# Caribe's Are The $hit...



## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

Caribe's quickly gained the name as "the $hit" durring a time when they were not available in any great numbrs. Now that things have changed, I wonder if the excitation regarding these fish will continue. Personally, and this is my own opinion, I felt that the description of these fish could have slightly been played up due to the unavailablity of them. It will be interesting to see how member opinion of these fish with change/not change now that many people are picking up schools by the 10's.

I know this thought, might conflict with some, espeacially with those that "just got" thiers. New fish are always exciting, but time will tell, and the results will be interesting I believe.

HaHaHa, who will be the first member to tell me that I am wrong because thier new caribe JUST ARRIVE a few days ago, and they ARE THE BEST THING they ever bought, and THEY RECOMEND THEM TO EVERYONE. HaHaHa, its like clockwork.

~Dj


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I agree. I like my cariba, but not any more than any pygo in my tank. They all pretty much eat the same and act the same. I have had them all for a while so the novelty has worn off.
I think the best thing about cariba is the great color and wide body. They are really a pretty pygo.


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

This reminds me of the albino oscar introduction to the hobby. They originally sold for a bit over $100 each then about a year or two dropped to $50.00, then $15, now you can barely give them away.

Its all in how you market the fish. Put the bait out so to speak to get you to nibble and buy it. That's business.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

I just think that this will show that P's, for those that dont already know, go (somewhat) in and out like style. Not cutting down the Caribe in anyway, they seem to be great fish, just making an example.

~Dj


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> InSinUAsian Posted on May 21 2003, 07:58 PM
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> I just think that this will show that P's, for those that dont already know, go (somewhat) in and out like style. Not cutting down the Caribe in anyway, they seem to be great fish, just making an example.


 All the piranas are excellent fish to own if anything for their natural beauty. I think as this message boards focuses more on the reality of the fish and less than the hyped up media people will (hopefully) care more about its beauty than the over-rated reputation. I think more and more of this is beginning to wane as we all become more knowledgeable about these critters. For a long time many of these piranas were a cash cow for dealers. Which is reasonable to the extent we all have to make a living and in their case, they (meaning field collectors) take the risks involved in getting the wild fishes and dealers make a little profit.

A few years ago in another board, there were people selling S. niger for $300-$400 each at around 6-7 inches TL. Don't laugh this is true story.

I was pretty much attacked for ruining their profits when I dared reveal that S. niger is nothing more than an S. rhombeus, which they were also selling for around $50-$75 ea. Of course they were not telling customers they were the same species. See, education does become helpful.


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

I have had some. And sold them. And getting some more. I agree they are a very cool looking fish. They do act alot alike the other pygo's. As for eating that's where i had seen differences. Mine ate alot more aggressive than my others pygo's. They were ALWAYS first to get the food. Now i have never owned a tern so i can't speak for them.My little cariba's ate till it looked like their belly was huge. Even then they tried to eat more.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

Sometimes I will all you PYGO lovers could see my spilos feed.

~Dj


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

In the long-past period of my life where I actually owned piranha, I had 4 small caribes in a 55gallon (back then, caribes' scientific name was Serrasalmus Notatus). I was in 6th grade and lived in a legal state, and bought them at 20 bucks apiece. I daresay they lived up to their reputation perfectly. They made spectacular shows out of goldfish, minnows, crawdads, and the occasional tetra from my community tank. I was quite satisfied with them.


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

I understand where your comming from Dj. All the hyped from Caribas were more based on their availability than what people perceived them to be. I remember awhile back when noone had access to Rhoms and prices for those badboys were up, but now gone down having posting sales with great deals. Now since a whole lot of Caribas are available, be sure to find a new interest with another specie. Im vote for Natts to soon to be high in demand.


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## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

bleh I think your overexaggerating a bit there with the natts, Rhom


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

I have had a couple of gold spilos and they didn't compete for food near as much as my pygo's
Edit: forgot a couple of words


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

RZ has the right idea though.

~Dj


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

I agree that fishes popularity seems to vary from month to month on the board.

but I also think that the over all attitude of the 4 different types of pygos are so different that once people go from red bellies to anything else they feel relived that they are not going to have such a skittish fish and they want to share it with everyone. I just think people are are happy with anything but reds these days.

