# Serrasalmus Sanchezi or Serrasalmus Irritan



## GQatPSU69 (Nov 15, 2005)

Hey, I was thinkgi about getting one or the other between the Serrasalmus sanchezi and the Serrasalmus irritan. I wanted to nkow which might be best for me to get in your opinion. Also, how do they measure up to each other and what is the info that I can keep in mind as far as the maximum size they get, minimum size tank they can be in, behavior, feeding habits, which is more aggressive, water conditions and challenge to care for, etc. Hopefully this will help me compare the two piranhas and I can decide which one to get. Thanks a lot


----------



## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

i say irritan all the way!!!

i love the way they look the shape and from most

of the videos i seen the behavior is more "outgoing"


----------



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

They get about the same size, around 7". Minimum size would be a 30 gallon. Care would be the same for both.


----------



## kamekazi (Oct 7, 2004)

Sanchezi looks nicer, and irritans tend to be more outgoing and aggressive though the personality of the fish is also a factor. Irritans are fast stealthy sons of bithches. I've seen more aggressive irritans than sanchezi. My sanchezi was scared of me but extremely evil towards anything I put in his tank. They both don't get bigger than 6-7 inches. Sanchezi looks a lot nicer than irritan though. I'd get the irritan.


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

I agree with 99.999999999999999999% of what GG says here, but a 30gal for a 7" fish,Jeff?

I think i 55 is to small for a irritans for life. (my opinion of course).


----------



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Ex0dus said:


> I agree with 99.999999999999999999% of what GG says here, but a 30gal for a 7" fish,Jeff?
> 
> I think i 55 is to small for a irritans for life. (my opinion of course).


Yes...a 30 gallon would be the minimum I would use for either of these fish. He didnt ask for the ideal size, he asked for the minimum size. I kept a 9" brandtii in a 30 gallon for over a year and he was more aggressive during feeding in that tank then the 75 he is in now. He also is in the exact same spot every time I see him. So does he need a 75 gallon tank?


----------



## ital1anstallion4 (Jan 27, 2006)

I would get a purple sanchezi... for the price of the fish... its the best buy... nicest colors... and they are just as aggressive... its all on the fish though really like kami said... i like the purple sanchezi id get taht


----------



## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Grosse Gurke said:


> I agree with 99.999999999999999999% of what GG says here, but a 30gal for a 7" fish,Jeff?
> 
> I think i 55 is to small for a irritans for life. (my opinion of course).


Yes...a 30 gallon would be the minimum I would use for either of these fish. He didnt ask for the ideal size, he asked for the minimum size. I kept a 9" brandtii in a 30 gallon for over a year and he was more aggressive during feeding in that tank then the 75 he is in now. He also is in the exact same spot every time I see him. *So does he need a 75 gallon tank?*
[/quote]

Well I guess not if fish don't swim.









Honestly though GG, you gotta give room for the fish to move/swim around. If you put a 9 inch brandti in a 30 gallon, that would be like leaving a full size dog in a crate with never taking it out for a walk and exercise. Piranhas are fish and they do need to swim. Just cause you don't see them swim, doesn't mean they don't swim at all.


----------



## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

get the irritan, my sanchezi's a p*ssy.


----------



## Ex0dus (Jun 29, 2005)

black_piranha said:


> get the irritan, my sanchezi's a p*ssy.


one of my irritans took months to 'open up'.

If you stick with them, most of them will settle in and become much more active. The key is its on theoir terms.


----------



## ITsPennywise (May 26, 2005)

This is not coming from experience...just of preference...I would go with the Irritan...They look nicer to me...and from what I have seen in videos and what not...they seen more aggressive.


----------



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

b_ack51 said:


> Well I guess not if fish don't swim.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I guess you need to see how these fish interact with their enviroment in differnt size tanks. I think it has to do with having control over their territory. I have talked to other owners of these fish that have had the same experience. Put the fish (brandtii) in a smaller tank and they are more interactive, put the fish in a larger tank and they hide all the time. Will you get the same reaction with other serrasalmus...I dont know....but I wouldnt be worried about putting a 5"-7" fish in a tank that has a footprint of 36"X13"...a 55 is one foot longer. Dont you have your rhom in a tank that is 5' long? Seems like we are talking about the same amount of swiming room for the fish...3' for a 6" is 6 times his body length, 5' for a 12" fish is only 5 times his length.


----------



## mori0174 (Mar 31, 2004)

You cant get an answer on which is going to be most aggressive, so disreguard any post above that says otherwise. Each fish is an individual. Care for either of these fish will be very similar and size will be too. The main difference is what they actually look like more than anything else. Nothing else is guaranteed.


----------



## 50cent$13 (Jan 3, 2005)

sanchezi are pretty good in agression, they look nice plus theyre mean SOB's to anything else in the tank.


----------



## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

Grosse Gurke said:


> Well I guess not if fish don't swim.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I guess you need to see how these fish interact with their enviroment in differnt size tanks. I think it has to do with having control over their territory. I have talked to other owners of these fish that have had the same experience. Put the fish (brandtii) in a smaller tank and they are more interactive, put the fish in a larger tank and they hide all the time. Will you get the same reaction with other serrasalmus...I dont know....but I wouldnt be worried about putting a 5"-7" fish in a tank that has a footprint of 36"X13"...a 55 is one foot longer. Dont you have your rhom in a tank that is 5' long? Seems like we are talking about the same amount of swiming room for the fish...3' for a 6" is 6 times his body length, 5' for a 12" fish is only 5 times his length.
[/quote]

Rhom is in a 6 foot long tank So it's alittle more than 6 times his body length, cause he's only 11.75 inches.







