# Minimum Tank Size



## zmazza (Jan 25, 2006)

Hey guys! I've been keeping fish for quite some time now, but have never kept Piranhas. I thought for the longest time that they were very agressive and lethal, but from what I have read, they are actually skittish fish. I still find them VERY interesting and they look to be a very fun fish to keep.

Hopefully you won't think these questions are too newbieish.

I currently have a 29 gallon, but will move up to a 55 - 125 here in a few years. Probably on the 55-75 end of that. We're waiting to move into our new house to get a bigger aquarium.

What is the smallest piranha that you can keep? What is the smallest tank that you can keep them in? Could you keep a pair of 6" piranhas in a 29? Or would a 30 be better? Again, I am completely new to piranhas, so I'm not sure of specific names. I'll be sure to do some more research though.

Are they expensive fish to keep? What kind of substrate do they like? Would they do OK in Eco-Complete? I really like keeping planted aquariums.

Are they expensive fish to keep? From what I am hearing, you need to feed them feeder fish and what not. How often do you need to feed them?

Thanks a bunch for all your help!


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## SpeCiaLisT (Aug 12, 2005)

Welcome To Pfury!

I would say buy 1 inch piranhas.

The smallest tank you can keep them in for life? Would probably be a 40-55 Gallon tank depending on which fish you want.

A pair of 6" piranhas would be too crowded in a 30 gallon fish tank. A 30 gallon would probably be good for baby piranhas, but later your going to have to upgrade.

No, Piranhas aren't expensive fish to take care of. Don't feed your piranha feeders a lot, once in awhile treat them to a feeder. Most people give their piranhas a lot of different foods. Bloodworms, krill, earthworms, smelt, and shrimp.


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## t_rent8 (Dec 15, 2005)

SpeCiaLisT said:


> Welcome To Pfury!
> 
> I would say buy 1 inch piranhas.
> 
> ...


the smallest you could get is probably a sanchezi 6'' is the biggest in an aquarium ive seen and like SpeCiaLisT said a 40 gal would be the minimum tank size for this fish as for feeding also try hikari gold pellets my p's love them


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## zmazza (Jan 25, 2006)

How about a single specimen?

Can they do alright by themselves or do they like tank mates? Would it be interesting though to watch just one? (I've never had one and haven't seen one before, other than pictures.)

What kind of water parameters do they like? I'm hoping to get a new RO filter this month. My water comes out of the tap at 8.3

the smallest you could get is probably a sanchezi 6'' is the biggest in an aquarium ive seen and like SpeCiaLisT said a 40 gal would be the minimum tank size for this fish as for feeding also try hikari gold pellets my p's love them

Thats cool, I've actually got Hikari Gold for my blood parrots. Good to know though.

Would aggression between two of them be too much? How quick would 2 piranhas grow out of a 30 gallon?


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## SpeCiaLisT (Aug 12, 2005)

What piranha are you planning to get? Red Bellys can be in packs and The Serrasalmus family are 1 fish per a tank. Serrasalmus family are nice looking piranhas. They grow slow, and most would say the serrasalmus family are aggressive when hungry.


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## t_rent8 (Dec 15, 2005)

if you got 3 small reds around 1'' they could live in there till they reach about 4'' which could only take 4 months then they would have to be moved to a bigger tank of maybe 55 to 75gal a sanchezi which is a solitary p could live in a 30gal for life and are very interesting fish to keep


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## NexTech84 (Jan 19, 2006)

Any Pygo (True Piranha) would outgrow the tank you have fairly quickly. If you plan on getting anything from the Pygocentrus family, I would suggest keeping them in groups of at least 3, however be prepared to upgrade them to a larger tank shortly, preferably at least a 75 gallon.

If you wanted to get a fish from the Serrasalmus species, I would suggest getting either a Sanchezi, Elongatus, or Irritans, as they grow rather slowly and don't get very large. In most cases, a 40-55 gallon tank should be fine. Hope this helps, and good luck with whatever you decide!


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## dallas (Nov 14, 2003)

Piranha's are Really hardy. If i were you, i'd go with a couple red bellies. They are the most common, but in my opinion the best way to go. I've had a rhom (single piranha) and its not as cool as if you were to have a pack. start with at least 3 small ones (aprx. 1" or so) and they will last at least 6 months in a 30g. You can tell when you need to up grade if they start attacking each other. While they are small feed them every day, or once every couple days. Then once they are older you can feed them once every 5 - 7 days aprx. Once you get to know your piranha's you'll find a routine for feeding, etc. I found having 2 reds isn't enough competition bettwen them, so try and get at least 3. Good luck... Another good thing about going with basic reds is that they are cheap fish, so if you happen to loose one in the learning process... its not a big deal.


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## zmazza (Jan 25, 2006)

Sounds great! Thanks for all the information. I'm going to have to stick with the 30 gallon for a little while. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 55 - 125 when I move into my new house. Then again, it will house my 2 blood parrots. (Wife's favorite pets you know.) But if I already have one, what harm will getting another do?

The single sanchezi, are they interesting to keep alone? I'd love to have a pack, but just don't think I have the room right now. How much are the sanchezi? I'm hoping one of my LFS might be able to order them for me. If not, I guess I can do mail order. I live in Tennessee, so we are one of the states where you can legally keep them.

KiLLeReDs-8 - coming from a person who has never kept piranhas, has never done any research on them, what makes sanchezi so interesting? Why would they be a cool fish to keep in a 30 gallon?

Are they difficult to take care of?

Also, one question I have really been wondering is, what kind of water do they like? I'm hoping to get a RO filter for my birthday, but my tap water is at 8.3. Perfect for cichlids, but I'm not sure about piranha.

