Red Bellied Piranha. . .

[PEVINE]

Scientific Name: Serrasalmus nattereri
Family: Serrasalmidae
Origin: Gyuana
Adult Size: 11 inches/28 cm
Social: Aggressive, keep alone or in schools
Lifespan: 10 years
Tank Level: Mid dweller
Minimum Tank Size: 20 gallon
Diet: Carnivore, prefers live foods
Breeding: Egglayer
Care: Difficult
pH: 5.5 - 7.5
Hardness: up to 20 dGH
Temperature: 73-81 F (23-27 C)

if i were to get a school of Red Bellied Piranhas, how many should i keep in a 55 gallon tank?
they say a 20 gallon tank is miimum but is that true, they seem they should have a bigger tank i will house them in a 55 thats if i decide to get them.

what do they mean difficult to care for? what are some specifacitions?



i was just wondering, i may get Red Bellied Piranhas for my 55 gallon and i may get smaller fish. i am not sure yet weather i want a few larger fish or alot of smaller fish. please help any info on Red Bellied Piranhas will help me out a little. thank you

[Scuba Kid]

Let me ask you a question...
do you think an 11 inch fish would be happy in a 20 gallon tank?

[PEVINE]

exactly what i was thinking, but i was just looking up info on them and i saw that. . . . . . but a 55 gallon would be ok if i decided to get one - 3 maby 4 i dont know or how many i could afford or how many could fit in there ok. and if my water was ok and everything. . . . .. . . . .

[Scuba Kid]

IMO, I don't think a 55 is far big enough for a small school of full grown red bellies. A 125 is probably the minimum I would suggest.

[FishLuver101]

I agree 125 gallons at the minimum, my relative has the same thing, she has a school of piranhas'. They fit fine.

[PEVINE]

ugh, what kind of larger fish could you put in a 55 gallon? i am not sure i want large fish but i think it may be cooler then alot of litter ones. . . . . sugestions are great! =]

[Damon]

This is the topic of debate between many people I know.....
55 is the most common "large" aquarium sold in the U.S. today.
The major problem with it is it is not very wide. This limits the type of fish you can comfortably put in it. (Probably to about 7-8 inches).

It is best suited for a pair of said fish or maybe a small group of 4-5 inch fish or schooling type small fish such as most tetras, barbs, rainbows and whatnot.

I have kept Brichardis in a 55 as well as shellies. You could keep small africans in there like pea****************s. Its best to find fish you like and search for their requirements to see if you can properly take care of them in a 55.

[goodie]

A lot of smaller fish will be MUCH easier to take care of than one large fish. Predatory fish are messy eaters and water quality declines quickly. H2O changes are always important, but ever more so with large fish that are confined to a small tank.

Agree with the other posts about RBP in a 55gal. It's just to small, a 125 is decent. They can be very skittish and can knock the top off the tank. A friend had a trio in a 125 that grew to 8 inches (and thick too!) right at a years time.

To add to Damon's post about the 55 width, if you can go up to a 75 gal for the extra depth DO IT. To me a 55gal is kinda deceptive. It looks big, but you really can't do as much as you think you can with it. A 75 is much more versatile.

I think that I've read that you have a 55 already, just adding my thoughts to the subject.

[PEVINE]

Albino Festivum
Angelfish - Marble
Altum Angelfish
Bala Shark
Black Phantom Tetra
Blue Gourami
Bolivian Ram
Cardinal Tetra
Common Hatchet fish
Dwarf Gourami
Hog-Nosed Brochis
Lemon Tetra
Neon Rainbow fish
Powder Blue Gourami
Red Hook Silver Dollar
Rosy Barb
Ruby Shark
Severum Silver Dollar
Upside Down Catfish
White Skirt Tetra


i have looked into tropical fish that are ok togher. thats what i got. . . . those all said, friendly/semi agressive. . . . . . . . . obvi i wouldnt get all of them but what redcomations do you guys/girls have?

[guppyart]

personally I would go with 4 bolivian rams, and a nice size school of cardinals and then plant the tank really well.
Its all about personal taste really, for me I like cardinals and bolivians, the next person its angels,
what you need to do is look at them all and then decide what you might want and the narrow down that list. To just a few.
and from there pick what you think you want in the tank, that helped me a lot when I first started.

[goodie]

Just put the tiger barbs from your 10 gal into the 55. Ther're gonna need it anyway.

[Fishfirst]

Juvi RBP's will be fine for about 9 months in a 55 gallon... by that time they should be 5-6 inches and probably should be removed.

[PEVINE]

i decided on tropical cumity tank. . . . i wanted oscars, they need bigger then a 55g. then rbp's they need bigger, so i went with cominity

[anasfire23]

I like the idea of keeping a few schools of different Tetras in a 55ga. It would be large enough for them to school nicely and pretty to watch. I'm glad you are looking forward to your 55ga that's gonna be up and running on the 6th, FYI that's also my birthday!!! hehe. Post some pics when it is all set up.

[PEVINE]

well happy birthday alil early ( and i have bio spria and now i just need a few fosh b4 adding it ) but i deffently will get some pics shortly =]

[Gourami Swami]

Is your signature updated?

[PEVINE]

not really, well no why? i got banned for a week for " post abuse, and spam " what ever that is. . . . well i kno what it is but i would like to know were i did that. but any way alot got updated in that span of time. . . so not it isnt updated.