# Four 4in Rb's In 55g



## Fresh (Feb 8, 2004)

whats the max time they can be in a 55g for? tank will have more than 700gph filtering and mostly plants and some driftwood. what about 5? thanks


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## Vince302 (Sep 8, 2008)

What about 3!

Seriously i had 3 in my 55 and when they reach 7-8 " its ok but space is limited , I lost 1 now with two they got little more space but , when they get scared they hit the glass pretty quickly and hard ,with 4-5 that size it would be wayy too much !

I suppose 4 or 5 is ok till like 4-5" maybe 6"


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## Piranha-Freak101 (Dec 8, 2010)

onestly i have 6 4inch RBP in a 55gl and theyr doing just fine, how long will they tolerate the space? time will tell


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## Guest (Mar 28, 2011)

I've seen worse stocking in pet stores . .
It depends on how fast they're growing. I say once they hit the 6" mark find something bigger


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## Fresh (Feb 8, 2004)

3 was my original plan but i've been wanting a shoal for years, i've had 3 piranha's but all solo. eventually i am going to go bigger but not anytime soon so i'm trying to use as much space and time as i can respectfully. i am buying them at 4inch so what's their growth rate from there?


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## TheSpaz13 (Apr 9, 2010)

You have time...probably a year or so depending on your individual fish. Personally, I have 3 in a 55 and the big one is probably about 7 and he fits with enough room to turn around. A lot of it is preference, how cramped you will let your fish get. With my fish, I don't like them to be more than half to three quarters the width of the tank, just so they can turn comfortably. Since the 55 is 12 inches wide, 7 inches is where I'm drawing the line(building my 75 right now) but if you want to push your luck 8 inch fish could probably fit it's just tight. Also remember that you might start running into territory issues with 5 8" fish in a box that's only 12"x48".

The bigger concern I would have is the filtration your going to be running when the fish get bigger. RBP are not the neatest fish to keep and when they get bigger (6+) your not going to have enough filtration to handle their bioload and will end up having to do larger water changes. 700 gph is a lot on a 55 gallon tank but it's not that much considering your going to have 5 fish ripping food apart in there. I would seriously consider investing in a good canister filter when they get bigger and keep an eye out on craigslist for a deal on a 75 gal tank.

Sorry, I didn't ask what type of filters you had but assumed you have HOBs, they normally don't have the same amount of filtering power that canisters do


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## Fresh (Feb 8, 2004)

i dont want overcrowding, if anything i'll get rid of a couple and keep 3 when they get to that size. xp3 and penguin 350, im not a noob to this, just been years since i had my last piranha.


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## TheSpaz13 (Apr 9, 2010)

Oh hah, I thought that xp3 and 350 thread was yours but wasn't sure. If your going to do 3 your going to be fine for a while, I would get them smaller though. Maybe start with 4-5 at 3" and as they get bigger keep the best looking ones and sell off the others, or just let them figure out who stays and who goes. If you go that route you have a couple years withe them.


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## SandNukka15 (Nov 16, 2010)

i have 3 4inch caribe in my 55 i plan on moving them when they hit 6 inches. IMO a 55 gallon width is only 12inches i wouldnt keep a pygo in there for life. if i were you i would upgrade to a 75 since the width is 18inches and you could prob keep 4-5 in there for life


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## Fresh (Feb 8, 2004)

that thread is mine lol, i just forgot sooo much about this hobby in the last ~7 years of not having a set up. this is definitely not for life, i'm not even doing 3 for life. im just trying to see if i can have a small shoal going for a bit respectfully in a 55g and then upgrading to 75g. what's a rb's growth rate?


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

about 6-8" in the first year. Each P will vary.


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## philbert (Mar 8, 2007)

i would guess if you are buying them at 4 inches maxxxxxxx would be a year. a more likely time line 6-8 months. just keep up on the water changes.


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