# breeding piranha



## eckomachine (Dec 28, 2004)

if i buy two of the rarest piranha's male and female, and i get the to mate, will i get enough offspring to be able to sell them to local pet stores, and peole who want them to make good money?


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

you most likley wont succeed tho. good luck if you want to try it







98.9% chance of not

the only piranhas that ive seen breed in captivity are s. malcatus and pygo naterri only reason malcatus bred was cuz they stimulated everything just like the wild


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

breeding in itself will b a tough task and after that u are faced with the task of keeping the fry alive. i suggest researching the breeding forum and using the breeding team and frank and sources of advice and guidance.. best of luck to u

ps and its pretty much unknown how to sex piranhas other than dents i believe correct me if im wrong frank. so that may hurt ur chances by only getting 2.


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

and what 'rare' species do you intend to attempt to breed?


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## eckomachine (Dec 28, 2004)

well, i would like to just be able to make money off it, any kind of rare one, it doesnt matter to me, one that would cost $70-100


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## 33truballa33 (Oct 18, 2004)

i just suggest taht you research thru the breeding forum prior to embarking or deciding to go thru this. breeding is extensive and a complicated process if u are trying to breed rare piranhas.. if it were easy they wouldnt b rare


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## WorldBelow07 (Dec 16, 2004)

33truballa33 said:


> i just suggest taht you research thru the breeding forum prior to embarking or deciding to go thru this. breeding is extensive and a complicated process if u are trying to breed rare piranhas.. if it were easy they wouldnt b rare
> 
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> 
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well said


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## HOLLYWOOD (Feb 6, 2003)

Dont make me laugh......... Those maculatus were bought as a breeding pair from someone who had already spawned them in the past. Simulating wild conditions is not a guarantee or the definitive way to breed piranhas.



WorldBelow07 said:


> only reason malcatus bred was cuz they stimulated everything just like the wild
> [snapback]824383[/snapback]​


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## cmsCheerFish (Dec 17, 2004)

Good luck man but ur looking in the wrong forum.


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## Guest (Jan 2, 2005)

You would be best having a go at something like Discus if making money is your aim. And without lots of tank space and succesfully finding many breeding pairs it probably isn't going to be profitable. Finding the rarest P's will be some form of Serra and one of them will end up on the others tooth pick before they breed.


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## KrazyCrusader (Oct 26, 2004)

HOLLYWOOD said:


> Dont make me laugh......... Those maculatus were bought as a breeding pair from someone who had already spawned them in the past. Simulating wild conditions is not a guarantee or the definitive way to breed piranhas.
> [snapback]824535[/snapback]​


I hope you aren't talking about who I think you are talking about? He raised them from Juvi's all the way up. I have the pics and links all the way back to prove your statement isn't true. If Macs were Prolific breeders like it's often said then more members of P-Fury would have bred them. Whether it made a difference or not wild Mac's were bred in the home aquarium and they did so during water conditions that were simulating the natural biotope.

I decided to edit this and add the link right away to dispel this statement.
P-Fury Post about Macs. Any questions?

I'm pretty sure they weren't a breeding pair at 3 months old? Unless they bred when they were 3-4 in's long. IF so they were some horny little babies


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> KrazyCrusader Posted Yesterday, 09:28 PM
> QUOTE(HOLLYWOOD @ Jan 2 2005, 12:46 AM)
> Dont make me laugh......... Those maculatus were bought as a breeding pair from someone who had already spawned them in the past. Simulating wild conditions is not a guarantee or the definitive way to breed piranhas.
> 
> ...


A couple things that should be pointed out since YOU brought up the link. 1) There was/is so much contradiction made by that individual over what he was doing from keeping piranas for just 2 years, not knowing what species they are, even how he got his fishes. Last reports I got he has now been keeping and now breeding all species of piranas for over 8 years. So what can anyone believe? What I see is several photo purported to be a fast growth rate from approx. 2-3 inches to what appears to be 5 or 6in. adult in under 8 months if I'm reading his captions correctly.

