Red Bellyed Pirahna?

[pombikiball]

Pirahna are cichlids just a more aggresive cichlid also very very cool animal as a pet very smart and gets to know its care taker i had a super red belly in a 75 gallon by itself when i was a kid my dad was the one who really took care of it i just liked watching him eat.

actually they are not cichlids they are in the characin family like the danio and tetra and they can be good fish depending on what you want and the amount of space you have with a 75 gal or larger and a shoal of 5-6 they can be quit impressive but if you have limited space and have a tank of about 30 gal then they are not the fish for you as they are shy and nervous as a single fish if your looking for something more personable then a central or south American cichlid is ur best bet ive been in fish for the last 15 years and just now started to scale down do to my obsession with reptiles

[Wh00h0069]

I used to have two of them when I was younger. I kept them for a few years, and really enjoyed them.

[Greez1986]

I love my RBP and they are what got in interested into the world of pets other then dogs/cats It seems now I'm starting to fall in love with ball pythons. I own 4 Reds and find them very fasinating, I love to add a few more of the pygocentrus family to my 180.

[dragonmoon]

We had a group of 5 from quarter size up to full size.... they did fine with raphael catfish in the same tank.... theyre not aggressive at all and you can happily put your arm in the tank during cleaning as said before theyre shy and timid .... the only thing is you need great filtration (better than other tropical fish) due to the large amounts of waste when theyre feeding...

If you want interaction like has been said some of the cichlids like Oscars can be taught tricks like ringing bells when hungry or playing with ping pong balls..

For fun shoaling fish you cant beat Cory cats you get a large enough group theyre great fun to watch

[The Serpant Master]

Big fan of the pygocentrus nattereri (red belly piranha) here, and I highly recommend them! I have several of them myself as well as the serrasalmus rhombeus. They are the easiet of the serrasalmidae genera to keep. They do need to be kept in a larger tank though as they grow quickly and can reach up to 10" - 12" in length - a minimum of 55-gallons is suggested and upwards of 125-gallons or more is even better. You should keep at least 3 of this species together as they are shoaling fish! They can also be trained to eat frozen foods, cichlid pellets, and other such food, which in my humble opinion is more humane that live food which creates the risk of introducing parasites and disease into the tank!

Savage

[Fatman]

Pirahna are cichlids just a more aggresive cichlid

RBPs are actually members of the Characidae family... more closely related to tetras than cichlids

[navygamer]

Here is a link with areas that can keep or you have to have a permit to keep them. They are flat out illegal in half of the country. Might help you decide. I also read an article today of an Arkansas man that got busted selling them and received 3 years probation and an $8,000 fine.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...ead.php?t=3118

[scorchx1245]

yeah red bellies are illegal in most states, and permit is retarded to get, luckly i knew a guy who knew a guy and had a small shoal (5) in a 120 gallon, the 350gph filter didnt cut it and had to invest in an outside canister filter to the large amount of waste, also they arent actually agressive, they just get aggressive when hungry... your best bet is in my opinion, go with something else, i mean i had mine for 2 years and gave them away to a friend, they actually didnt have much personality and only got really active around feeding time wich was twice a week. now red bellie pacus which look like rbp but are same group just a different species are omnivores they eat meat and fruit etc, they have personalitys and one can be kept in a 55 gallon and will reconise the owner....they become like a pet fish. lol but yeah thats my 2 cents.

[DemmBalls]

RBP's are pretty cool, but should be kept in schools of 5 or more...Otherwise they may become very skittish and predation/cannibalism may occure. Keeping a fish like RBP's also limits what you are able to do with the tank...i.e. no tankmates. I used to have a 14" Black Rhom (Black Piranha) that was very awesome. Something you may want to take into consideration is that there are many different kinds of Piranhas (Serrasalmus & Pygocentrus). Most Pygo's are schooling fish and most Serra's are solo fish.

I'm personally more into large predator fish, but I love my Dovii, Loaches, and South Americans too! All fish are great!

[Caban]

Reds are one of my favs.. i actually used to breed them for a few years ... wasnt worth the time or effort tho once one got bigger than the other fry it started to eat the others next thing you know you have 20 grow out tanks full of hungry fish and not enough placed to sell them to and it cost to much to feed them all.. (try having around 500 or 600 hungry mouths to feed at once) haha not fun... i have 25 reds still right now.. Actually going to sell 5 of my adult breeders soon here.. and have a few young adults im selling this weekend.. i ll have to get pics of my tanks soon.. i have a 125 setup with 12 sub adults in my dining room and 5 adults in a 75 in my living room and the rest are fry in a 20g in the kitchen..