Freshwater piranha. Piranhas (photos of fish): bloodthirsty but timid creatures of the Amazon

Piranha is a dangerous exotic fish that can decorate any aquarium. At the same time, with its appearance it will delight and even a little awe your friends and guests. But before you start home aquarium this fish, you should carefully study its features.

Habitats in nature

Piranhas live in fresh water oyomah South America. Found in the Amazon, Orinoco, Essequibo, Paraná and Uruguay. Known in almost all countries of the South American continent.

Did you know? If South American shepherds need to move their cattle across a river in which piranhas live, the only chance to do this is to give« tribute» . One cow is given to the owners of the rivers. While the predators tear apart the prey, the shepherds move the rest of the herd.

Description

The piranha family belongs to the ray-finned fish of the order Characinidae. Some species reach more than 1 m in length. Juveniles are silver in color, with black spots on the sides. The fins are red or yellow. Adult fish are colored silver-green with a reddish tint (maybe purple). The caudal fin is edged with black.

Thanks to special structure With its jaws, the fish can tear pieces of flesh from its prey. The triangular teeth reach 0.5 cm in length and are located in such a way that when the jaws are closed, the upper ones fall exactly into the grooves between the lower ones. The jaws are capable of working both in a vertical plane, cutting off pieces of meat, like a guillotine, and in a horizontal plane, tearing out denser and larger pieces of prey.

IN natural environment piranhas are a kind of orderlies. They eat the flesh of drowned or dead animals to the bone (after the Amazon spills, a huge amount of them remains). If it were not for river predators, this flesh would quickly rot when high temperature and air humidity, becoming a source of infections.

Kinds

The body is elongated, reaches 30 cm in length. Gray color with a silvery tint, the anal fin and tail feathers are edged black stripe, belly - red. Habitat: Amazon and its tributaries.

It does not exceed 15 cm in length. Such dimensions should not be misleading; this is a rather aggressive predatory fish. It has a silver color with black spots and a red anal fin. The tail is edged with black, and there is a hump at the junction of the head and body.

Important! There are 4 species of true piranhas, that is, those that pose a danger to warm-blooded animals and humans: black piranha, common piranha, common pygocentrus, and Palometa piranha.

Red pacu (red-bellied)- an omnivorous fish native to Brazil. In the natural environment it can grow more than 85 cm in length, in an aquarium - a little more than 40 cm. The color is gray with a pewter tint, the abdomen and fins have a reddish tint. The fin on the back is elongated, the tail is bordered by a black stripe.

Body length is no more than 15 cm. Body color is gray-green with a red belly. There is a small red spot in the gill area. The dorsal and anal fins have elongated anterior rays. All fins, except the anal (which has a reddish tint) are gray.

In the territory former USSR appeared in 1970. It has a round body, flat on the sides. The color is silver with a tint, the same color of the eyes with a vertical black stripe. A high fin on the back and a crescent-shaped tail complete the picture. The back can have a color from green to blue, as well as the shade of the sides. All fins are elongated and may have black spots or stripes on the sides. The fins appear transparent, the abdomen is whitish.

It grows up to 25 cm in length. They have tall building body, red spot behind the gills. The anal fin is red in females and veiled in males. The fish has a silver color with a pewter tint. The sides are cast in the entire spectrum of the rainbow - from red-yellow to blue-green. The fish is predominantly herbivorous.

Large variety of piranha (25 cm in length). The color is silver, the back is high, the bright red anal fin stands out against the background of the body. The tail is veiled. In females, the anal fin is not as rich in color and is smaller in size. It feeds on both plant and animal foods.

Aquarium parameters and decorations

If you decide to have a home exotic predator, it is necessary to comply with some requirements for the arrangement of an aquarium. Piranhas in captivity love to be in niches and shelters, so you should take care of this when setting up an aquarium.

Did you know? The officially registered longest-liver among piranhas is the red pacu, which lived for 28 years.

The volume of the aquarium should be calculated according to this rule: per 3 cm of fish body length - 10 liters of water, but the aquarium must hold at least 150 liters. The fish is already quite large in size, and the insufficient volume of the home has a negative impact on its character. A fish can live on its own, but feels better in the company of its own kind.

These predators are voracious, leaving behind a large number of waste products. Accordingly, you should take care of a good powerful filter; you can use several.

