takemates for red bellied piranha

[zane1]

I just moved my 3-1/2 inch red belly from a 10gal to a 55 gal tank. and i was wonderin since i have some extra room if there are any fish that could be compatable with him. I have heard oscars and jack dempsey's, but i am just unsure and would like some more input. please write any suggestions. thanks!

[lordroad]

Red belly pacus are known as tankbusters. Check out these profiles for more information:

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_pacu2.php

I'd stick with just one oscar in a 55. If you want to mix aggressive CA and SA cichlids, green terrors and jack dempseys have been known to work on some occasions. All is dependent on the fish. Usually it's best to pick one cichlid, stick a large plec in there, and enjoy getting close to your fish. These cichlids bond with their owner.

[Fruitbat]

Um....he's not talking about a Red Bellied Pacu....he's talking about a Red Bellied Piranha which is a completely different proposition. I've known people who have kept RBPs with larger fish for long periods of time with no problems....only to come home one day to find their other fish missing large sections of their body. In some cases, tankmates that are much smaller can also be safe in that the pirahna seems unwilling to stoop so low as to eat anything that tiny.

In my limited experience with piranhas (red-bellied) in the days before they were illegal here in Texas, I found that I couldn't keep anything else alive in the tank with them. They went through just about every other fish I tried, larger or smaller, including a rather hefty 'plecostomus' that dwarfed them. I figured its armor would protect it. Well....it protected the head area so the piranhas simply ate everything behind the head.

-Joe

[Sandtiger]

I agree with Fruitbat, pirhana's are species-only to the extreme.

[jessejamespdx]

I have 3 rb pacu's in with 4 rb piranha in my 125 and they are great together.
In fact the pacus are more aggressive than the pirnaha, eating 5-10 feeders instantly

[scubadude]

Ok jesse, how did you do it? I know they look very similar, but you had to have put them together when they were juvies....didn't you? I would not think of adding another RBP to my tank unless i got a tank that was 2X the one i have now. The only time i have heard of P's coexisting is in a tank bigger than my house! Very impressive to keep 2 species of such high aggression in the same tank!

[seastaar88]

at the aquarium i work at, we keep pirhana without any problems with BIG plecs and what i think are called lepporanidae (the black and yellow fish in the pic..i'm embarrassed to say i can't recall the name!).

[brit_s86]

I have a 140 gallon.It has two large oscars,and 2 largee african cichlids.we have 4 rb pirhanas(probably about 3 inches in size,give or take a little)a few days ago,we put them in with the oscars,and cichlids,because we dont have room for so many tanks.So far,they seem ok.one cichlid has a little nip outta his tail,but they have been together about 3-4 days.we havent noticed the pirhanas chasing the other fish,but there is also quite a size difference between all of them.as long as you keep them well fed,I dont think there should be any problem.

[scubadude]

I think my fish have learned that anything that hits the water is dinner.

Great pic seastar....What a great job you have! You must love it. Isn't it great to get up in the morning and look forward to getting to work? BTW what do you feed the RBP's at your work?

[brit_s86]

The four smaller pirhanas used to be in a smaller tank,we rarely fed them feeder fish.when they were really small,we fed blood worm,now we only feed them smelts.