I can honestly say, if I were to get pygos again (which i am not) I wouldn't settle for just reds.

pretty soon somebody is going to breed caribe. then they will be filling pet stores nationwide.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

goldfish chunks in teeth said:


> I agree that fishes popularity seems to vary from month to month on the board.
> 
> but I also think that the over all attitude of the 4 different types of pygos are so different that once people go from red bellies to anything else they feel relived that they are not going to have such a skittish fish and they want to share it with everyone. I just think people are are happy with anything but reds these days.
> 
> ...


 Cariba are already being bred.


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

really? i thought they were all wild caught...somebody is making some serious cash.


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

who is breeding them???

nobody I've ever heard of. do you know?


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

No one who knows is letting that out


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

i will be damned...when did this start happening?


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

My guesstimate is for two years maybe more. Frank would know. He knows the people who had breed some


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

hmm...well thanks for the news flash. 2 years later.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

They have been breeding for a few years now. I thought Frank said something about 1999, but perhaps RZ is right with 2 years. I dunno though.

~Dj


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

oh i was thinking terns.............
















hehehe

no....i really didn't know.


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

Both have been bred. The yellow forms since late 80s. The cariba within the last 3 or 4 years.


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

pygos imo wont be as popular as serra when it comes to availabilty. Pygos are commonly fouond everywhere unlike Serrasalmus. There are way too many of them and they all look alike when young. I dont know what im trying to prove but im just saying Pygos will always be popular but if you want the rarer part of the piranha hobby i think you should go with Serrasalmus. Beside, there is something about Serrasalmus that i like. I cant pin point it but i believe its the head shape. They tend to look for agressive and sleek.


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

hastatus said:


> Both have been bred. The yellow forms since late 80s. The cariba within the last 3 or 4 years.


 okay f*ck this....








how come i've never heard anything like this? is it just common knowledge in the p world?

anything else you guys have been hiding from me?


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

o snap its eric said:


> Beside, there is something about Serrasalmus that i like.


 Me too

~Dj


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

piranha45 said:


> bleh I think your overexaggerating a bit there with the natts, Rhom


You may think Im exaggerating, P45. But what can other folks who live in non-legal areas do if they dont have access to the kind of fish they want... especially when no one has them available, where the next offer is across the country when the person doesnt ship, and distributors not being able to receive them from their natural locations. All these can be factors on how an individual specie can grow to popularity at a time being. 


hastatus Posted: May 21 2003 said:


> All the piranas are excellent fish to own if anything for their natural beauty. I think as this message boards focuses more on the reality of the fish and less than the hyped up media people will (hopefully) care more about its beauty than the over-rated reputation. I think more and more of this is beginning to wane as we all become more knowledgeable about these critters.


 Now since Caribas are highly available, us TRUE enthusiests/hobbyists wont stop there. We'd jump at the chance to gain respect and aww'd from other members for having all and different species that we all hope and wish to have.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

I aggree again. The AWW facter plays a high facter in some people's fish buynig, despite the fact the aww facter might not be so high with them. In short, people buy fish for the wrong reasons. For what they hear, not for what they reaseach and buy for themselves.

~Dj


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## DiXoN (Jan 31, 2003)

lot of good points on this thread but up until recently cariba were hard to get with the venezuala situation but are coming through again .
only a few months ago everybody had cariba and if you cant get something people tend to want them or it looks like more people are wanting them its all down to supply and demand ,at the moment their is high demand and now also supply so possibly the people who have been waiting for a few months are all getting them now and making it look as if they are very popular.
you can also get a lot of new people coming into the hobby that look for something that people are talking about upping the demand again.
its the same with piraya when i started coming onto boards @ 3 years ago on pfish you could not get them for love nor money then you could get them for serious money and now you can just get them but still not cheap due to location.
i cant wait to get mine .
i also heard about a year or so ago that cariba were being bred it was in a discussion on pfish and the two people who were breeding them together did not want people to find out who they were so must be well known within the trade and possibly hobby.
aslo seen frank mention the same thing a few months back on yellows (terns)also.
dixon


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> goldfish chunks in teeth Posted on May 21 2003, 09:51 PM
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> QUOTE (hastatus @ May 21 2003, 03:47 PM)
> Both have been bred. The yellow forms since late 80s. The cariba within the last 3 or 4 years.
> ...


