# caribe growth rate



## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

I know caribes (and other pygo) grows about 1" per month until they reach 6" or so then the growth slows down.
my question is what's the grown rate after they hit 6"? like couple inches a year? or what?

probably someone asked this before but just not in mood to use the search function today


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

It will be about an inch/year!

They def slow down...


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

cool thanks. if 1 year an inch then that would be prefect


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

need_redz said:


> It will be about an inch/year!
> 
> They def slow down...


I agree 1-2in a year but keep in mind that I've never kept Cariba


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

um....anyone raise caribes from baby care to share their experience?


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

^^There pretty much like red bellies! They'll grow to about 6'' the first year. Then they'll grow about an inch/year - if you want them to grow close to 2 inches/year then have them in a big tank with pristine water(all the time) and feed them the best of the best food!

I plan on getting cariba when I move out to my own house - I allways liked them, but never got around to owning some...


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

well my problem is I don't want them to get too big too fast, around 6" would be prefect I think they are the most beautiful at around 6-8"s


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

bump..any one know for sure?


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

what size of a tank do you have and how many P's?


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

don't have any yet, just want to figure then decide should I get them if so how many.


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

what are your plans? How big of a tank and how many are you gonna get - remember, cariba need about 40g per fish(when adult) - You can put 2 in a 75g and you could push it with 3 (max) if your gonna overstock...


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

need_redz said:


> what are your plans? How big of a tank and how many are you gonna get - remember, cariba need about 40g per fish(when adult) - You can put 2 in a 75g and you could push it with 3 (max) if your gonna overstock...


minimum 40 per adult? every where I look says 20 per adult, piraya is 40g minimum per adult...um...
anyway..what size is consider adult? and my initial qustion is to find out how long will it take to grow to adult size.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

jp80911 said:


> what are your plans? How big of a tank and how many are you gonna get - remember, cariba need about 40g per fish(when adult) - You can put 2 in a 75g and you could push it with 3 (max) if your gonna overstock...


minimum 40 per adult? every where I look says 20 per adult, piraya is 40g minimum per adult...um...
anyway..what size is consider adult? and my initial qustion is to find out how long will it take to grow to adult size.
[/quote]

3 would be fine in a 75. What size tank do you have? The __ per 20 gals or whatever is just a guide line, but tank footprint is more important. The stocking can be similar to reds, but you may just want one or two less depending on the tank size. They grow similar to reds. I would probably concider about 8" to be adult. They are sexually mature at about 6 inch min, but i wouldnt call that adult yet (i would call 6" sub adult). It should be about a year for 6" from about 1" then another year or two for a couple more inches. After probably 3 years they should be at about 8 inches give or take a bit and wont grow tons more. First year is fast growth then each year after there is less and less growth so pretty much they will grow the a large part of their total size in only the first couple years. Therewill be growth after this, but its spread out over a bunch or years.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

I am consider either have maybe 3 in 55g or 4-5 in 75g.
since takes few years for them to reach 8" I don't think i'll have an serious issue with 55g, of course larger is better and I'll try to upgrade before they really over grow the tank.


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

sean-820 said:


> what are your plans? How big of a tank and how many are you gonna get - remember, cariba need about 40g per fish(when adult) - You can put 2 in a 75g and you could push it with 3 (max) if your gonna overstock...


minimum 40 per adult? every where I look says 20 per adult, piraya is 40g minimum per adult...um...
anyway..what size is consider adult? and my initial qustion is to find out how long will it take to grow to adult size.
[/quote]

3 would be fine in a 75. What size tank do you have? The __ per 20 gals or whatever is just a guide line, but tank footprint is more important. The stocking can be similar to reds, but you may just want one or two less depending on the tank size. They grow similar to reds. I would probably concider about 8" to be adult. They are sexually mature at about 6 inch min, but i wouldnt call that adult yet (i would call 6" sub adult). It should be about a year for 6" from about 1" then another year or two for a couple more inches. After probably 3 years they should be at about 8 inches give or take a bit and wont grow tons more. First year is fast growth then each year after there is less and less growth so pretty much they will grow the a large part of their total size in only the first couple years. Therewill be growth after this, but its spread out over a bunch or years.
[/quote]
Also I like to add that it depends on the size of the tank, if you put them in a smaller tank they will be smaller and grow slower - if you put them in a bigger tank, they will grow bigger/faster - I only said 40g/per fish cuz if you want them to grow big and healthy, then they need lots of space - they grow up to 14'' so 40g/cariba is a good guidline to follow...


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## Brandtii (May 16, 2003)

jp80911 said:


> I am consider either have maybe 3 in 55g or 4-5 in 75g.
> since takes few years for them to reach 8" I don't think i'll have an serious issue with 55g, of course larger is better and I'll try to upgrade before they really over grow the tank.


One of my tanks is a 108 gallon. Used to have red bellies in there for years and then added caribes a few years ago. All the reds are now dead and there are 3 caribe left. My largest caribe is now the largest piranha I've ever owned (dead or alive) at about 12" I would guess. It far surpassed my largest red belly which might have been 9, maybe 10 inches max. I got these caribe when they were about 3 - 4". I do weekly water changes and they have lots of room to swim around in there since they're so few of them.


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

jp80911 said:


> I am consider either have maybe 3 in 55g or 4-5 in 75g.
> since takes few years for them to reach 8" I don't think i'll have an serious issue with 55g, of course larger is better and I'll try to upgrade before they really over grow the tank.


don't waste your money on a 55g - it has the worst width to it - 75g has the same dimensions but an extra 5'' of width and that's a big difference!