2) This argument; _If Macs were Prolific breeders like it's often said then more members of P-Fury would have bred them._ It doesn't matter if any PFURY member is breeding them or not. Or even posting it here. It is a scientific F-A-C-T that S. maculatus and S. spilopleura are prolific year-round breeders and that is well-published. Which brings up my own question, why are you having difficulty believing they are not prolific breeders? Is it because you haven't bred them? or has someone else been drilling it into your head they are the only person on earth breeding S. maculatus?:laugh: C'mon, get real. Spend some money and buy Piranhas Fact and Fiction by John R. Quinn. The article of breeding S. maculatus (misidentified as S. gibbus) is published there. You can also do an internet search and find plenty of wild data on either species and their breeding habits.

Lastly, I'm not interested in getting into a pissing contest with a hobbyist that is still wet behind the ears (they'll remain unnamed here). What I'm telling you here is, just because your knowledge is limited doesn't mean certain facts don't exist in scientific circles or by people that are breeding them and have no interest in being on PFURY or even divulging their information. It is not world news or rocket science contrary to one's popular opinion. There's already too much ego to last beyond a normal lifespan.


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

My last piece of advice on this topic (or any other topic) is visit the link, look over the dates on when the thread was made. Indeed make a complete search of P-FURY and you will find many mistatements and twisted facts.

Hollywood has been breeding p's longer than some people at PFURY have been in the hobby. I would not try to cut him down KrazyCrusader. If you have any natts in your tank, they may very well of likely come from Hollywood's stock.


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## NavinWithPs (Apr 3, 2003)

finding rare piranha is hard enough. now trying to breed them, good luck! im still trying to breed red bellies. LOL.


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> NavinWithPs Posted Today, 01:38 AM
> finding rare piranha is hard enough. now trying to breed them, good luck! im still trying to breed red bellies. LOL.


Depends on what one calls "rare". Rare in hobby is up to the dealer. Rare in nature is up to natural and human interference.

The only recorded "rare species" are Pristobrycon calmoni, Serrasalmus neverisensis, S. altuvei, compressus and hastatus. S. marginatus in certain localities (Parana-Paraguay) becoming rare due to habitat destruction. S. geryi same deal. Lastly, S. nalseni is known only from 1 or 2 specimens. That's it.

Otherwise, stick to p. natts, less headache.


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## KrazyCrusader (Oct 26, 2004)

hastatus said:


> A couple things that should be pointed out since YOU brought up the link. 1) There was/is so much contradiction made by that individual over what he was doing from keeping piranas for just 2 years, not knowing what species they are, even how he got his fishes. Last reports I got he has now been keeping and now breeding all species of piranas for over 8 years. So what can anyone believe? What I see is several photo purported to be a fast growth rate from approx. 2-3 inches to what appears to be 5 or 6in. adult in under 8 months if I'm reading his captions correctly.
> 
> 2) This argument; _If Macs were Prolific breeders like it's often said then more members of P-Fury would have bred them._ It doesn't matter if any PFURY member is breeding them or not. Or even posting it here. It is a scientific F-A-C-T that S. maculatus and S. spilopleura are prolific year-round breeders and that is well-published. Which brings up my own question, why are you having difficulty believing they are not prolific breeders? Is it because you haven't bred them? or has someone else been drilling it into your head they are the only person on earth breeding S. maculatus?:laugh: C'mon, get real. Spend some money and buy Piranhas Fact and Fiction by John R. Quinn. The article of breeding S. maculatus (misidentified as S. gibbus) is published there. You can also do an internet search and find plenty of wild data on either species and their breeding habits.
> 
> ...


If you look over the info I wrote about someone mixing serra's for 8 yrs was wrong. He was actually mixing serra's for over 10 yrs and his name on another popular piranha site is mixed_serras. I am not sure if he also comes to P-Fury or not. I also don't know him so I can only take his word for it. He seems like a knowlegeable fella and pretty honest.

