starting to set up a piranha tank...
- Thread starter hughjazz
- Start date
first you want to have a big enough tank. i have 2 in a 55 gal and i would like to have a 100 gal. i started with 3 fish but that got crowded and when i lost 1 the other 2 seemed a lot more comfortable. they will need cover and places to hide for security. artifical plants work ok but are eventually destroyed. caves or shelves work better and they dont try to tear them up. these are very jumpy fish and need to be approached slowly as they are very prone to fright responses. these fright responses are the most dangerous part about keeping these fish. you can get bit or get your tank busted. try to pick a low traffic area for the tank. i have a small house and didn't have much choice but to put the tank right next to the sofa. (exciting if you get up suddenly) try to pick a spot out of the way with an outlet near by. if you plan to keep multiple fish you will definatly need a big tank i estimate that my 55 weighs about 500lbs. setting up next to an exterior wall should be ok as it has support from the foundation. interior walls may not have any support from the ground. before you put water in it you will wnat to crawl under the house and put braces up underneath the tank. braces cost about $15 a piece and it's better to be safe than sorry when you are dealing with 55+ gal of water. if you are getting them as juvies there is a couple of things you need to know.
first, in the wild their primary food source as juvies is each other. mostly fin predatation. they will bite eachother from time to time. to hinder this behavior give them plenty of cover so they can hide from each other, keep melafix handy, and if you have the $$ you might get a 10gal to use as a "hospital" in case one is injured badly. don't give them red meat untill they are adults, they have a real tough time digesting it as juvies. if you are going to give them feeders dont just give them to them right away, you want to keep them for at least 2 days to check for disease/parasites. this can be time consuming and expensive if you get a tainted batch of fish. your safest bet is frozen fish from the supermarket.
well thats all i can think of right off the top of my head. if you have any other ??? let me know. oh yeah have fun cleaning the tank when they are adults. Heh....heh...heh...
first, in the wild their primary food source as juvies is each other. mostly fin predatation. they will bite eachother from time to time. to hinder this behavior give them plenty of cover so they can hide from each other, keep melafix handy, and if you have the $$ you might get a 10gal to use as a "hospital" in case one is injured badly. don't give them red meat untill they are adults, they have a real tough time digesting it as juvies. if you are going to give them feeders dont just give them to them right away, you want to keep them for at least 2 days to check for disease/parasites. this can be time consuming and expensive if you get a tainted batch of fish. your safest bet is frozen fish from the supermarket.
well thats all i can think of right off the top of my head. if you have any other ??? let me know. oh yeah have fun cleaning the tank when they are adults. Heh....heh...heh...
my two cents, hope ya like em
Scubadude pretty much covered it all, the only things I would add would be:
55 gallon would be the bare minimum, I would advise bigger, and also for weight, 1 gallon equals about 10 pounds. so a 55 gallon full would be close to 550 pounds, plus gravel, rocks, light, filter(full of water a large filter can be quite heavy in it's own). be sure to get a strong stand, I have a 75 gallon that I estimate weights close to 1000 pounds.
Scubadude pretty much covered it all, the only things I would add would be:
55 gallon would be the bare minimum, I would advise bigger, and also for weight, 1 gallon equals about 10 pounds. so a 55 gallon full would be close to 550 pounds, plus gravel, rocks, light, filter(full of water a large filter can be quite heavy in it's own). be sure to get a strong stand, I have a 75 gallon that I estimate weights close to 1000 pounds.
