# Why Are Red Bellies The Most Popular? Can You Mix Reds And Blacks? And



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

It seems that the Red Bellies are the most Popular of the Piranhas,

1. Why is that?

2. Do they make the best pets?

3. Best Looking?

4. Can you mix Reds and Blacks?

5. How are the Blacks as pets?

6. Which is more aggressive?


----------



## Parsa (Nov 12, 2008)

Joe.G said:


> It seems that the Red Bellies are the most Popular of the Piranhas,
> 
> 1. Why is that?
> 
> ...


Okay 1) because they breed very easily compared to other types of piranhas so they are more widely available
2) Depends of your preference, they can be easier to care for some times, because they are less picky.
3) Personal preference, how ever most people like the way serra's look better.
4) Not recemened becaue the black piranha will usually kill the reds, its been done in the past but i think the black piranha had some kind of problem
5) they can be frustrating, and require lots of patience because they take a while to come around and get used to you.
6) black piranhas are much more aggressive.


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Natts are the most common simply because they can be bred easily, therefore they are readily available and cheap. You can't mix natts and rhombeus (assuming that's what you meant by "blacks"). Rhoms are great fish, my personal favorite... aggression can vary a lot between fish, but rhoms are generally more territorial than natts.


----------



## Parsa (Nov 12, 2008)




----------



## piranha fan mne (Apr 11, 2010)

ok. i'am not some expert







,but i can give u the answers and mine opinions.

1.i think the reds are most popular beacuse u can find them easy on the market,they are relatively cheap beacuse u can breed them in home aquarium much easier then others(most of piranhas are impossible).
and people have them beacuse they live and hunt prey in packs(black piranha doesn't),and for most of people is better to see few fish together,rather than one in whole tank of 150+ gallons.

2.i don't know,are they best pets in piranha genus,i think i answer this question in first answer









3.that depends of person to person,but i think they are not best looking,but when they are in pack they look nice









4.no u can't mix blacks and reds,they will kill each other,if there is a 2-3 reds and one big black (rhombeus),i think the black will kill'em,but if u got a bigger pack of reds the force is on their side

5.i don't have yet black piranha,but i got 2 species from genus serrasalmus(where is black piranha,too),and i can tell u for rhomb u will need a big tank minimum 150 gallons,and u can have in that tank only one fish,and nothing other.

6.of course the black is much,much agressive,reds are really shy fish.
i got now 6 reds,2 geryi's and 1 elongatus piranha,and i can tell u that every species are interesting in his own way.
reds beacuse they are pack hunters,attacking something what falls in the water together like wolves in few seconds..
genus serrasalmus like black piranha,and other species are interesting beacuse of their agressivity and personality...
so for beginner i recomand reds...


----------



## maknwar (Jul 16, 2007)

Here is my version:

It seems that the Red Bellies are the most Popular of the Piranhas,

1. Why is that?
easy to breed, therefore cheap.
2. Do they make the best pets?
I think you mean, how are their personalities? Like most P's, they are shy.
3. Best Looking?
Strictly personal opinion.
4. Can you mix Reds and Blacks?
Not recommended. I think the answer to this question is more complicated than what your looking for.
5. How are the Blacks as pets?
The one I had was shy and hid all the time. It was smaller, but it looks like the large 10+ inch ones are not as shy.
6. Which is more aggressive?
Depends on the fish.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Joe.G said:


> It seems that the Red Bellies are the most Popular of the Piranhas,
> 
> 1. Why is that?
> They are captive bred therefore a lot easier to find and cheaper making them a common starter p. Almost all other p's are wild caught so from that alone it means they cost more and are harder to get
> ...


----------



## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Lol


----------



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

So what other fish can I mix with the reds?

If I get a black I can only have one Black?


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Joe.G said:


> So what other fish can I mix with the reds?similar sized caribe, terns or piraya
> 
> If I get a black I can only have one Black?yep


----------



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

Man All these proper names for these fish has me confused.

I am Googleing but not getting much back


----------



## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

Joe.G said:


> It seems that the Red Bellies are the most Popular of the Piranhas,
> 
> 1. Why is that?
> 
> ...


1. I just started to keep piranhas and bought Red bellies because they are always avaliable and they are the type that are the semi aggressive type.
2. I have not keep any other speices so far but, I think having more makes your water dirty quicker but thats also if your budget is'nt high enough to get a really good filter. so I would prefer to buy a Rhom in the future because you should keep only one of them.
3. I actually like the Serrasalmus Rhombeus because they look more aggresive.
4.wouldn't because the blacks are highly aggresive so they will probally eat the reds the next day.
5. I've been reading and think they would be really cool to keep but thats if you don't get bored of only one fish in a tank, but they are pretty fun to have because you can train them to case your finger although my red bellies chase me when ever I move around my room.
6. I think the Serrasalmus( black or White) are the most aggresive but thats only based on my limited knowledge and stats I've been looking at.


----------



## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

There is over 30 different species of piranha. a "Black" piranha refers to Serrasalmus Rhombeus. Which cannot be kept in a group.

There is only 5 piranha that can consistantly be kept in groups.

Pygocentrus Nattereri (Red Belly)
Pygocentrus Cariba (Caribe)
Pygocentrus Piraya (Piraya)
Pygocentrus Nattereri (Ternetzi)

Serrasalmus Geryi


----------



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

When I google Serrasalmus Rhombeus Not all of them look black, most look silver, So Even if they were raised from babys they wouldnt get along.

How many red bellies can I put in a 75 Gal Safely?

I Used to have four that I raised from like a 1/4 Inch and they all lived to be over 7 Years old.


----------



## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

Rhombeus don't like other rhoms. They want tanks all to themselves. The strongest will survive...


