# Vietnam Piranhas?



## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

where do p's usually come from? i know they usually come from south america but anywhere else? i went to vietnam like a few months ago..........and all the surronding waters is fresh........in the city...my dad looks at my p's and said they have p's in vietnam...i looked around and the only thing that looks anything like them are the pacu's i saw at the local meat market...it was huge though like a foot and a half.........it's funny what they eat over there....snakeheads/giant gourami/carp...looks like silver goldfish.......LmK what you think about p's in vietnam?


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## EVERY_NAME_WAS_TAKEN (Oct 22, 2003)

I haven't heard of any being there!


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

Greenies sound alert on piranhas

HCM CITY - Environmentalists in the south are warning fish farmers along the Dong Nai River in the south to curb the import of carnivorous piranhas, as the meat-eating fish have become a menace to local waters.

The piranhas will wipe out native fish and pose a danger to residents, particularly children and old people, said Pham Huu Khanh, the head of the Cat Tien National Park's Technological Science Office.

"We are very concerned about local families' intentions to increase the number of piranhas on their fish farms," he said. "Large numbers of piranhas will upset the ecosystems of Dong Nai River and the Cat Tien Park."

Khanh said he and his colleagues have urged local authorities to ban the importation and breeding of piranhas in Viet Nam, fearing they could easily escape from local farms into the Dong Nai River in the coming flood reason.

Once the fish are allowed into the river, they will wreak havoc on the local environment, he warned.

Recently introduced in Vietnamese waters, the piranha is a species of South American freshwater fish measuring 25cm in length and weighing 0.6kg.

The ability of carnivorous piranhas to cut the flesh of their prey with their sharp, meshed, wedged-shaped teeth is legendary. Their prey consists mostly of other fish, but also includes birds and mammals, according to Khanh.

They associate in large schools and are drawn by commotion and the scent of blood. They have been known to work together to reduce a large mammals to a skeleton in a short time.

"Many households in provinces of Dong Nai and Lam Dong are breeding piranhas in their farms. In Lam Dong Province, more than 500 piranhas have been bred in Cat Tien District's Dac Lo Lake," Khanh said. - VNS








next time i go to vietnam i could be fishing them???


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## EVERY_NAME_WAS_TAKEN (Oct 22, 2003)

Thats pretty cool, just over exagerated!


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## x-J-x (Nov 28, 2002)

EVERY_NAME_WAS_TAKEN said:


> Thats pretty cool, just over exagerated!


 I don't know which part you were referring to as "over exaggerated"...but they will definately do some damage to the ecosystem...

I've never heard of Piranhas in VN...maybe i've in the States for too long


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## nigaphan (Oct 28, 2003)

yea i thought pacu were from somewhere else....but they are in the rivers now....so maybe in the near future piranhas too.........they call it "ca chim trang"


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## vanz (Sep 11, 2003)

what part of vietnam did they say they piranha's are being breed in? North, Middle, south?


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