# Soon To Be Piranha Newbie >



## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

Hello to all:

I am going to be starting a piranha tank at home, i currently have a fish tank so I have experience with regular tropical fish. My big questions are probably ones that you have seen countless times, and I am sorry !

I would like to start a tank with aggressive piranha. I live near NJ, so that is probably where I will have to go to get a pick of different types of piranha. Am I right in thinking that i need to keep aggressive fish ALONE??

Do you guys reccomend shoal piranhas, or aggressive, and what types?

What size tank, filter do you reccommend?

Any place where I can find a big selection of fish and supplies at decent prices would be appreciated.

I know that I am asking much, and hope that soon, I too, can contribute info to this forum !

Thanks !


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

Semper Fi said:


> Hello to all:
> 
> I am going to be starting a piranha tank at home, i currently have a fish tank so I have experience with regular tropical fish. My big questions are probably ones that you have seen countless times, and I am sorry !
> 
> ...


Do you already have a tank & filter or are you going to buy one ?

We need to know more about your setup before we can help you know whats best for you


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

welcome to pfury you have came to the right place. As far as what type Serra - Solitary or Pygo - schoaling is all up to you, if you can handle loosing a fish at any moment that you have raised over the years id go with pygos. If you dont have a large tank i would go with a solitary Serra.


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

If you wanna keep the tank you got, then you need to tell us the size. If you're willing to get a new one then it needs to be at least 55 gallons if you wanna keep a couple of red bellies. Red bellies are the most common piranha which can be kept together, but they do grow up to 12'' and grow really fast in the early stages of their life. Welcome aboard


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Welcome aboard. Be sure to checkout AEaquatics also in NJ. Wealth of imformation here for you here!


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## Lifer374 (Dec 5, 2003)

Welcome to Fury!

I (and a lot of us here) are glad to see you doing the right thing doing some home work before jumping into this hobby.

You will without a doubt get some really great responses in this thread as people here are always happy to give helpful information.

You couldn't live in a better area to go shopping for a new piranha. A few of our dealers are located there and always have excellent stock options. My advise would be to visit all of their shops if possible.

An aggressive piranha is something that varies greatly from fish to fish. Some are crazy the second they hit the new tank and others take a great deal of time to come around. The latter should be expected and patience is key.

My advice would be keeping a solo piranha, your first time around. 
Look for a tank with a footprint of 48" x 18". A medium sized Serrasalmus rhombeus or Serrasalmus elongotus are excellent choices. 
Serrasalmus maculatus or S. sanchezi would make a great choice as well and wouldn't require as large of a tank. a 48" x 12" would be sufficient.

Members of the genus "Pygocentrus" are your typical shoaling "true" piranhas (Caribe, Piraya and the common red belly...Nattereri)
Members of the genus "Serrasalmus" are for the most part piranha that are best kept solo. Not to say you can't keep a Pygo by itself.

Serra's tend to have a much slower growth rate then Pygo's as well. And only a few species of Serra grow larger then 10" (Rhombeus and Manueli) where the smaller of the Pygo's (Natt's) can easily reach 10" under the right care. Caribe and Piraya can grow substantially larger.

Edit to add*

Go through the pinned and saved threads here on the "Piranha Discussion" Forum as well as the "Tank/Equipment, Feeding/Nutrition, Piranha Pics/Vids".

Also check out OPEFE.com. This is probably the finest piranha information sight on the internet.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

LOL @ any place in NJ with p'?

It's pretty ironic hearing this as three of the top piranha vendors in the united states are in NJ

There is AE Aquatics, Aquascape and Sharkaquarium. All in NJ and all sponcers on this site. All of them have forums and each sponsor has at least one user name that you can contact them with or just follow email from their sites. You can get to shark aquarium and aquascape through the posters on the right of the main page and you can get to ae aquatics through his forum or probably just typing it in google.