Probably because you never read the OPEFE web site where it is buried in the body of the work. That information has been publically available for a few of years by me and via my original hard copy journal. Its only a well-kept secret to those that don't research it further.


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## Outie (Feb 19, 2003)

Ok im gonna try to stir up some sh*t, are all the caribe's that are currently for sale now from 40-50 dollars even wild or are these all from the us breeders that everyone seems to have a link to thats in the fish buisness? Just wondering....


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

i think there are all wild


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## RhomZilla (Feb 12, 2003)

They're all wild man!!!







Dont think theres a breeder out there that would not have advertised Caribas when alot of folks were asking for them them. No sense on keeping it for this long to surprise anyone if any..


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

There all wild caught. If they were breeding them they woulden't have gone dry.


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

How can you not like these guys?


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

I have been through about 9 or 10 of them over the past 3 years I think and they are hands down my favorite fish, the only fish that comes close is my 2 elongatus, but the fact they are solitary holds them back

I guess I am just lucky I got my Cariba so cheap, and that they arent in the Piraya price range


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## B. Scott (Apr 24, 2003)

Great thread here people.

All cariba currently beingb offered for sale are wild collected then housed in large outdoor ponds until shipping arangements are made, then netted, boxed, ox-ed, tranqed and finally shipped.....and so on it goes.

To breed them on a comercial level would be monumental and expensive but very possible if you had the time and space. Well worth the efforts too IMO.

Hope you all enjoy your fish,


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## rosecityrhom (Feb 3, 2003)

RhomZilla said:


> piranha45 said:
> 
> 
> > bleh I think your overexaggerating a bit there with the natts, Rhom
> ...


 Your last statement resounds true to me as well RhomZilla, I just want a tank for each kind of pygo and then work on getting more different types of serras than I currently own...rhom and altuvei. Guess what I'll be getting this summer...a new tank and some caribe!!! That is if I sell my turbo that I've never used yet.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

It will be very interesting to see what the next "fish fad" will be. Perhaps we should bring it back to some Serra species. We all know Serra's are the best. LoL.

Raptor - Nice Caribe Pic. You should have entered it into the POM contest.

~Dj


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## GARGOYLE (Feb 12, 2003)

First of all yes I did just pick up 10 caribe from pedro, second, yes they are the $sh*t and always will be to me atleast, and third, my fascination with caribe didn't start up when they were rare to find. I had caribe before and loved them ever since day one. If you dont like them coo, stick with what you do like.


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## DAZZA (Mar 7, 2003)

Hi Guys

Well i've had my caribe for about 2 months now. Still early days, i know, but i've gotta say that as with many they deliver. I i've been after caribe passionately for about two years, although i first saw them some 7 years ago, but didn't have a tank set up then. So far they have lived up to what people have said, but then again, i've not kept any pygo other than reds in greater numbers than 2, now i have 6 caribe (did have 7). I was drawn to cairbe mainly due to their intense red colouration and humeral spot, they are beautiful fish, their aggression is a welcome bonus. I did see a gold splio (labelled as a dark banded piranha) at 4-5" for sale last year in a specialist lfs For £87.50 (about $135 approx), which is expensive, although the norm over here, UK. I would have bought it on the spot if i had room, not because it's aggressive, i knew nothing about them then, but because it was one damn good looking animal.
Ta.


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## Raptor (Jan 3, 2003)

Thanks insinuasian, I entered but not that pic. I have an awe for all piranha's. They ALL have my respect. I can't help if i am bias, but people have favorites. And mine are pygo's. Don't get me wrong, i would own a serra again.


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## B. Scott (Apr 24, 2003)

You all should try a small group of S. geryi. You get the best of both worlds, a shoaling Serrasalmus. What more could you ask for.

They are even aggressive, ask HareBall to post pics of one of mine that bit him!!!

That was entirely too funny,,,,,,,,in retrospect of course


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

i agreee with B.Scott. He got me hooked on a Geryi shoal. Although its small right now, its going to be a long term shoal project.







I cant wait for them this friday. Im giggling like a little girl everytime i think about it. J/K


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

hastatus said:


> > goldfish chunks in teeth Posted on May 21 2003, 09:51 PM
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > QUOTE (hastatus @ May 21 2003, 03:47 PM)
> > Both have been bred. The yellow forms since late 80s. The cariba within the last 3 or 4 years.
> ...


 i never stumbled accross the site, until you started putting it on the forums.

hoooray one un-advertised site with this info. im suprised more people don't know this aswell.









plus on your webiste i didn't see any PROOF.


