Piranha mixing?

[allaboutthehoochies]

Helloooo,

My dad's currently got a pretty large tank in his office (not certain of the exact dimensions) which is going to waste. It's perfectly suited for Piranha in terms of both size and light distribution, however within the tank lives a rather massive (6-7 inches long) Pleco which is too large to move to my tank. I've read in other forums people making passing remarks about Plecos surviving with Piranha but obviously it is not something that I want to try without confirming that he won't get eaten! Does anyone have any idea about whether this would work, or have even tried it before?

Any feedback or advice would be much appreciated.

 

[chuckstrobeck]

Really it depends on the kind of piranha from my experience. I have seen red bellys living with plecos, but my black rhom was ripping my pleco to pieces until i moved him. So it depends on the kind of piranha.

 

[scubadude]

some years ago i tried introducing a pleco to an established red belly tank, the RBPs were well fed and he didn't make it through the night. they ate half of him. i have heard it is possible, but i would try introducing the piranha later. the pleco i put in there was longer than they were by at least an inch and a half. expensive late night snack for them. you can try it i guess, i'm not going to again, but if you make it work i would love to hear about it.

 

[Fuzz16]

you should reall try and find out tank size and/or dimensions for us.

you could always try something a bit more compatible with the pleco already there, too. there are plenty of fish that would work with a pleco that size.

 

[MissFishy]

If you like the look of piranha and the tank truly is big enough, you could look into Pacu. They are commonly mistaken for piranha's, minus the tendency to rip things to shreds in their tanks. They're also much more commonly seen in pet stores. I'm no expert on either piranha or pacu, so please do some more research of your own and let us know what you do!

 

[jobeak]

There is no guarantee that anything will survive with Piranha, and that includes the Piranha themselves. I have a pleco in the tank with my P's and I have had no problems so far. I am waiting for the day when he is eaten though. If you keep them well fed, they should'nt bother the pleco. Just provide plenty of hiding places for him. At the end of the day, Piranha are predatory fish and anything you add their tank, you run the risk of losing. Pacu are not exactly a good idea as they grow extremely large. Unless you have a humungus tank, I would skip adding Pacu. Plus the fact that they will eat you out of house and home. Hope this helps.