And I'm upgrading to around a 180 when I move. (in apartment till july/august). Looking for a 6ft long, 30 inch wide tank.

I did have my irritan when was 1-2 inches in a 20 gallon long. He was crazy. When he got to around 3-4 inches I upgraded him to a 40 gallon tank, he did go back into his shell. But I think that's just because of the move and the new tank, he just wasn't adjusted. I only had him in the new tank for about 3 weeks until he was boiled to death by my heater.

What size is your rhom and tank? I forgot, but I thought it was a 14 or 15 inch?


----------



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

b_ack51 said:


> Rhom is in a 6 foot long tank So it's alittle more than 6 times his body length, cause he's only 11.75 inches.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OK so 6X the fish's length for your rhom tank and 6X his fish's length if he finds a 6" irritans or sanchezi. My point is that first everyone on this site assumes a larger tank is better...that might not always be the case..and second...everyone also assumes the fish will grow to its reported maximum size in the wild..once again that might not be the case. My irritans have grown a little more than an inch in the 1.5 years I have had them...and they were juvies. Who is to say they will ever reach even 5"? If a rhom in captivity will only grow to half its potential in the aquarium vs in the wild...then there is some reasonable expectation that my irritans wont reach the 7" mark and will max out around 5" if that...and I think (my personal opinion) is that a 5" fish would be happy in a tank that is over 7X its body length.


> I did have my irritan when was 1-2 inches in a 20 gallon long. He was crazy. When he got to around 3-4 inches I upgraded him to a 40 gallon tank, he did go back into his shell. But I think that's just because of the move and the new tank, he just wasn't adjusted. I only had him in the new tank for about 3 weeks until he was boiled to death by my heater.


I dont know if it was the move or not. Im sure that could be part of it but all of it....who knows. My brandtii has been in the 75 for over a year now and he is still eats no where near how he did in the 30. And the thing with this fish is he was in a 75 before going in the 30 and his behavior was the same last time in the 75. I was actually worried to open the lid of the 30 because he would attack the surface so hard for food that he would smack the lid. He still does this every once in a while in the 75..but in the 30..it was every feeding.


> What size is your rhom and tank? I forgot, but I thought it was a 14 or 15 inch?


My rhom is 16" in a 180 gallon tank


----------



## b_ack51 (Feb 11, 2003)

I understand what you're saying GG. Different opinions. Its just the "nice to have" that I look for.

I think of it something like this. Imagine if you're stuck in a house or a giant box for the rest of yuor life, can't go outside, etc. Would you rather have a house that you could fit in or would you rather have a house that you could run, jump, sleep, sit, do whatever you wanted in. I'm not saying go and buy a 10,000 gallon aquarium. I'm just saying try to go bigger if possible. You'll (and the fish) will get more exercise if it has more room to swim. You could add a powerhead to a small tank, but swimming in place will get boring for the fish.

I'm not saying it will grow to the maximum size of the reported species if in a bigger tank. (Just like not every human will grow to over 8 feet). But if you get the proper diet exercise, you'll have a better chance of being healthy and growing bigger. Just like a fish, if it's fed proper diet, given room to swim, powerheads, good water conditions, etc, it'll grow more to it's (individiual fish) maximum size. Stunted growth happens when???? In small tanks with bad water conditions and bad diet. If you want your fish to grow bigger, why not provide it with a "nicer" home than just the minimum.

GG would only wear the minimum amounts of flare.


----------



## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

Grosse Gurke said:


> Rhom is in a 6 foot long tank So it's alittle more than 6 times his body length, cause he's only 11.75 inches.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


OK so 6X the fish's length for your rhom tank and 6X his fish's length if he finds a 6" irritans or sanchezi. My point is that first everyone on this site assumes a larger tank is better...that might not always be the case..and second...everyone also assumes the fish will grow to its reported maximum size in the wild..once again that might not be the case. My irritans have grown a little more than an inch in the 1.5 years I have had them...and they were juvies. Who is to say they will ever reach even 5"? If a rhom in captivity will only grow to half its potential in the aquarium vs in the wild...then there is some reasonable expectation that my irritans wont reach the 7" mark and will max out around 5" if that...and I think (my personal opinion) is that a 5" fish would be happy in a tank that is over 7X its body length.


> I did have my irritan when was 1-2 inches in a 20 gallon long. He was crazy. When he got to around 3-4 inches I upgraded him to a 40 gallon tank, he did go back into his shell. But I think that's just because of the move and the new tank, he just wasn't adjusted. I only had him in the new tank for about 3 weeks until he was boiled to death by my heater.


I dont know if it was the move or not. Im sure that could be part of it but all of it....who knows. My brandtii has been in the 75 for over a year now and he is still eats no where near how he did in the 30. And the thing with this fish is he was in a 75 before going in the 30 and his behavior was the same last time in the 75. I was actually worried to open the lid of the 30 because he would attack the surface so hard for food that he would smack the lid. He still does this every once in a while in the 75..but in the 30..it was every feeding.


> What size is your rhom and tank? I forgot, but I thought it was a 14 or 15 inch?


My rhom is 16" in a 180 gallon tank
[/quote]

could u post pics of ur rhom?

please?


----------



## Fredogg (Jan 13, 2006)

I ve had two sanchezis in a 30 gall, for almost 4 months they tolerate each other pretty good, but I have 55 gall im gonna put one of em in before something crazy happens.


----------



## NexTech84 (Jan 19, 2006)

Fredogg said:


> I ve had two sanchezis in a 30 gall, for almost 4 months they tolerate each other pretty good, but I have 55 gall im gonna put one of em in before something crazy happens.












How big are they??


----------

