Red Belly Piranhas are commonly thought of by most people as aggressive monsters, and at the same time many piranha enthusiasts seem to underestimate their power and aggression.
Scientific Name – Pygocentrus nattereri
Other Names – Red Bellied Piranha, Red Breasted Piranha, the yellow form is also known as ‘Ternetzi’ Piranha.
Max Size – 12-15″ but they rarely pass 12″
Temperature – 75 to 81° F
pH – (6.5-7.2)
Water Type – Freshwater
Tank Level – all
Diet – mainly carnivorous, feed a varied diet of meat, fish, and processed fish foods
Temperament – semi-aggressive, considers dangerous to man
Breeding – breeding in the home aquarium is possible
Minimum Tank Size – 50US Gallons
Distribution – Central and Southern South America
Temperament – Best suited to large tanks and in numbers of 5 or more, they can sometimes get on with other fish, but more often than not any tankmates will be eaten sooner or later, they have been kept with other Pygocentrus species with reasonable success, but with piranhas their are no guarantees and they may even eat each other.
Red Belly Piranhas are commonly thought of by most people as aggressive monsters, and at the same time many piranha enthusiasts seem to underestimate their power and aggression.
as you can see in my pics here that I do have other fish cohabiting with my piranhas, this does not always work out as piranhas do eat live fish, but in some cases they will live alongside other fish in harmony.
Red Belly Piranhas are generally thought of as the most tolerant of all piranhas for cohabiting with other fish but that doesn’t mean they won’t eat tankmates.
When keeping this species it is important to set up the tank with room for them to swim in, and if possible some cover for them also, they also don’t like bright lights, their eyes cant take it so use a dimmer bulb, or dim a normal one.
Last update: 2006-02-06 10:40
Author: Innes