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## AE Aquatics (Alex) (Jan 15, 2006)

Or you can just contact me [email protected] and welcome


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Piranhas arent the aggressive killers you think your getting. Most aggresive species is said to be the Elongatus. Shoals of piranhas are cool, But your going to need a relatively large tank. I was gonna take the 55gal road but I was persuaded by many members that i should step it up to the 75gal. Research your fav. kind and go from there. Red bellies beign cheap at 10 bucks or other ranging in the 100's. I felt it hard to dish out 180.00 bucks for 5 caribe but it was well worth my money! LOVE EM!


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## memento (Jun 3, 2009)

Welcome to the hobby


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## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

BRUNER247 said:


> Welcome aboard. Be sure to checkout AEaquatics also in NJ. Wealth of imformation here for you here!


OMG ! What a site, awesome !


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## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> Or you can just contact me [email protected] and welcome


I will most definitely do that !!


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## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

After looking at those sites, I am beginning to think that I would like the aggressive serassalmus species. It appears to me that many of them are kept alone in clear tanks devoid of sand, gravel, and any other decoration. It seems that they only have a pump. I am guessing that the emptier the tank, the easier it is to clean it after these babies have fed.

Again, I am looking for a decent price....I just cant pay 900 dollars for a fish, but I can definitely spend about 150 and below for a great aggressive species. I am going to try and figure out which one is the easiest to care for. The Serrasalmus Manuelli and Serrasalmus Elongatus look like awesome, and affordable fish.

I am thinking that for one piranha such as this, I would get at least a 50 gallon tank, and a good strong filter. Any particular filter you guys reccommend? I also am worried about ammonia levels in tanks, my tank has great levels for all reading except my ammonia. Other than constant water changes, what do you guys do to keep ammonia down? When they say change my biological filter, I usually change the carbon filters on my pump, however the pinwheel that allows the watrer to run through it is never to be cleaned, as I was told, that this piece is the actual support of my biological cycle.

Below is the pinwheel I speak about and my current tropical (non-piranha) tank


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

They are kept in empty tanks at the stores, which is where the pics on those sites were taken, but you don't see too many hobbyists with completely bare tanks.


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## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> Piranhas arent the aggressive killers you think your getting. Most aggresive species is said to be the Elongatus. Shoals of piranhas are cool, But your going to need a relatively large tank. I was gonna take the 55gal road but I was persuaded by many members that i should step it up to the 75gal. Research your fav. kind and go from there. Red bellies beign cheap at 10 bucks or other ranging in the 100's. I felt it hard to dish out 180.00 bucks for 5 caribe but it was well worth my money! LOVE EM!


Yes, from what I see, the elongatus look like my kind of fish !


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

I disagree with elong being the most aggressive. Every piranha I have is more aggressive than my BME.if you want a aggressive serra definitely go with gold macs/spilos. Plus you can get a few of them. I'd ask some actual elong owners, I bet its hit or miss on aggression. Hell my rbp are braver than my elong. Any one of my macs watch me from front glass n chase any movement in front of their tanks.


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## Lifer374 (Dec 5, 2003)

it varies fish to fish. 
There is no species of piranha that is most aggressive.

Start with what you like the looks of the most and go from there.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Lifer374 said:


> it varies fish to fish.
> There is no species of piranha that is most aggressive.
> 
> Start with what you like the looks of the most and go from there.


I have yet to hear of a Mac that wasn't aggressive.I'm sure there's exceptions. I agree it varies from fish to fish n other factors play a part in it too IMO.


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## memento (Jun 3, 2009)

Lifer374 said:


> There is no species of piranha that is most aggressive.


There are just shy fish that easily get defensive...

Edit : I can be mistaken, but your tank looks somewhat small... get a 75 gallon at least for Pygos or a 55 at least for a Serra


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

If you can Id go with a canister filter. I use to always have HOB filters but when I got into P's I switched to canisters and couldnt be happier. I use Eheim and have had zero problems in the pass 6 years of using them. Takes me 15 minutes to clean one. Bonus of a canister filter, if you move you keep the water in thr canister keeping your bio and it will speed up cycle time in a new setup. As far as what fish to go with. Thats entirely your choice. There is no set most aggressive species. Mannys are said to be vicious little bastards but it took mine 8 months before it felt comfy in its new home. Even then its not a finger chaser. Well unless you hand is in the tank.