There are no tape measures in the pictures. Just gravel and Piranha's. Even for you Frank it would be very difficult to judge the size of the Piranha's in the tank like that. There is a Jack Daniels cooler in the picture so if you could rotate that sideways it would give you a limited idea of their length. Now I am going to have to go out buy some and drink them







then measure them so I have a better idea of how long they are.

If you really look at the 7 month pics, you will see the black tail boarder isn't huge. The size of the tail boarder matches 100% for the age of true maculatus. Or what appears to the best of my knowlege to be.

I was under the impression that the person who purchased these fish was told they were Spilos. That is what he was buying. As time went on it was found out to be fact that they were Macs from you and other experts on the site. Just about anyone without years of experience like you Frank could make the same mistake.

What fish do in the wild can't truly be duplicated 100% in the aquarium. If fish breed in the wild nonstop in a reservoir it doesn't mean they will in your tank. This is a fact often stated but sometimes we don't consider it. This would all be much easier if someone like Hollywood or one of the other breeders would just pick these fish up and breed them. Then we all would know first hand just how easy it was to breed them. Right now we can only speculate.

Frank I haven't been in this hobby very long. You generously answered my questions when I got started about breeding, feeding, sizing of tanks, and many other aspects of this hobby I needed help in and I look up to you for that. I just feel that you guys are a little hard on the particular individual we are talking about. I know that our posts aren't suppose to dwell on this particular individual so I'm going to wrap this up. I love you guys. Lets make our new years resolution to be brothers and hug more?
















PS Hollywood-> No Ill Will my friend. I'm not trying to spite you rather trying to point out that they were not a pair. As i've said before I greatly respect your Breeding works. The piranha's I got were shipped to the LFS from Chicago. Is their a chance I could have Piranha's from you







That would be Sweet. Your fishes could be mine's great grand daddy


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## hastatus (Jan 16, 2003)

> KrazyCrusader Posted Today, 10:45 AM
> QUOTE(hastatus @ Jan 3 2005, 02:49 AM)
> A couple things that should be pointed out since YOU brought up the link. 1) There was/is so much contradiction made by that individual over what he was doing from keeping piranas for just 2 years, not knowing what species they are, even how he got his fishes. Last reports I got he has now been keeping and now breeding all species of piranas for over 8 years. So what can anyone believe? What I see is several photo purported to be a fast growth rate from approx. 2-3 inches to what appears to be 5 or 6in. adult in under 8 months if I'm reading his captions correctly.
> 
> ...


In the world of science ALL WORK is subject to scrutiny from peers and open to criticism if the information is wrong. I'm subject to it day in and day out. Fortunately, I stay within the science arena without stepping out into outerspace without a mask. And that my friend is why I'm good at what I do.









The internet is (as PFURY is) an arena where information is posted and subject to be questioned. Whether it be in the lounge where it is salty or in PSCI where it has to follow a certain decorum. In P-breeding, there is so much information out there. Some of it wrong, some of it taken from books and some it incorrectly interpreted.

A case in point, you mention breeding in reservoirs and whether or not they will be breed in a tank. Your missing the entire picture. A tank is NOT a reservoir. So you have to adapt your tank to fit into the fishes needs. Does S. spilopleura need a reservoir to spawn? No, but the water chemistry in the reservoir is sufficient to meet those needs. Another point here is, once your fish have begun to breed, they will do so until you stop them or something in the tank is no longer viable for them. Cut through the BS and start focusing on key words and much of what I'm telling you now will become clear to you. That is where an analytical mind comes into play. You have to analyze the data and cut away the entraneous information and focus on the key parts of it. One other thing, many of the internet sci breeding reports on S. spilopleura are actually S. maculatus. The S. maculatus name is slowly taking hold as well as its locality information. Indeed, just a few weeks ago Michel Jegu wrote me and stated he saw a true S. spilopleura in Bogota.

While this might not seem like much, but clear demonstrates how S. spilopleura is actually less available to hobbyists than original thought. S. maculatus is the species more often encountered in the hobby and few are actually wild caught. The only way to know for certain is through dissection and of course the honesty of dealers if they reveal their source. Majority will not as they fear it will impact their sales.

