red bellied piranha

[msdolittle]

Yeah......so I just rescued one. My friend is a realtor and went into one of her rentals that had been vacant for who knows how long. On the counter is this 10 gallon tank, no filter running, about 3 inches of filthy water and a fish. She had no clue what it was.....so she took hit home. She later id'd it as the title. Her husband said no freakin' way and I, the known animal rescuer, was called. I've never had a piranha....but I was sure pumped to take it!! I've been researching and what not, trying to learn about this poor little creature who was starved for who knows how long, left to die.

So, any real life tips for me? Oh........my kid named it Spongebob........ It's about 2.5 inches long right now and his fins are red (I red that juveniles don't have the red coloring and as they age, they lose their red). I read about diet and water parameters. I'm going to get him a bigger tank this weekend.

[fishbguy]

Do you have a picture? Small silver dollars also look ALOT like piranhas.

Get a really big tank, or try to take it to the lfs. They get around 12 inches in length, and do best in large shoals.

Again, REALLY big tank. The SMALLEST I would suggest is a 75, and even that is on the small size.

[msdolittle]

No, I don't have a pic......but I can put one up tomorrow. I'm certain he's a RBP. I've looked all over at pics and he's dead on. I'm going to search craigslist for a tank........hopefully I can get him one this weekend, if not, two weeks at the most. I'd like to keep him. If it seems like an endeavor that I can't afford, then yeah, I'll take him to a LFS.

What if he's been solo his whole life? Would he take to other piranhas? I'd hate to put more with him and have them all kill each other......

[lohachata]

well..piranhas are pretty fast growers.they can get up to 15+ inches in length.they will keep the red.as they mature,their body gets darker until it is almost black with a purplish hue and gold and silver flecks almost like a metalflake paint job.about 2 1/2 months ago my daughters friend ask me to watch his for a couple of weeks till he moved.at that time they wer less than 2 inches long.so i put them in a 20 long and fed them Plecocaine.they are now over 4 inches long..i think he is going to have to pay me to get them back..but he had better hurry because i need the tank space.

[msdolittle]

LOL!! Well, I'm pretty excited about this actually. I'm hoping that I can get him all set up and keep him so that he's happy and healthy...... I guess if he's only 2.5ish inches he must not be too old? Or could his growth just have been stunted from starvation?

[COM]

You need a big tank. Most likely you won't be able to keep them with any other species. You could try to get a few more piranhas but you may have difficulty finding them. They are banned from sale in many states. I don't know about Ohio. I think they are legal in Pennsylvania.

[gil_ong]

roadtrip!!

[COM]

It would probably be illegal to transport them across state lines if they are banned... but the chances of getting caught are slim to none.

[gil_ong]

well, that's kinda open to debate without actually knowing what the law says. you might very well be correct, COM. but there might also be just a restriction on sale and not actually possession (and import?).

but yeah, msdolittle. find out what OH says about this before taking it any further. if it turns out that you cannot keep the fish, is there an agency to which you can it over? but then that begs the question; what will they do with the fish?

[Scuba Kid]

Ohio does not prohibit keeping pirahna. If you're looking for more, you really shouldn't have much trouble in finding them. Many lfs can probably order them for you, just ask.

Check out the seller Massive Aggression through www.aquatic-terrors.com
I know the owner, Nate. He's a pretty cool guy and specializes in rare aggressive freshwater fish, mostly from South America. He shouldn't have trouble getting you your pirahnas and he does ship. He's been a bit busy, but send him a message if you're interested and he'll take care of you.

[lohachata]

ohio allows piranhas.i live in cleveland and have plenty of access to them..even some of the harder to find species.if somebody asks me for them i go to my local wholesaler and get them..but they still aren't as cheap as they used to be.

[msdolittle]

Sorry it's taken so long to get back here......

Yeah, the day I got him I looked to see if he was illegal or banned and I learned that he is not. I also know of a few lfs that sell piranha. I have a friend that is supposed to hook me up with a 150 gallon.....we just haven't gotten together on it yet. I'd like to get this thing soon but if not I have to get on getting him a new tank. This dude eats like a linebacker and he's already grown quite a bit since I got him. He must have been nearly starved half to death. He's like a dog I swear! He follows me around the tank begging for food when he's hungry.....he's such a neat little creature!

gil_ong, it's not a super long road trip!!! I'm down!

[msdolittle]

Thanks Scuba Kid....I'd probably do best to use a seller/breeder than my lfs.........they don't know much about fish anyway, let alone a fish like this I suspect.