# Caribe And Red Bellys Living Together?



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Hey, im starting to think what species of P will inhabit my tank that i will probably buuy next week. I know im going to have to cycle it. The single ? i have is if i buy 2 caribe and 2 red belly juveniles will the kill each other or if i keep then well fed live fine? The problem is i cant afford a shoal of caribe so i plan to mix the 2. I really dont care if a red belly gets eaten since there only 8 bucks at my local store i just dont want the 2 caribe to get eaten since there 30.00 from aquascape. Are they even worth it? One last thing how big will an average pygo get in one year? Also there are 2 large red bellys for 25 bucks each at my fish store, they were raised together and all. But could a person add 2 more large ones without any casualties or is it a tossup? Thanks


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## Soul Assassin (Nov 21, 2006)

You can keep them together, buy slightly larger caribe and pray they dont get killed, they will grow to 6-8" in a year, I would buy them smaller and get a few more reds just in case


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Would 2" caribe and 1" red bellys be ok? Thats what they sell on aquascape


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> Would 2" caribe and 1" red bellys be ok? Thats what they sell on aquascape


 probably mean dead reds.


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

so you would advise not to buy caribe? Also, I did look into shipping and they said it'd be about 50 bucks to get them to minnesota. I just like the looks of them. Any other suggestions? how many juveniles to start with and what kind of piranha? I def want pygos. I just caribe would be a more out of the ordinary piranha. Thanks


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2010)

It will take much longer than a week to cycle your tank. Cycle your tank BEFORE you order your fish.


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

IMO... just get red bellies. In order to be left with 2 Caribe you'll have buy at least 4 to be sure you'll have some left. Thats $170 with shipping... with you being on a budget its prob too expensive. You're just starting out keeping p's and you still have alot to learn. Just get 10 1" Red Bellies (only $80)


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

I know, it will take more than a week. I actually didnt know much about cycling my first 10gal and my single red wound up just fine. All i did was put stress zyme in it lol. Ksls what do you think about caribe?


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## Guest (Jul 8, 2010)

Just because you added stress zyme doesnt mean you didnt cause harm to your fish. Read up on fishless cycling and do it right the first time. It would be a shame to cut corners and harm, stress or lose your new expensive fish.

Persoanlly I would go with all caribe or all reds. Even though they are both pygos, the caribe are far more aggressive but with pygos you will always chance losing one or more to cannablism.


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

so no caribes then cause i cant buy a shoal of them. how long will it take a piranha to get 9-12 inches?


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

they should be at least 6" to 8" in 1 year and 9"-12" in 2 years


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

so you guys think i should just avoid caribe and shipping cost and buy piranha from my local fish store? They have 2 awsome large reds and a lot of juveniles what would you buy? Remember id like to see them somewhat big before i leave for college. If you have 2 large ones could i incoporate another large one later?


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## memento (Jun 3, 2009)

Like any one who's just starting with piranhas, you might want to consider to start with the cheap redbellies. Keep them for a while to get used to them, and to learn about piranhas in the meantime. You can always decide to switch to other species later, but for a start I'd seriously recommend redbellies.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> so you would advise not to buy caribe? Also, I did look into shipping and they said it'd be about 50 bucks to get them to minnesota. I just like the looks of them. Any other suggestions? how many juveniles to start with and what kind of piranha? I def want pygos. I just caribe would be a more out of the ordinary piranha. Thanks


Im not advising no caribe, im advising dont put 2" caibe with 1" reds. If you want caribe get them and try to find reds that matchtheir size.

Your only potions really are caibe, reds or terns as im assuming piraya are out of your price range (up to 100$ for a small one).

You can get 2 dozen p's to start with if they are small if you wanted to. Though, the more you get the faster you have to thin down your shoal and sell some off.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> so no caribes then cause i cant buy a shoal of them. how long will it take a piranha to get 9-12 inches?


 9 inches in probably a minimum of 2 years. Most likly 3-4 years to get to the mid range point or upper end. Though this all dempends on things like water quality ... Some fish may hit 7" in the first year while others may only hit 5"-6"


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## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

Good O' Dolphinswin. You're becoming the hot topic around here these days. It's good to see some one so interested. Just remember that most of us learned the hard way and we're just trying to help you out.

Personally I would go with all Reds and get about (10) 1" babies. They are cheap and I highly recommend getting them when they are young because they grow extremely quickly in that first year and it's a blast to watch them. For at least the first few months they're typically fearless and a joy to watch. Make sure that you spend a lot of time in front of the tank, this will help them with their skittishness. I kid you not mine were fearless crazy babies then one day out of the blue, as if someone had flipped a switch they went completely skittish and afraid of their own shadows. Mine reached about 7" in the first year and then hit about 9" after a year and a half.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

CuzIsaidSo said:


> they should be at least 6" to 8" in 1 year and 9"-12" in 2 years


Under ideal conditions... ie: proper water changes, filtration and a good feeding regimen.


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

The adults are thick about 10" and they are 25 bucks each. they were raised together, problem is theres only 2 where will i find 2 other adults?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> The adults are thick about 10" and they are 25 bucks each. they were raised together, problem is theres only 2 where will i find 2 other adults?


online aquarium sites, local fish clubs, online pet classified ads, lfs, word of mouth, ordering online from a vendor....

Somebody might know a good store if they know where your local too.

You may have to travel out of the city for a good store. I usually travel 45 minutes to a big als as i have no good stores around me


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## bigred (Nov 13, 2003)

i woul dhave to agree with the others. Just start with the baby reds. it will help you learn alot... it was how i started out when i was a teen... and yes you will take a lost here and there... it happends to us all.. i just started a mix tank my self of reds an caribe's all 1-2 in. and with in the frist 24 hrs i lost 2... which was fine i have 18 still in the tank.... they hae settled down abit sense than. but i still have to keep an eye on them. cause they will hit fast an hard...but i learend alot whit just keeping my frist red tank for yrs...

but go with the reds its a great way to start... for new people to P's


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## mr me (Jul 18, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> Would 2" caribe and 1" red bellys be ok? Thats what they sell on aquascape


that would be more than ok it would be great, and with a little luck they may start to reproduce and you'll get them to make more little piranhas


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## DaElongatus (Jul 30, 2005)

YES THEY CAN LIVE TOGETHER

i mean .. if you want to keep them as pets... you might as well read about them ?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

mr me said:


> Would 2" caribe and 1" red bellys be ok? Thats what they sell on aquascape


that would be more than ok it would be great, and with a little luck they may start to reproduce and you'll get them to make more little piranhas
[/quote]

Id say NO. At such small sizes 1" is a world of difference especially since the caribe are already a more agressive and less skiddish species.


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