Lastly to get back to the statement in bold above. Here is what I look at when dealing with an individual that has gone from keeping piranas for just 2 years, breeding one species for about the same amount of time, to suddenly coming up with other species supposedly bred, but nothing to substantiate it other than "their word". I do take people word on their accomplishment, but I also can smell a rat or someone that is blowing smoke. Many times I see OPEFE information being pasted in discussions throughout PFURY, sometimes the person comprehends what I wrote, more often they are taking it out of context and not comprehending what was written. I could easily dissect what this person writes and show you how out of touch they are in what they are reading. But it serves no purpose and it gives this person more ego publicity. I'd rather focus on PFURY and what I'm here to do and that is educate the public correctly on scientific information and not what a 2 year expert breeding 1 species has to say that changes with the wind when it suits them. In my 40 years of examining piranas, I've only bred 1 species, P. nattereri. I never wrote about it, never took photos because it didn't interest me. It still doesn't, but I enjoy seeing the faces and writeups of those that are doing it for the first time. Breeding S. maculatus is a great accomplishment but it is NOT rare. Breeding P. nattereri is a great accomplishment too, but all in all you can find only 3 or 4 people that actively write about it. Same goes with P. cariba and P. nattereri (ternetzi) that have been bred in captivity. None of this was known until I published it years ago. Only today do people want "proof". When the person that bred P. cariba began to surface and write about it my urging, what he got instead was insults and flames. So why bother? I'm not going to bother these people to post in PFURY because there seems to be so much jealousy and ego involved. So instead, I write about it and share their tidbits of info that might help someone else reach that goal.

Presently as you know, I've been working with P. cariba. I'm not ready to release much data on it. No reason why I should as it is not an ego thing. And as I stated in the past, if they breed, I will take photos of the parents and fry, including eggs if possible. But I'm not going to make it a big deal as my intent is to show PFURY members that it can be done. The parent fishes will go to a hobbyist I trust who I know will take good care of them and keep them in breeding condition. And if you haven't figured it out yet, it will be Hollywood or GrosseGurke.

That's all I have to say on this matter and now its time for me to begin my 1 week vacation.









PS: As I stated, I'm going solely by the dates that individual wrote on his photos. If you truly wanted to get to the bottom of things, research a bit deeper on dates. What you find may surprize you .....in other words be a researcher if you really CARE.
Later gators.


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## KrazyCrusader (Oct 26, 2004)

Have a nice vacation my friend.


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## the grinch (Feb 23, 2004)

i learn something new every day.


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## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

KC, 
I dont know why you keep on persisting to start Knowledge wars with Wood and Frank....
In case you dont already know they will run circles around you or whoever tries to deny the fact that they Know whats up ...

I think maybe you should spend less time trying to contradict them and just take thier info for what it is ....

And I know who and what is being talked about here and I know what you do, so just sit back and enjoy the knowledge .









I Mean Last I heard You didnt even own any p's


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## mrspikes (Aug 10, 2004)

well good luck man but you gotta understand breeding wont be too easy especially if you dont know what you are doing and if your breeding natts then you will have to breed a lot to make a good profit off of them........then again i could be wrong


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Moved to breeding forum


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## KrazyCrusader (Oct 26, 2004)

Ok


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## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

KrazyCrusader said:


> If no questions are ever asked the world would still be flat, the universe would revolve around the earth, Nuclear Weapons will start the atmosphere on fire, and Red Bellies would be the only Species of Piranha that can co-exist in an aquarium. I never claimed to know more than Frank and Wood about Piranha's. I'm just keeping everybody on their toes.
> [snapback]826839[/snapback]​


Questions asked you say ? Ask away Christopher Columbus ...
But try not to bump heads with the Proven Factual Knowledge, upon your findings of other readings that you think are correct . It is scientific Knowledge thats being presented , Not touch and feel your way through it, and see what happens .
IMHO its More like your trying to condradict people to me that Know the Game









But thats enough from me , I see this has now been moved to the Breeding forum and petty pissing matches like this dont belong in here... Good Day to You KC.


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