Piranha Shedding? 7/27/05
I have 5 red bellied piranhas in a 55 gallon tank
<A wee bit overstocked there, are we?>
and they were all doing very well until about two days ago when one of my piranhas got big dark spots near his head and looks like he is shedding his skin is this a bad thing.
<Quite possibly so. Sad to say, I have absolutely no idea what it is. However, as you know exactly what it looks like and have an image (your fish) for reference, it should be decently simple to locate the disease and accompanying treatment info within the following links:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tanktroubleshting.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/tanktrb2of2.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwdis3setsfactors.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfshparasites.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwinfectdisfaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfshparasitefaqs.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwinfectdisfaq2.htm
Good luck, and I hope he pulls through!>
thank you
Anthony
<Mike G>

Red belly piranha, hlth., beh.   ~ 01/12/09
Hello I was wondering if you could help me with a worry of mine.
I have four red bellies about 5 in in length and they have been doing fine up until about 4 days ago. They are acting normally but they lose their vibrant red bellies at night I never noticed it before maybe it's been that way at night but I never noticed it. Their water temp Is maintained at 82 F and their water ammonia and nitrate levels are normal. I did however take out a piece of driftwood that sit in the middle of the tank but they were too big to swim into it so they never used it. Any ideas?
Joel
<Joel, it is perfectly normal for Pygocentrus nattereri to change colour at night. They also change colours as they mature. It is quite possible that they've always had different colours at night, but they're getting to an age now where these differences are become more pronounced. You're keeping your fish a little on the warm side for this species, though piranhas from
the rather warm Rio Xingu do indeed like things a bit hotter than otherwise. If you turn down the thermostat a notch, not only will there be more oxygen in the water, but your fish will also live longer and be less aggressive towards one another! The 23-25 C, 73-77 F is just fine for them.
If in doubt, visit Fishbase to check the temperature preferences of your fish; for some reason I cannot fathom, a crazy proportion of aquarists keep their fish far too hot, wasting money and compromising health. For what it's worth rather than worrying about bogwood, use plants to provide shade for these light-phobic fish. Tall plants, such as giant Vallisneria and big
Java ferns are ideal, and floating plants with long roots like Amazon Frogbit work very well too. Piranhas are primarily dusk/dawn fish, and they despise bright light. Cheers, Neale.>

Re: Red belly piranha  ~ 01/12/09
Thanks Neale I appreciate the help! A lot of websites for piranhas suggest 80+degrees but I see the logic in your explanation. This might be a silly question but is it at all possible for a red devil cichlid to cohabit a large enough tank? And if so what size is needed for such a thing?
Joel
<Hi Joel. There are very few Piranha web sites I trust. Too many people keep these wonderful fish badly. Like Rottweilers and pit-bull terriers, they have this image of brutality and so brutal people end up keeping them.
But just like those dogs, kept properly, Piranhas are fascinating and rewarding pets (as well as very beautiful, in their way). Anyway, one of the best sites is the Oregon Piranha Exotic Fish Exhibit site, a semi-academic site with a ton of good information. Here's their Pygocentrus nattereri page. They report wild fish tolerating remarkably cool conditions, for short periods at least, but do recommend low 20s C (low to mid 70s F) as the optimal temperature, and this meshes with what Fishbase reports too. By the way, don't change the temperature all at once, but just knock it down a degree every couple of weeks, and watch how your fish react.
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/nattereri.html
Now, as for tankmates. I have seen Piranhas cohabit with Convict cichlids, but what we see in these situations tends to be a dominant cichlid that terrifies a small group of Piranhas. Because Piranhas are nervous at the best of times, I just don't see any mileage in that, and would recommend keeping the Piranhas on their own. Sometimes Suckermouth catfish like Plecs coexist, but that usually depends on the Plec being their first, so the baby Piranhas grow up with it, accepting it as part of the furniture (rather than food!). Adding a catfish to an established tank is just too risky, and I don't need to tell you that Piranhas have a lot of firepower at their disposal should they decide to turn on a tankmate. When all is said and done, my advice is to keep 'em alone. A nicely decorated Piranha tank is a thing of beauty, just as it is. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Red belly piranha
Thanks for all the help Neale you've helped a ton
Joel
<Happy to help. Cheers, Neale.>