Red Piranha

Red Piranha is amongst the most violent freshwater fish on the planet. Its other common name is red bellied Piranha. It can grow up to 30 cm or 12 inches. Its belly has a red tinge when it grows completely, though young ones have silver color with darker spots. Its estimated life span is 8-10 years. If you are looking forward to have Red Piranha as your pet, go through the following account.

Geographical distribution

Red Piranha is Native to the Amazon River basin and the Parana River Basin in South America

Diet

It eats raw meat, fish and larger live foods.

Breeding

Red-Piranhas usually spawn around April and May during the rainy season. Female lays around 600 eggs which the male fertilizes. During spawning male becomes extremely territorial and prevents other fish from reaching its nest. When the eggs hatch, parents guard the brood. This fish shows very slightly noticeable sexual dimorphism. It is that females have somewhat more yellow on the belly than males.

Physical Characteristics

Body of Red Piranha is oval shaped. It has blunt head. Its lower jaw sticks out and both jaws have single row of teeth. This fish got its name because of its red belly.

Tank Set Up

It requires soft, slightly acid water between 24-27degree C or 75-80 degree F. The tank size of Red Piranha should measure 20 - 30 cm or 7.87 - 11.81 inches. The tank should hold minimum 55 gallons of water. It wants pH of water to be 6 - 7.5. It acquires middle level in the tank. It needs frequent water changes with soft water. Broad filtration is necessary and the turnover of the filter should be at least 3 times the aquarium capacity per hour, as piranha makes a lot of waste. Equip the aquarium with bogwood (mangrove root etc.) because this will help in keeping the pH constant.

Social Behavior

Red Piranhas are very aggressive fish. You cannot keep them in a community tank. They will assail and eat the other fish. Their teeth are very sharp and jaws are strong. In fact, a group of Red Piranhas can strip a large creature down to the bone. If you want to keep a piranha in your tank, make sure that it is the only fish in it or you can have a species tank and keep a few piranhas collectively.

The Red Piranha is potentially dangerous and should, therefore, be handled with care at all times. In the wild, this species is an open-water shoaler but within the confines of an aquarium this is not usually possible unless the tank is large and the fish are always kept well fed. Despite their formidable reputation, Piranha can be quite timid in aquaria, particularly if these are brightly lit and devoid of vegetation or other forms of shelter. The almost exclusively carnivorous diet can easily lead to water pollution. A good, efficient filtration system (preferably consisting of a power filter) is, therefore, essential.