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Agree, Serras are less commonly found...still, i prefer my Cariba shoal over any single Serra!


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

The more and more I think about it I may be putting a Geryi school together. I have a tank stand for my 180 that can either allow a 100 or 150 to be put underneth. Still deciding though.

~Dj


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> goldfish chunks in teeth Posted on May 22 2003, 03:46 PM
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> plus on your webiste i didn't see any PROOF.


Are you stating I'm fabricating this information?

I would also like B. scott input on this question since he also has made a statement that all P. cariba are wild caught imports to the aquario trade.


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

you could be. and none of us would ever know.


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> goldfish chunks in teeth Posted on May 22 2003, 07:05 PM
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> you could be. and none of us would ever know.


 For someone who didn't know my web page existed nor has done any real indepth search or have direct knowledge of breeding sources, I would be very careful in what you are stating.

For your information, this topic has been covered quite extensively in Predatory fishes with photos of the offspring from the breeders. Also in Pfury, this has also been covered with the names of the people involved.

So tell you what, go look it up. It may save you further embarrassment.

PS: The people having the breeders have agreed to allow me to publish photos of the next spawning to end this once and for all.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

goldfish chunks in teeth said:


> you could be. and none of us would ever know.


 That is funny. Better watch who's toes you step on. Frank has a pretty stong support base here. Last time someone challenged Franks references and valididy, there was serious backlash. Save yourself the unnecesary drama, Frank is legit.

~Dj


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> InSinUAsian Posted on May 22 2003, 07:38 PM
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> QUOTE (goldfish chunks in teeth @ May 22 2003, 12:05 PM)
> you could be. and none of us would ever know.
> ...


While I appreciate the support base, that is not what this portion of the thread is about. This person needs to do some research before assuming someone is making up something. But thank you for the kind remarks.


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## o snap its eric (Feb 19, 2003)

Whoa, is someone questioning the big cheese about his knowldge. This is the first, well, beside Nate which is a regualr. Hes cool because i like reading their agruments.


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

hastatus said:


> > goldfish chunks in teeth Posted on May 22 2003, 07:05 PM
> > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > you could be. and none of us would ever know.
> 
> ...


 I never saw any baby pics from the breeders, I did see pics of 2" Cariba for sale by some guy in Cali I think, and I said looks like somebody bred cariba, but they denied it


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> Sir Nathan XXI Posted on May 22 2003, 07:57 PM
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> QUOTE (hastatus @ May 22 2003, 03:23 PM)
> QUOTE
> ...


Never mind.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

These are the smaller cariba I have seen on the net: no clue what size they are, but it's probably not much...

*Picture by DoviiDan (if I recall correctly, that is...







)*


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

You remember quite correctly. And Tony O. was breeding them for the trade as well. But what do I know.







I suppose if Nate said it doesn't happen it makes it so.


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

Who is Tony O. ?

one thing that pisses me off more than anything is when people try to put words in my mouth


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

I've given that information to you before Nate when I thought you had an interest in actually learning about piranas. Surprized you don't remember.

Until I publish the photos of the breeding caribas, this topic is closed.

Have fun all.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

....oh boy, not again......


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

No Frank we spoke of the Yellow Natts that Bud bred, not Cariba


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## 521 1N5 (Apr 25, 2003)

oh god,

calm down, im not trying to question "THE ALLMIGHTY FISH GOD"

I was just saying it doesn't look like anyone here has ever seen caribe under 2 inches yet you seem to have the proof that they are bred, without pictures of these fish i don't believe it.

i mean for cri-sakes this is the f*cking internet. there are pictures of everything you want. yet, the only baby caribe I see are 2 inches.

p.s. I know you are very cocky, I know you have a huge rep to defend, and a huge fish ego to support. but don't talk to me like a f*cking child.

a person like you could never embarrass a person like me. Frankie-boy.


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

I have spoken to people who have bred cariba in captivity. It has been done and will be done again. I would like to see pictures next time it happens









I am closing this before it gets uglier. It was a good thread.


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