flake, freeze dried) and a little frozen food every now and then. This will make them helthier and live longer.

Now if you are looking for a vegetarian fish that looks like a piranha, most like what you heard of was a red belly pacu (which early in life, will look dead on like a red belly piranha to the unknowing) however they get too HUGE for most aquarists. These are generally public aquarium only fish.

However, your best bets would be a silver dollar. Looks similar to a piranha, vegetarian, and doesn't get overly huge. They only need a 55 gallon aquarium.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The Piranhas that you are referring to are related to the flesh eaters. The vegetable and fruit piranhas are called---Spotted Metynis/Metynis Maculatus [kner]. They are moderately peaceful but should be kept with fish of the same size. Feed them with live food mixed with vegetables and they could grow up to 8 inches. Their colour is yellowish green . Their back is darker than the rest of the body and the ventral side of the fish is silvery. The scales are extremely small for such a large fish.

Answer 4

in all actuallity they do exist the mean ones are the red belly, there are also ones that just eat nuts. the best way is to ask and find out first if you can have one, because getting the wrong one can be illegal first and for most. second if you have any cats or something like that they might get in and well thats that.
do the research first like you are ask a pet shop manager or find the city ordernense to see what you can have. once you find out what you can do take care of the pet and have fun. personally i would go with the nut eater a little easier to deal with.

Answer 5

Along with the vegetarian Great White Sharks and Peter Pan off in Never-Never Land

Answer 6

OH MY GOD, they do exist. Vegetarian Piranhas EXIST, trust me. They eat green veg. esp. They eay all sorts of fruit. The black piranha is a veg. eater the red belly is a meat eater. There are more species of meat eater piranhas than veggie ones.

Answer 7

sadly there is nosuch thing as a vegitarian piranha how ever the red bellyed pacu does resemble a piranha teeth included but they are herbavores and will eat tropical fish flakes for more info try looking at www.liveaquaria.com they have lots of info on different fish and you can even order fish from there

Answer 8

yea. no true piranhas are veggie eaters although i had three red bellies that ate high protein dog food for a year.(i was out of work n broke) an their still going strong to day .i now have a job n all they eat are freeze dried krill.

Answer 9

Yes and no... there are very close relatives of the pirahna such as pacu that are vegetarian and often sold in shops as vegetarian pirahna. There are also some species of pirahna that are omnivores and do eat vegetable matter.

MM

Answer 10

i agree with majicman, the pacu used to be called a fruit eating piranha, the grow huge the latin name used to be collesoma,does the wimple piranha not eat veg??? maybe quite difficult to obtain not to mention expensive.

Answer 11

Pacu Piranha's are vegitarian.