# Caribe, Piraya, And Red Belly Cohab?



## nilocg (Apr 5, 2010)

I recently set up a 135 gallon tank with red bellies, as I have been browsing the forums I have seen several pictures with red bellies living with caribe and piraya living together. Does this cohab work well or is it an exception to the rule. I really like the idea of having a cohab but just want to make sure it will go well.

Right now I have 20 1-2" RBP's in my 135 gallon tank, if I were going to do the cohab I would sell some of them, but would 10-12 RBP's, 3-4 caribas, and 3-4 piraya work? I know some of you think this is going to be way too many fish in a 135(and when full grown probably will be), but filtration shouldnt be a problem. I am going to be running a fx5 with a HOT magnum 250, and I have a rena xp3 if needed.

Also do you know if anyone is currently selling smaller caribe or piraya's at the moment? And what is a good price for 2" piraya and caribe?


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

Piraya, Caribe, Terns and RBP's are all pygo's and can be kept in a group together. I would go with around 12-15 p's in total for a 135g, I'm putting 20 in my 180g but that's only until they get 10"+ but that will take years.

Shark Aquarium has 1" Caribe 5/$100


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## nilocg (Apr 5, 2010)

CuzIsaidSo said:


> Piraya, Caribe, Terns and RBP's are all pygo's and can be kept in a group together. I would go with around 12-15 p's in total for a 135g, I'm putting 20 in my 180g but that's only until they get 10"+ but that will take years.
> 
> Shark Aquarium has 1" Caribe 5/$100


Is that a pretty decent deal on Caribe? Anyone selling Piraya? How much do Piraya normally go for when they are small?


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

They're the only Caribe available right now (small caribe only are only available once a year) I've been waiting months for some. I'v never seen small piraya available.


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## nilocg (Apr 5, 2010)

What size are the piraya that are normally for sale? How much are they?


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

from personal experience i would say weave out there rbp , i have lost 4 rbp in the past 2months ......piraya and caribe are a much stronger gene of the pygo family in my experience . at the end of the day up to you , yea they all look nice in the tank together but be prepared for the worse, as i type this tonight i came home and found i have a rbp wit a new injury. all the luck to you if you can make it work tho for sure, good luck dawg, but my luck hasnt been so great


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## memento (Jun 3, 2009)

The cohab with all three Pygocentrus species will work, but keep in mind it's never a 100% guaranteed succes.
Not very long ago someone opened a thread over here with a picture of what was left of his cariba, after a piraya attacked and ate it.

But the biggest concern is your tank size and the amount of fish you want in it.
A 135 gallon with 10 reds is allready full, anything else is overstocking and that might be a big problem if you cohab pirayas and caribes with them.

I'd say you'd better start with less fish then that.


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## CuzIsaidSo (Oct 13, 2009)

Piraya get bigger and are more aggresive than other pygo's that's why I'm going with a cohab of Caribe,Terns&RBP's and no Piraya.

As Combi said some people think overstocking is a problem others don't. I beleive overstocking is actually a good thing, it makes your p's less likely to set up teroritories and becoming aggresive towards each other. I'll be putting about 20 pygo's in my 180g I see no problem putting 12-15 in your 135g, until they get big then you may have to take some out.


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## [email protected]° (Jun 16, 2004)

I had 1 Piraya, 1 Tern, 1 Cariba, and 2 Reds in my 125 for about 2 years before I had to sell them and put the tank in storage.

It was a pretty violent tank, but it did work.

Just don't overstock too much and keep them well fed with good water conditions.

I also kept the temp down to around 75°


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## Doktordet (Sep 22, 2006)

I have successfully kept all those pygo species co-habbed together for the last 4 years without as much as a single death due to one fish attacking another - regardless of whether they were caribe, piraya, tern or rbp. Absolutely NO problems at all.


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## pirana666 (Aug 26, 2010)

what about the difference in size..
Or all the same size together? 
cuase piraya grows faster..


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## wisco_pygo (Dec 9, 2009)

pygo's rate of growth when they are young is fast. first year you'll experience quite a bit of grown- 1" fish in may/june can be 5-6" or more by xmas. piraya and caribe are both dominant species of pygos, they will aggressively establish territory. i have caribe and piraya right now, the caribe are 3" and the piraya is 4-5", i haven't had any problems yet, but from watching the tank often the fish do squabble a lot. no injuries or deaths though from the cohab thus far.


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## Domelotta (Apr 25, 2007)

I have a caribe, tern, and rbp pygo tank. I have had only one casualty. It was 9 pygos ina 120G, now it's 8 The caribe are pretty aggressive, but the Tern in my tank picks all the fights. I keep my temp at 80*F. I also feed every few days because they start attacking each other more and more otherwise.


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## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

I don't have a good comment, I just wanted to know if anyone noticed how old this thread is?


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