Thanks again for all the help!


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## NexTech84 (Jan 19, 2006)

Zmazza said:


> Sounds great! Thanks for all the information. I'm going to have to stick with the 30 gallon for a little while. I'm hoping to upgrade to a 55 - 125 when I move into my new house. Then again, it will house my 2 blood parrots. (Wife's favorite pets you know.) But if I already have one, what harm will getting another do?
> 
> The single sanchezi, are they interesting to keep alone? I'd love to have a pack, but just don't think I have the room right now. How much are the sanchezi? I'm hoping one of my LFS might be able to order them for me. If not, I guess I can do mail order. I live in Tennessee, so we are one of the states where you can legally keep them.
> 
> ...


First of all, the price will obviously vary from source to source, however one of the sponsors for this site has a 3" red variant for $25, and the same size purple one for $35, which is a good price if you ask me.

Sanchezi are very interesting fish, but as with any other Pygo or Serra, they need time to get accustomed to both their environment, as well as your presence. A well set up tank, along with good water quality will certainly help them through this process. The more comfortable you make them, the more you will be able to enjoy obvserving them!

For that species of fish, I would try to keep your pH between 6.5-7.0, however if it's in the range of 6-8, it really should be left alone, as this will not harm your fish.

Taking care of them is just like any other fish. Do weekly water changes and occasionally vacuum the gravel, and you should be all set!

I think I covered most of it. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask. If you do end up getting a Sanchezi, make sure to post pics.

Good luck!


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## Red Eyes (Nov 25, 2003)

Here's some info on S.Sanchezi that might help. Here's a pic of one of the Sanchezi I used to have.

View attachment 92350


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## chomp chomp (Oct 28, 2003)

NexTech84 said:


> Any Pygo (True Piranha) would outgrow the tank you have fairly quickly. If you plan on getting anything from the Pygocentrus family, I would suggest keeping them in groups of at least 3, however be prepared to upgrade them to a larger tank shortly, preferably at least a 75 gallon.
> 
> If you wanted to get a fish from the Serrasalmus species, I would suggest getting either a Sanchezi, Elongatus, or Irritans, as they grow rather slowly and don't get very large. In most cases, a 40-55 gallon tank should be fine. Hope this helps, and good luck with whatever you decide!


I agree with NexTech

Sanchezi will max out about 6" in length.. I have a 5" in a 30 gal but will eventually move him to a 55-75 gal..

good luck and welcome to the site


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## zmazza (Jan 25, 2006)

Wow. Thanks for all the great info as well as the picture. I think with the RO water it would work perfectly for any piranha I might get. That Sanchezi looks awesome! So I could keep one of those in a 30 gallon cube? I'll upgrade the tank sooner or later. For the most part though, I want him to live most of his life in the 30. That will buy me enough time to buy my own house and get a bigger tank.

Sounds good to me!

Any recommendations for aquascaping? Type of gravel, do they prefer planted aquariums, or rock scaped ones?

Do any of you have any more pictures of your Sanchezi? I'd love to see some more!

You said the Sanchezi was 25 dollars, right? Do you know what the shipping is on that?


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## NexTech84 (Jan 19, 2006)

Zmazza said:


> Wow. Thanks for all the great info as well as the picture. I think with the RO water it would work perfectly for any piranha I might get. That Sanchezi looks awesome! So I could keep one of those in a 30 gallon cube? I'll upgrade the tank sooner or later. For the most part though, I want him to live most of his life in the 30. That will buy me enough time to buy my own house and get a bigger tank.
> 
> Sounds good to me!
> 
> ...


Zmazza,

It would be ok in a 30 gallon temporarily, but for life I would upgrade to at least a 55.

The 3" red variant was $25 at AquaScape. I have no idea about shipping, depends on your location.

As for type of decor, I would go with a darker colored gravel or sand, and lots of places for him to hide and hang out in.


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## zmazza (Jan 25, 2006)

A single piranha in a 55? or would I be able to have more if I went to that size tank? I may even build a pond or a plywood tank at that point. Seems like the cheapest alternative.

A pond would be kind of funny.

"We prefer you don't swim in that water." LOL. Is a sanchezi a red variant?

Sorry I don't know my scientific names or species. From what I am getting though, there are two main types? Pygro and Serra?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Zmazza said:


> Sorry I don't know my scientific names or species. From what I am getting though, there are two main types? Pygro and Serra?


Welcome to the site, mate









Yes, basically those two genera are the main focus of piranha keepers (there are other species out there, but they are relatively rare: check this page for piranha species information).

General guideline is that Serra's need to be kept alone, as they are very intolerant towards tank mates of the same or other species (piranha or non-piranha).
Pygo's natually live in packs, and can be kept together in a home aquarium. Because of that, over time they do require a larger tank, however, as each fish will stake out a territory and defend it against intruders). The different Pygo-species can be mixed into one shoal, but single-species shoal is recommend, as it is less unpredictable (the three Pygo-species are not found in the same area in the wild, so mixing them is unnatural).

For seasoned piranha keepers, keeping a group of Serra's from the same species is also an option (this however applies to just a few Serra-species: Sanchezi, Spilopleura, Maculatus, Geryi). But this is extremely difficult, as you not only need a very large tank (Serra's tend to claim a larger territory and defend it more fiercely, and are also by nature fin nippers that love to snack on other fish's fins, tails and scales), lots of knowledge about the species, and a LOT of experience (which enables you to basically 'read' your piranha's behaviour and postures like a book, making it easier to understand their moods, what is happening and what might be happening).


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