Oscars and Piranhas

EmtGuy

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
20
0
0
#1
Can Oscars and piranhas live with each other without killing each other?? I'm shooting for a 45-55 gallon range for the tank.
 

EmtGuy

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
20
0
0
#2
I bought a 48 gallon tank today. Petco was gonna charge me $200+ for a stand. I was like No Way! I figure I can find a low table or something along those lines.
 

A

Atlantic Fish

Guest
#3
Id be very carefull with what you put your tank on.. 48g is a lot of weight! Make sure what ever you coose is strong enough to handle A LOT of weight or you will have a hell of a lot of water to soak up! Have you looked around for a cheaper tank stand?
Johnmac :)
 

Oscardude

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
41
0
0
#4
I wouldn't do that.  Its hard to believe how much 50 gallons of water and rocks weigh.  you can get an iron stand for like a 100 bucks.  or somewhere in that range.  If you go with a table it needs to be really strong or you'll be cleaning up alot of broken glass and water.
 

EmtGuy

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
20
0
0
#5
My tank is the kind that bows out in front, so I think I'm gonna have to buy the one that Petco sells. I've also decided that I'm gonna take both of my piranhas back. I'm living in an apartment, and will be moving into a house in about a year. Thats also when I'll have two very dangerous fish to try to move along with the tank. I'm gonna buy regular fish, and put plants in the tank and make it all pretty. I still can't wait to raise the piranhas!!
 

colesea

Superstar Fish
Oct 22, 2002
1,612
0
0
NY USA
#6
Petco doesn't sell piranha so far as I know. At least, the NY stores don't because they have to have a permit to, and Petco is too cheap to spring for a permit for every store. Your Petco sells piranha? You sure they're piranha and not mismarked pacu?

Yeah, the prices at Petco are really jacked up and sometimes it's not even worth paying for their fish either. $1.79 for -a- neon that I could get six for a dollar at the LFS.  Petco's best fish bargains is when they have their 99 cent fish sales, and you have the "buy one get one free, limit 3 fish" coupons that AG puts on the back of their stuff, and your PALS card, then you can get a good bargain on fish like gourmis and rainbows. AG has some great Petco coupons like 50 cents off next AG purchase, or 20% of air-line stuff. Just don't forget your PALS card.

They also occasionally do 10% off stand sales. Still, 10% ain't a whole lot, especially for $200 dollar some odd stand.
~~Colesea
 

EmtGuy

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
20
0
0
#7
i bought red belly piranhas for 6.00 each. I'm taking em back tonight, and I'm gonna just have regular fish and plants. I'm gonna wait until I get a house, so I can put the piranhas in a huge tank.
*thumbsupsmiley*
 

colesea

Superstar Fish
Oct 22, 2002
1,612
0
0
NY USA
#8
Hmm...I guess they do let the stores in legal states sell them then. Darn, and to think of all the sales I lost because I can't sell pirahna in NY.

Then again, if they were legal, they'd probably loose their "macho" appeal. So many guys think they are hot stuff when they walk into the store and I ask "so, what type of fish are you feeding?" while scooping feeders, and they look all fugitive and whisper "pirhna" like the DEC is going to jump out of the koi tank to arrest them. Then they shrug their black leather clad shoulders and start strutting around the store like they've impressed me or something. *snort* Pirhna are not illegal to -own- in NY, just illegal to sell without a permit.

*double snicker* men and aquariums, they're soo funny. One of my friends put it best. "The only reason men like big fish is the same reason they like big cars...they're compensating for something."

I'm glad you decided to do little fish instead. You'll be charmed and probably never think pirhna again.
~~Colesea *chortal*
 

EmtGuy

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
20
0
0
#9
yeah. I just wanted a piranha because it would be cool to tell people that I've got one. Anyway, I want to growe live plants in my tank so I bought bulbs from wal-mart. How deep should my gravel be?
 

dattack

Large Fish
Oct 22, 2002
982
0
0
#10
Just get a bala shark and tell your friend that you own a shark.  Or get a pacu and tell them that you have a piranha.  It's sometimes hard to tell the difference.
*crazysmiley*
 

EmtGuy

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
20
0
0
#11
I had a few balas once. *twirlysmiley* Then they all died when I changed out my water. :-/ Then I bought a few more. Then they all died. :'(
 

colesea

Superstar Fish
Oct 22, 2002
1,612
0
0
NY USA
#12
Don't put the pacu in with your plants, unless your plants are in real need of a trimming<G>.

The gravel should be about an inch deep. I've had those bulbs grow in my tanks at work in that much. They need a really fine gravel though, they can't root well in big stuff.
~~Colesea
 

Oscardude

Small Fish
Oct 22, 2002
41
0
0
#14
Oscars and Piranhas naturally know how to react to each other.  Thats what that eye that most SA cichlids  have on there tail is to help keep piranha's from hittling there head.
I've had several kinds of cichlids with piranha's and oscars seem to do the best.   Mine rarely ever have problems with each other.
 

riddlephil

Medium Fish
Oct 22, 2002
67
0
0
#15
dont buy piranhas unless u want to spend lots on food and u dont want to have anything else in the tank.  Maybe a bucktoothed tetra but thats about it.  I have two red bellies and they eat everything(crayfish,plecos) just about anything they can catch.  They are a boring fish unless they are eating.
 

Apr 23, 2009
3
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#16
I've got 9 1" RB piranha, 2" GAE, 4" GAE, and 1 2.5" cichlid, and 1 3" plecos. With 5 semi tal plants 2 wood caves a plastic castle wall and 6 rocks (3 stacked to build another cave) everyone seems to be doing fine. The smale algae eater is all over the tank eating stuff and the large one stays in a cave all day. The cichlid doesn't bother anyone, stays in his cave, the piranhas school on one end of the tank and I never know where my plecos is. Will need to upgrade tank in 3 months deffinately.