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## AE Aquatics (Alex) (Jan 15, 2006)

If your a beginner stay away from manuelli. They are not your beginners fish. One of favorite fish are the purple sanchez. Looks good, not expensive and not shy.


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## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

The best advice that I can give is research research and research some more. Find a piranha that you would love to look at whether he his aggressive or shy as can be. It's going to be hit or miss when it comes to aggression.

Like CombiChrist said that tank appears to be a bit small. I believe that you said it was a 50g, I'm assuming that it's a 50g Tall. Piranhas typically like a larger footprint. What are the dimensions of your tank?

My top 2 picks for a beginner Serra would be:

1.) Gold Mac
2.) Sanchezi

Both are known for being fairly aggressive and both are fairly easy to come by.

Good Luck and welcome to the site my friend.


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

a 50gal wouldnt permit you a manuelli. A black mask elong would be sweettt! If i had a 50gal tank I would get either a elong or gold piranha. Sanchezi ehh some people love them. agression is a hit and miss thing, Not every elong is going to be super nasty finger chaser, but if you did get one that would be cool. Good luck on whatever you choose!


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Guys, he never said his current tank is a 50g. he said if he was gonna get a mannie or elong then he would get at least a 50g.

Semper Fi, i couldn't recommend a sanchezi enough. They are one of the smaller serras, but are great little piranhas and can be really interesting to watch. Mine had a great little attitude, and was always active when i approached the tank. A 50g would suit one for life. As Joe said, they are only bare in the stores as that is temporary housing for them, plus its way easier to maintain, especially when you have a store full of them. But most people have substrate and decor in their tanks, your fish couldn't care less which substrate you go for if any, but a couple of plants here and there wouldn't go a miss, especially if you wanna help your new piranha to settle, he will feel comfortable in a hiding place and will gradually come out of his shell. Or he could just be a badass right away, that usually not being the case, but its really hit and miss. Lots of people have had piranhas who aint afraid to ahow their true colours right away.

Good luck with your decision and cant wait to see pics!


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## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

LOL, thanks Murphy I was really thinking that was a crazy small 50g in that pic.

*Note to self: Read carefully you idiot


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## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

CombiChrist said:


> If your a beginner stay away from manuelli. They are not your beginners fish. One of favorite fish are the purple sanchez. Looks good, not expensive and not shy.


I will take your advice, but why aren't they beginner P's?


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

sudden changes in water ie PH, Ammonia, GH can can kill them


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Both sanchezi and irritans (probably cant find one) will only hit 6" and would need a 30g for life while most other p's need at least a 75g. If you do a 75g you can keep pretty much any serra though i would still stay away from manueli.

Id look into a sanchezi or TRUE spilo. Being that your in nj i would see where you are relative to these three shops and check them out. Im sure Alex (ae aquatics), george (shark aquarium) or pedro (aquascape) would be able to help you out and if you go to the shop you can pick the specific fish you want which always betters your shots at an aggressive one. Neither of these guys get big, but they are cool nonethe less. If you wanted size you could get a medium to large black piranha though they are not always cheap and 150$ could mayby get you one thats mayby 7" at the most

Manueli is not ideal for a new keeper as its sensitive to water conditions outside of its ideal range and it grows large.


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

Gold Mac's are good for starters - it's what I started out with. I also think they look really mean when they are fully grown - I think I saw a photo somewhere once...


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## Criley (Jun 2, 2010)

given your name and location, your not stationed at stewart are you? i am and can help you out if so


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## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

I am going to stop into the shops and take a look at all that you guys have to offer. I think I will get the best advice and like the idea of picking out my fish. Are they close to where I live? Thank God for navigation !!

I will already have my tank set up, prepped and ready to fill when I come in. After I tell you my setup, you can let me know which P is best for me







Thank you for all your help. I cannot wait to get my P's !!!!


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

AE Aquatics, Shark Aquarium & Aquascape are all in N.J.


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## Semper Fi (Sep 8, 2010)

CuzIsaidSo said:


> AE Aquatics, Shark Aquarium & Aquascape are all in N.J.


Great, I am looking forward to the visits !


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