# How Fast Does A Piraya Grow?



## Jeaddy (Nov 9, 2008)

and are they solitary fish or shoals? thx


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

Piraya grow at generally the same rate as nattereri. They can hit about the 8" mark in the first year then after that their growth slows down to around an inch or two per year

They can be kept in groups but also do good alone


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Jeaddy said:


> Piraya grow at generally the same rate as nattereri. They can hit about the 8" mark in the first year then after that *their growth slows down to around an inch per month*
> 
> They can be kept in groups but also do good alone


I think you mean a couple inches per year. If it was an inch per month they would be growing at an even faster rate then before.


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

yes i did mean that lol. I haven't slept yet.


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## Jeaddy (Nov 9, 2008)

sean-820 said:


> Piraya grow at generally the same rate as nattereri. They can hit about the 8" mark in the first year then after that *their growth slows down to around an inch per month*
> 
> They can be kept in groups but also do good alone


I think you mean a couple inches per year. If it was an inch per month they would be growing at an even faster rate then before.
[/quote]

Kool, thanks. so do you think they can be shoal with cichlid and or red bellies? just wondering.


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

with a cichlid the cichlid probly wouldnt last long. but they can with red belly's as long as their in a appropriate sized tank and are all around the same size


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Jeaddy said:


> Kool, thanks. so do you think they can be shoal with cichlid and or red bellies? just wondering.


Red bellies of a similar size usually works. Cichlids and 's don't work.


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## Jeaddy (Nov 9, 2008)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> with a cichlid the cichlid probly wouldnt last long. but they can with red belly's as long as their in a appropriate sized tank and are all around the same size


and how rare and expensive are these kind of fish, do you say they are just as expensive as black piranha or more and how aggressive are they?

I once has a red belly that is about 7 inches with cichlid and pacu and they are fine, except when it comes to feeding time, the red belly doesn't get to eat
as the pacu and cichlid took all the food. but the red belly did nibble at the pacu and scratch him a bit, the pacu is 2 times the red belly. The red devil is tough
red belly pretty much could get close to him. red devil is like 2 inches bigger. and the red belly is very skittish. I see red belly eats pellet fine, do you know if 
the piraya will eat pellets? and what kind of temperament is it?


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

I would say piraya are more rare then rhombeus, pricing is a bit higher for piraya about $150 for a 5"
temperment is all individual to each fish. some will kill anything that touches the water and some will hide in a corner all day


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Jeaddy said:


> and how rare and expensive are these kind of fish, do you say they are just as expensive as black piranha or more and how aggressive are they?*piranha usually cost more then rhoms. A 6" piranha will run upwards of 100$ and thats cheap. They can comfortably go for 150$*
> 
> I once has a red belly that is about 7 inches with cichlid and pacu and they are fine, except when it comes to feeding time, the red belly doesn't get to eat
> as the pacu and cichlid took all the food. but the red belly did nibble at the pacu and scratch him a bit, the pacu is 2 times the red belly. The red devil is tough
> ...


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## Jeaddy (Nov 9, 2008)

Ok let say you put 5+ red belly and a piraya at 2/3/4 inches in same tank, how can you tell them apart? and who would attack who, who the aggressor?


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

usually you can tell a piraya by the fact the "flames" come up over the lateral line of the fish. if there is any aggression it would most likely be a piraya doing it. unless the reds were alot bigger


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Jeaddy said:


> Ok let say you put 5+ red belly and a piraya at 2/3/4 inches in same tank, how can you tell them apart? *piranha have nicer color and usually a clear as opposed to red eye.* and who would attack who, who the aggressor?


A 5" red and a 2" piraya will probably end with a dead piraya. %" and 3" is still a noticable difference and the same outcome would be expected. 4" should be ok, but still no guarantess. Naturally pirayas are more agressive, but its not a fair match when its a 2"+ size difference. Thats like a dog taking on a lion cub. A larger dog could destroy a lion cub, but a lion could kill a dog. In for inch though piraya is more agressive. This is how i think the senerios would happen, but differences in individual fish could mean it could work, but the odds are against it working with a 2" size difference


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

even with a 2" size difference just keep them fed and the temp on the lower side and you should be fine


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## Jeaddy (Nov 9, 2008)

so high temp makes them more aggressive?


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

yes


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> even with a 2" size difference just keep them fed and the temp on the lower side and you should be fine


personally i'm not going to risk a 100$ 2-3" piraya with a 5" 15$ red. Id either get on the same size or get rid of the red and get smaller piraya. You have to remember the smaller fish is being introduced into a larger fishes territory so right there the red has an advantage. Feeding will keep them fat, but not prevent cannibalism. territorial disputes lead to cannibalism so its not like its eating its tank mates b/c it is hungry.


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## bigshawn (Dec 29, 2005)

^^^I agree gets all piraya's or stay will all reds..........


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

sean-820 said:


> even with a 2" size difference just keep them fed and the temp on the lower side and you should be fine


personally i'm not going to risk a 100$ 2-3" piraya with a 5" 15$ red. Id either get on the same size or get rid of the red and get smaller piraya. You have to remember the smaller fish is being introduced into a larger fishes territory so right there the red has an advantage. Feeding will keep them fat, but not prevent cannibalism. territorial disputes lead to cannibalism so its not like its eating its tank mates b/c it is hungry.
[/quote]

I just added a 2" red to my tank. the other 3 are bigger then him, keep the temp down and you would most likely be fine


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## shoal king (Oct 27, 2006)

when i had my piraya from 4" they grew to about 10" in just over a year. i kept a shoal of 4 in a 180. but most keep solo.








wish i still had those guys


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

yea piraya's are a bit more aggressive i noticed, but as long as they are near the same size and housed well you should be ok. what size tank you plan to have them in ? if you do decide to put them together just kinda keep an eye on them when you have time, and watch them during feeding time , to see each ones eating habbits, expect a few fin nips here and there, they grow back tho. good luck mannn


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