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

Brandtii said:


> I am consider either have maybe 3 in 55g or 4-5 in 75g.
> since takes few years for them to reach 8" I don't think i'll have an serious issue with 55g, of course larger is better and I'll try to upgrade before they really over grow the tank.


One of my tanks is a 108 gallon. Used to have red bellies in there for years and then added caribes a few years ago. All the reds are now dead and there are 3 caribe left. My largest caribe is now the largest piranha I've ever owned (dead or alive) at about 12" I would guess. It far surpassed my largest red belly which might have been 9, maybe 10 inches max. I got these caribe when they were about 3 - 4". I do weekly water changes and they have lots of room to swim around in there since they're so few of them.
[/quote]
That's also another thing - if you overstock them then they'll be more stressed out - if you keep them stress free then they will be more comfortable and not be ''skittish''

Brandtii keeps them in a fair size tank and I'm sure there happy - lots of room and few in numbers...


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

The fish per gallon rule is kind of cloudy. I guess if I had a choice I'd also oblige the "40"G per caribe...In the past I raised them from dime(ish) size until I sold my largest at about 13-14". My biggest caribe I had hit damn near 9" in the first year I had him and by the second year he was 10.25" exactly when I moved them into the 180G I had at the time. I had only 3 caribe in my old 125G with 3 reds, but the reds were killed within 3 months. It ended up being jus the 3 caribes in the 125G for the first year and they grew uber fast IMO.

If you wanna throw 2-3 smaller ones in a 75G right away with other pygos I think they'll be fine for awhile. Once they get bigger from my experience they can be tough. I've tried to intermix other pygos in and they tend to be pugnacious lil bastards especially once they hit their one year mark Which was about the time I introed the reds. They also seemed to push the reds around alot until the red got injured or stressed out bad and thats when they'd kill the red and it always happened when I was gone. Bigger the tank for them the better. They closely resemble a piraya in the attitude category. They definitely aren't like reds at least any of the reds I've kept. One of my favorite pygos.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

need_redz said:


> I am consider either have maybe 3 in 55g or 4-5 in 75g.
> since takes few years for them to reach 8" I don't think i'll have an serious issue with 55g, of course larger is better and I'll try to upgrade before they really over grow the tank.


don't waste your money on a 55g - it has the worst width to it - 75g has the same dimensions but an extra 5'' of width and that's a big difference!
[/quote]

I wouldn't of course waste my money one a 55g, however, I already have it in my basement and it was free.








maybe I just have to use it with something else...
what I ultimately want is a 180g with a nice shoal of caribes, wise can go bigger but that's the largest size tank I can transport down to my basement


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

Well I don't know what kind of money you have but you could allways get a guy to build you a custom tank(bring the pieces down to your basement and assemble it, There for you can have a bigger tank! just a thought


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

I wonder how much that would cost me...
I think the longest piece is about 6ft due to the layout of the the stairway. but it would be HOT to have a 6x6x3 tank


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## need_redz (May 11, 2007)

worth checking out! You never know...


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

i'll..not now but in the future. I guess I'll have to come up with other plans for the 55g since those caribes grow too fast


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

4 would be the max in a 75 for life, but nothing is stopping you from starting with more then thinning them out to max six within a year. I agree with need reds that a 55 is a waste for large fish. They are fine for smaller fish, but useless when it comes to fish that commonly get over 8" so a 12" width isnt good enough. A sanchezi or another of the smaller serras could be good in a 55 for life.

simple class pieces or acrilic are expensive and will be a couple hundred each for a decent size, but it would be cheaper to diy then to buy a large one since bringing it into a house may be a pain. Another cool alternitive that i have seen numerous times are concrete block tanks that are a couple thousand gallons with a glass viewing window.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

I know 55 is good for sanchezi and elong for life or at least a very very long time. but I already have 3 rhoms, that's enough solo piranha. really want a shoal. can 55 hold 5 caribes for about 1 year? or not how long I can have them in there? few months? I could try to get a larger tank later...just need to find someone to take my 55g.

I thought of using concrete blocks to build a pond with glass viewing window, but I believe I'll need to cement them together other wise they can't hold water on their own.
could use plywoods to build a frame around them and use pool liners ..but won't piranhas bite thru those pool liners?


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

no pool liners are too thick...5 caribe in a 55G for the first year would be REALLY cramped IMO. By having 5 7-8" caribes cruising around in a 55G for the first year maybe some problems with aggression and terrortory. The dimensions in a 55G are jus shitty and preferably a tank width of 18" would be desireable for caribes seeing that they are fiarly active cruisers.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

if I get them at around 1" size, can they stay in the 55 for like half a year or so? that should give me enough time.


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## leg89 (Dec 10, 2008)

smells like DIY!!!! wouhou!

very cheap and easy to build:

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=236174


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

I think there is no timetable as to what size and how long they'd be fine in a 55G for...If you wanna throw 3 or 4 caribe in your 55G go ahead and do it. Nothing wrong with that. Just make sure you monitor them closely so they don't get too aggressive towards one another. Be ready to divide if needed. Switch up the tank decor everynow and then if you notice things going south. I myself wouldn't waste the time or money by putting them in the 55G. If its 6 months you need, I'd jus save my funds up till then and buy the larger tank then get the caribes. From my past exp. I had a small shoal of caribes that I put in a 55G and they were uber nasty towards one another and I ended up getting a larger tank right away and throwing them in there. Not all caribes temperments are going to be like that, but like I said this what I experienced. If I were to do it all over again with caribes, I'd put a shoal of small caribes in a 125G like I did. That way you don't have to find another tank right away like i had to and you shouldn't have to worry about one overtaking another's territory.


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