----------



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

Johnny_Zanni When I google the names u listed they all look similar except for teh last one.


----------



## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

They are the most readily avialable at regular stores, and they are usually cheaper.



Joe.G said:


> When I google Serrasalmus Rhombeus Not all of them look black, most look silver, So Even if they were raised from babys they wouldnt get along.
> 
> How many red bellies can I put in a 75 Gal Safely?
> 
> I Used to have four that I raised from like a 1/4 Inch and they all lived to be over 7 Years old.


u can get away with 3-4 in a 75.


----------



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

Since the tank is in my livingroom are red bellies more active then others? I def dont want a fish less active then teh red bellies, the kids will get bored staring at teh tank.


----------



## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

Joe.G said:


> When I google Serrasalmus Rhombeus Not all of them look black, most look silver, So Even if they were raised from babys they wouldnt get along.
> 
> How many red bellies can I put in a 75 Gal Safely?
> 
> I Used to have four that I raised from like a 1/4 Inch and they all lived to be over 7 Years old.


one adult RBP should have atleast 20 to 25 gallons to it's self, as for a 75 I would put in 4 but thats if the tank is planted with wood or rocks. I've been asking around and a lot of S.Rhombeus owners say their Rhoms stay silver to dark gray only from birth to sub adult stages once they are adults they start turning black. The only true black Piranhas are the Jet black speices but I don't know thw proper scientific name. In terms of keeping them together, I highly don't recommend it.Extremely skilled owner should only attempt keeping numerous Rhoms together.


----------



## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> Man All these proper names for these fish has me confused.
> 
> I am Googleing but not getting much back


here this is website is good if you want to compare what they all look like

http://www.aquascapeonline.com/aquatic-live-stock-fresh-water-fish-piranhas/


----------



## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

The 4 pygos will look very similar to anyone that is new to the hobby, but most experienced P keepers and easily tell the difference just at a glance. Generally the biggest difference that you should notice was the coloration, Pygos all typically have a similar shape.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

sounds like you need to pay a short visit to opefe.com. Black piranha must be a solo fish along with all other serrasalmus fish except gold and geyri. Some keepers have had success with other serras but its rare. Reds are the cheapest becuase of easyness to breed. terns, caribe, and piraya can be kept with reds. 3-5 pygos (thats reds terns caribe or piraya) can be kept in a 75gal tank. Anyways try reading a little bit from opefe and past threads on here. Piranhas are sometimes active sometimes not it all depends on the fish. Black rhoms are supposedly more aggressive but im not so sure on that... Thats a single fish eating compared to a group of fish eating at the same time. Get reds and save your money as you will more than likely find out these are not fish from the movies and not aggressive enough for your likings. I like pygos but also would like to try a rhom at sometime in my keeping. Good luck


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

BuckeyeGuy777 said:


> Man All these proper names for these fish has me confused.
> 
> I am Googleing but not getting much back


here this is website is good if you want to compare what they all look like

http://www.aquascapeonline.com/aquatic-live-stock-fresh-water-fish-piranhas/
[/quote]

Wimples are not piranhas.

To the OP i suggest go to opefe and read through some species profiles (especially the 4 pygocentrus species), Another quick reference I like is aquascapes stock list. It will show you a bunch of common p's and what they look like.

Geryi are a serrasalmus species not pygocentrus so thats why they dont look overly similar to the pygos. They also cost 200$ and up so they are not cheap.

At this point in the game I wouldnt recomend you try to shoal any serrasalmus species and stick to pygocentrus for a better chance of sucsess.


----------



## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> Man All these proper names for these fish has me confused.
> 
> I am Googleing but not getting much back


here this is website is good if you want to compare what they all look like

http://www.aquascape...-fish-piranhas/
[/quote]

Wimples are not piranhas.

[/quote]

while not considered a true piranha they might as well be based on genetic theyre dna is a near match...the only big difference is they have 2 rows of teeth instead of 1...not to mention they are called and sold as wimple piranha


----------



## Criley (Jun 2, 2010)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> There is over 30 different species of piranha. a "Black" piranha refers to Serrasalmus Rhombeus. Which cannot be kept in a group.
> 
> There is only 5 piranha that can consistantly be kept in groups.
> 
> ...


what about macs dawg!


----------



## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

One of the LFS near me called the terns I got black piranhas, because they had black on their tails. She actually started arguing with me when I told her Im pretty sure that they are terns. Either way she sold em to me for $25 each haha! Anyway yeah do some research on the speices. As others are saying I would get some reds as they are a dime a dozen compared to any other piranha. Not sure what size tank you have or plan on getting but if its 55 or smaller I wouldnr go with pygos simply cause if you have 4 or more they will out grow it. Rhoms are no harder to care for than pygos. Being they are mostly kept by themselves tank maintainence is easier than a shoal of pygos. You wont need as much filtration. 
Just be aware that all species can and probably will be very timid for awhile. Ive had my manny for a year now and hes just coming out his shell. At least I think he is heh. Still tends to hide but my tank is planted providing hiding spots. IVe had my pygos fors 6 years and they still freak out during every water change. They do how ever interact with me when I pull out a bag of hakari pellets. They start poking their heads out of the water waiting for me to toss some in.


----------



## SandNukka15 (Nov 16, 2010)

IMO if I were you i would start with red bellies as you seem to be a beginner.


----------



## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

Ibanez247 said:


> One of the LFS near me called the terns I got black piranhas, because they had black on their tails. She actually started arguing with me when I told her Im pretty sure that they are terns. Either way she sold em to me for $25 each haha!


you serious!!! wow good pick up


----------



## Joe.G (Dec 20, 2010)

I had 4 red bellies for over 7 years and they were very active compared to others Iv seen. Ill probgo with 4 again.


----------

