# Piranhas Vs neotropical Cichlids



## hemichromis (Apr 23, 2004)

which has the best personality in your opinions
io think cichlids are best because like some piranhas some cichlids will attack you through the glass but cichlids seem to have an intelligence that piranhas lack with them it feels as tough the are watching you as much as you are watching them


----------



## myles (Feb 27, 2005)

haha id like to hear *piranha boy* reply to this 1


----------



## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

cichlids are by far, more personable and interactive than piranhas. The ratio of cichlids that approach the tank and "interact" to piranhas that do the same will lean to the cichlids favor. I've owned both, pygos and a serra and convicts/green terrors/festae/midas and I enjoy my cichlids way more. But that's my personal opinion


----------



## shoe997bed263 (Oct 15, 2004)

i have both and my cichlids interact with my but over the past couple of months my pygo's have become real interactive with my. my irritan watches me and attacks me through the glass. when i am in the room he will not keep his eyes off of me


----------



## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

My rhom is more personable than my green terror or convicts, my cichlids are just more colorful. I prefer my piranhas


----------



## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

My lil bro has a 20 wit 4 jack dempseys,2 black convicts,2 midas, and 2 firemouths. i do have to say that those chiclids are fun, and very interactive.but i juss like the sheer aggression of piranhas, and i really enjoy watching my p's rip a minnow apart


----------



## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Tibs said:


> a 20 wit 4 jack dempseys,2 black convicts,2 midas, and 2 firemouths.
> [snapback]925511[/snapback]​


Is your brother planning on a 200 gallon tank to house all those fish anytime soon?


----------



## DominatorRhom (Jan 28, 2005)

a big difference in my experience is that the cichlid is just much quicker to get used to people being around. i know members on here have had serras that go nuts at them within a few hours, but you see that much more often with a cichlid. another difference i have found is that my piranhas only attacked other fish for food. my old tiger oscar on the other hand would go after anything that moved in the tank, and even everything that didnt move. the min i put a fish in with him he would kill it, whether he was hungry or not. most of the time he wouldnt even eat the whole thing. my rhom still hasnt completely gotten used to me and its been about 2 months now.

my cichlid gave me more problems however. he was extremely messy, he would just rip sh*t apart all day long. he would also go psycho at 3 in the morning and bang himself against the top of the tank and give himself huge scratches just to get attention. one time he did it so bad he almost killed himself. i am glad i dont have to deal with that anymore.

if i ever had the $ and space, i would love to get a red devil or a jaguar cichlid. they are a lot of fun, and you dont have to be as careful around them cause they dont have huge razor sharp teeth...but you do still have to be careful.


----------



## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

elTwitcho said:


> Tibs said:
> 
> 
> > a 20 wit 4 jack dempseys,2 black convicts,2 midas, and 2 firemouths.
> ...


Lol um i dont think so since hes only 5, i know its cramped, but in my family we always like to pust the limit wit our tanks hehehe, but they wont grow much more, the jeck dempseys are fully grown at 3",and about 10 years old,and everything else is pretty small


----------



## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Tibs said:


> elTwitcho said:
> 
> 
> > Tibs said:
> ...


Uh... Dempseys grow to about a foot, firemouths grow to about 5 inches, convicts grow to about 5 inches, and Midas can hit 16 inches, there's something not quite right there


----------



## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

Tibs said:


> elTwitcho said:
> 
> 
> > Tibs said:
> ...

































jack dempseys grow to 8-12 inches, midas grow 13"+ and black cons hit 6-7" at full size. you've got to be shitting me. pushing the limit is a sever understatement here. that 20gallon can house two convicts OR two firemouths, nothing else. and 10 year old JDs that are 3"?!?!? hahahaha. oh man, i think you're another filo.


----------



## eL ChiNo LoCo (Apr 16, 2004)

Growth stunt anyone?


----------



## Guest (Mar 9, 2005)

Tibs said:


> elTwitcho said:
> 
> 
> > Tibs said:
> ...


Lets get ready to RUUMMBBBLLEEEEEE!

Those Midas' are goin to massacre the rest of those fish, they can be real nasty.

...I cant even...

Is this some kind of joke?

WTF?

10 YEARS! 3''? I had a Jack Dempsey which grew 3 inches every month! You have midgit dempseys! Stunting a fish that badly has to be against God. Just hope to God none of those fish start breeding....

My guess is that in a few days, you will wake up to one Midas, smirking through the glass saying "Nice try, smart guy."

AHHH...

I still dont believe this...

this post has taken me an hour to write because I have to keep reading your posts over, just so I know Im not dreaming....

Midas, JD's and Firemouths Oh my!

I need a beer...

--Dan


----------



## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

yeah i know itsa lil hard to believe, but it seems to be working well. the dempseys were in a 45 high hall full with basically no care at all for 7 years and the tank was too dirty to see into.for one month they had no airiation at all, and for what ever reason they lived.the convects are about 1" long and living fine, they were at one time breeding.the midases are the weakest in the tank having the convicts even attacking them, and we are worried their gunna out grow that tank cuz there big eaters.here is some pics of the biggest dempsey


----------



## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

Tibs, those fish really really need a much bigger tank, if you could get one the fish and you would benifit

greatly, if you cant i would say try to sell of the big guys atleast to some one with a tank that could house

them properly


----------



## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

People, please keep this on topic...
PM Tibs if you have something to say to him.

