# cleaning piranha tanks



## bigfish (Feb 1, 2003)

I have owned other large fish ans cichlds in the past but never piranha. I saw 5, 4 to 6 inch piranha at my LFS today. Very nice looking fish. The guy said He sell me all 5 for 60 dollors. But he showed me a alge scrapper that had a U shaped chunk taken out of it. My question is Do I run a good chance to getting bit while cleaning and arranging a tank with piranha in it and if so How much damage can they do to me. I really like the looks and color of them but don't want to loose body parts to a fish.


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## MPower (Jan 29, 2003)

With rb they will just go to the other side of the tank your working on. They can do damage with just one bite. I got bit on my finger and almost took mouth full out. My flesh was tangling but it was fine after a 2 weeks. But will serras there a little different. They seem to want to bite your hand when I clean my tank. Well thats what I does when I put my hand in there.


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## piranha13 (Jan 24, 2003)

There isnt a very good chance of you being bitten. They only bite when very hungery or feel threated. If you are still worried about being bitten you can buy a divider


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

first off your going to need at least a 55 gallon to house 
those 3 reds and trust me if you loose a body part to three
red-bellys you have some terrible luck


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

Red bellys are not too likely to even try to bite off your finger, but they can do damage if they do bite.
but it is not a commen problem, and you can always divide off the part of the tank you are working on.


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## Razorlips (Jan 12, 2003)

Lost a couple fingers once to my reds! They're nasty litle fish! Nah! I'm just flippin' ya sh*t dude. Reds just hide while I'm cleaning the tank.

I win allot of bets by sticking my arm in the tank when people stop by the house. I just tell them how they can take my finger off or that I got these from a guy whose cat fell in the tank and almost didn't make it. LOL

Then I bet the 5 bucks that I'll stick my arm in. Win everytime!!

Seriously though, don't base your purchase of reds on the worry of losing any flesh. It very rare unless you corner them barehanded. :rockin: :rockin: :rockin:


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## bigfish (Feb 1, 2003)

I could be wrong but I don't think they are red bellys. They have red around their gills but turn very dark almost black at the top of their bodies. They also have gold flecks on their bodies that show up under natural light. Does that sound like typical red belly? I have seen small 2 inch ones alot their not much to look at. As for the tank The smallest tank I own is 90 gal. the largest being 240 gal. Cichlids need alot of room. I have the 240 back up and running now that I have setteled into my new house. If they are red bellys how big do they get (typical 12 inches?) and how fast do they grow?
Thanks guys


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## bigfish (Feb 1, 2003)

BTW the 240 is fully fishless cycled and ready to go I jus want to try something different this time around.


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

get the piranhas!
get the piranhas!
get the piranhas!

they could be red bellys, but you could look in the pics section, in the post - pics usefull for identification, to find out for sure.
Red bellys get anywhere between about 9-12", but a 12" one is hard to find!
They would look great in that 240 tank, and you could add some more later.
and don't worry about your hands, as long as you are sensable you should be fine.

get the piranhas!
get the piranhas!
get the piranhas!


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## Razorlips (Jan 12, 2003)

Innes! Take it easy dude. You'll fry a wire in your brain! 

I would get them too. That's not a bad price at all!


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## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

sorry, I was just getting excited by just thinking of a 240 gallon tank with 5 piranhas in it.
That would look great when they are really big.


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## Guest (Feb 2, 2003)

Don't freak yourself out, if you really don't want to stick your hand in the tank, just get an extra long gravel vac, and get a magnetic algae scraper. If they bite you, you can always filet there ass.


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

if the reds are well fed they wont bother you. I put my hand in the tank when I clean it out for about 15-20 minits, but on the other hand, red bellys are the tamest of them all, I would not try this with a large rhom. I got a 30" syphon tube for that tank from bigalsonline.com. I don't have the rhom yet, but I need it just to reach the bottom of the tank, bad enough I need to use the second step on the step stool to feed the fish in the tank.


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