Piranha

My review is based on keeping Red Bellied Piranhas as pets, I currently have 4 large Piranhas in a 280 litre tropical tank. Red Bellied Piranhas originate from South America in the Amazon Basin. They are one of the most vicious freshwater fish in the world, they have razor sharp teeth and as seen on many TV documentaries are able to strip flesh from animals within minutes! They are blackish in colour with a gold glittery appearance and as the name suggests have a red belly, the red belly does vary in brightness it is usually more prominant around feeding time and is brighter in males. They can grow to over 30cm in length and should be kept with over ...  Read the complete review

"Get a piranha" my friend said. I looked at him thinking he must be mad. "Oh no" he replied, "these are vegetarian". He assured me that they would not harm my other fish. You see i have a large tropical tank, ive had it for years. This story happened years ago when i was still really a child and foolish enough to believe a friend despite any physical evidence. "I have two in my tank and they are fine". I believed him, although not totally convinced i asked the pet shop assistant. "Are these piranhas vegitarian?" i enquired. "Yes they are". "So they dont eat fish?", "No" came the reply. I now ...  Read the complete review

That was me - and I still have the scars to prove it. Many years ago, we owned a shop which specialised in the sale of tropical fish, reptiles and amphibians. We had a display tank that contained two piranhas. I had purchased these piranhas when they were each one inch in size. It is possible, at that size, to feed piranhas with flake fish food, but ours had always eaten earthworms, fish, strips of beef etc. The piranha is a predatory freshwater fish from South America, whose most notable feature is its teeth and jaws. The teeth are pointed and razor sharp, whilst the jaws are strong with powerful muscles. In their natural habitat they live in ...  Read the complete review