As far as personality goes: I've never kept any cichlids besides Kribs (which were pretty neat) and Jewel Cichids (feeders), so I can't make any intelligent judgement about what's better (in fact, no one can, as discussions like this are by definition based on personal preference and experience, and not on facts).

But both my Reds and Manueli are very entertaining fish to own, and I'm perfectly happy with them the way they are - to such an extent I don't even feel the need to get me any cichlids. Maybe I miss out on something awesome, but as long as I don't know any better, so what?


----------



## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

MR.FREEZ said:


> Tibs, those fish really really need a much bigger tank, if you could get one the fish and you would benifit
> 
> greatly, if you cant i would say try to sell of the big guys atleast to some one with a tank that could house
> 
> ...


well their my lil bros so i cant sell em, and it really isnt that bad in there, they all got enuf room. i do realize that they should have more but for one they seem fine, and for two their not myn


----------



## air*force*one (Mar 5, 2004)

cichlids by far


----------



## hemichromis (Apr 23, 2004)

Judazzz said:


> People, please keep this on topic...
> PM Tibs if you have something to say to him.
> 
> As far as personality goes: I've never kept any cichlids besides Kribs (which were pretty neat) and Jewel Cichids (feeders), so I can't make any intelligent judgement about what's better (in fact, no one can, as discussions like this are by definition based on personal preference and experience, and not on facts).
> ...


i'm not loving you now i know you use hemichromis as feeders!!!!!


----------



## Scrappy (Oct 21, 2004)

Another vote for Cichlids. My Flowerhorn has more personality than any of the p's I've owned.


----------



## hrdbyte (Feb 2, 2005)

cichlid of course but dont get me wrong they are some piranha's that can interact and charge at you through the glass....


----------



## BruceLee420 (Nov 19, 2004)

just own them both and in the same tank dammit f*ck those cichlids theyll last 4 a while atleast!!


----------



## Scrappy (Oct 21, 2004)

BruceLee420 said:


> just own them both and in the same tank dammit f*ck those cichlids theyll last 4 a while atleast!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


My Flowerhorn killed 4 of my p's when I tried that. I wouldn't under-estimate cichlids.


----------



## Guest (Mar 13, 2005)

I once heard a story about an FH and a Jag taking on a 15 RBP shoal. Apparently, they defended eachother and took down the whole shoal in one night. Theres a video on one of the forums I think.

--Dan


----------



## hyphen (Apr 4, 2004)

DannyBoy17 said:


> I once heard a story about an FH and a Jag taking on a 15 RBP shoal. Apparently, they defended eachother and took down the whole shoal in one night. Theres a video on one of the forums I think.
> 
> --Dan
> [snapback]931195[/snapback]​


i also heard of this one story where a dovii and a convict joined forces to annhialate a shoal of 30 full grown pirayas, and then the hopped out of their tank into the neighboring tank to kill the inhabitants of that tank. then they shot thunderbolts from their pectoral fins.


----------



## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

IME, new world cichlids (depending on the specie) uasually have much more personality and interact alot more with their owners. IME with piranhas all they did was bite each other, eat, swim, and once in a while rest.... pretty damn boring. But with cichlids, they interact with each other constantly. They are always either swimming with each other, flaring up at each other, trying to mate with something, or trying to get at me trough the glass







The closest piranha that I have ever owned to a cichlid was an elongatus. He was pretty damn cool. He would come to the top once in a while to wait for his food, he would interact with tankmates (or just ate them.... which ever you feel fits that discription better), and would even chase my finger and was not one bit skittish. All of the pygos I have ever owned (caribes, pirayas, and red bellys) have all been skittish. IMO if you have a piranha or want a piranha with a great personality try to get an active serra


----------



## Mughal (Mar 3, 2005)

I have both as well in the same tank even, the cichlids help the piranhas to be more interactive before they die, it's well worth the few bucks!


----------



## Guest (Mar 13, 2005)

Mughal said:


> I have both as well in the same tank even, the cichlids help the piranhas to be more interactive before they die, it's well worth the few bucks!
> [snapback]931328[/snapback]​












When people say things like that, I feel like putting some Piranhas in a tank with my breeding Jewels or Flowerhorns...



> i also heard of this one story where a dovii and a convict joined forces to annhialate a shoal of 30 full grown pirayas, and then the hopped out of their tank into the neighboring tank to kill the inhabitants of that tank. then they shot thunderbolts from their pectoral fins.


Was that inspired by Braveheart!?







That sounds exactly like one of Wallace's speeches!

--Dan


----------



## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

hemichromis said:


> i'm not loving you now i know you use hemichromis as feeders!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Feeders are feeders: I'm not one of those two-faced moaners saying that feeding goldfish is tha shiznit, but feeding 'lovable' fish such as cichlids is animal cruelty (not saying that you are...)

If you want to hate, hate the LFS: they put a ridiculously low price tag on those cichlids, not me - who was I to resist?









Some people don't give a crap about piranha's, and would not hesitate to use them as feeders: others have the same with cichlids. So?
I don't see any reasons to start whining about what others do - the only problem I see is people having trouble accepting, and judging, other people's personal preferences...


----------



## NTcaribe (Apr 8, 2004)

i prefer piranhas

you say to a chick...i have cichlids they are like what the hell are those

you tell them you have piranhas they say cool and then they come over to your house and you guys get on booooooooooooooooooooooyyyaaaa


----------



## NTcaribe (Apr 8, 2004)

my last post only took me less than 7 seconds to type, i was on a role...hehehe

i dont post whore


----------