Vegetation

Although piranhas are predators, but they also happily eat various aquatic vegetation. So all your efforts to plant a habitat for fish can go towards satisfying its gastronomic needs. Although you shouldn’t leave the aquarium without greenery either. The best solution would be to generously fill the aquarium with artificial plants. Fish eat greens especially willingly during the spawning period.

Priming

Sometimes they prefer to keep piranhas in aquariums without soil, as it is more convenient to care for them. If you prefer traditional decor, ordinary sand or gravel will do just fine.

Water

The water in the aquarium must be well aerated and meet the following requirements:

temperature - 24...26 °C;
acidity - 6.0-7.0;
hardness - 12-16 dH.

The water should be the cleanest, it is necessary to replace part of the water every week (sometimes twice a week), approximately 1/7 of the total volume.

Lighting

Lighting is not of fundamental importance, although there is an opinion that preference should be given to white light. The lighting rate is 0.5-0.7 W/l.

Feeding

IN wildlife Piranhas eat literally everything. Therefore, even in captivity, their diet is quite extensive. You can feed predators with other fish, shellfish, invertebrates, amphibians, worms and fruits. The most popular diet for aquarium species:

fish;
krill;
cuttlefish;
squid;
worms;
meat by-products;
crawls;
small rodents.

The predators are fed once a day, the procedure lasts up to 3 minutes. Leftover food must be removed.

Important!Mammalian meat, although acceptable, is not good food for piranha - fish do not digest it well, and this can lead to obesity.

Meat or fish (it is not recommended to give river water) cut finely or twist into minced meat. The minced meat is mixed with vegetables, and the predators are fed this puree. You cannot use only beef for feeding, this can cause endocrine system disorder (color fades).

You can feed the fish in this way: tie food (fish, meat) to a thread and lower it into the aquarium for 2.5-3 minutes, after the specified time, remove the thread and what is left on it.

Nutritional norm for a predator - approximate weight his body. From time to time it is worth having fast days to avoid obesity.

Compatibility with other inhabitants

Provided proper feeding and a sufficient aquarium volume, piranhas get along quite well with and.

Character and behavior

Even in a pack of brothers, there are often skirmishes and cases of cannibalism. By observing the flock, you can find a leader in it. He is often larger than other fish, eats first and shows with all his behavior that he is the leader.

Representatives of the same species get along best in groups of 8-10 individuals. For some external influences the fish may start to panic:

a strong knock on the wall of the aquarium;
a bright flash of light;
strong splash of water;
entry of a large foreign object into the water.

Did you know? Piranhas make similar sounds. If a fish is taken out of the water, it makes sounds similar to a dog barking; when the fish share food, their exclamations become like the beating of a drum. If one fish violates the personal space of another, the piranha begins to “croak.”

Reproduction and sexual differences

Piranhas become capable of reproduction at the age of 16-18 months. It is quite difficult to distinguish a male from a female. It is best to watch the fish - before spawning, the color of the males becomes brighter, and characteristic feature females have a rounded abdomen.

The next step is to choose a secluded, quiet place to create a spawning area. You need to keep together those fish that live nearby for a sufficient time and are well compatible. The spawning area should be spacious and have large volume, and the water is clean, with a hardness index of 6.0-7.5 and a temperature of 26...29 °C.

First, the pair will find a place to spawn. The fact that the place has been chosen will indicate aggressive behavior fish. This is their normal reaction - this is how predators show that the territory is occupied. Then you can see a darkening of the color, and the formation of a small depression at the bottom. After spawning and fertilization, the male will fiercely defend the fertilized eggs.

The eggs are usually bright orange and begin to hatch after 2 days. Then, after another 2 days, the fry appears; it must be carefully removed using a cage.

Important! Be careful - during the birth of offspring, the male can attack anything that moves.

The fry should be immediately kept under normal conditions for the species. From a very young age they have an excellent appetite. It is best to use brine shrimp, daphnia and bloodworms to feed the fry. The fry need to be fed twice a day. After 4 weeks they will reach approximately 1 cm in length. At two months of age, the fins of the fry acquire an orange tint.

In crowded conditions, the fry become aggressive. To exclude cases of cannibalism, sorting should be carried out every week. It is necessary to leave fry of approximately the same size, weeding out the smaller ones.

up to 1 month - 300-500 pcs.;
up to 2 months - 200 pcs.;
up to 3 months - 100 pcs.

Health

Piranhas live in captivity for 10 years or more; they are unpretentious in keeping. An indicator of the health of predators is their appetite. If the fish do not fight for food, do not show playfulness and some anger when feeding, then something is wrong with the conditions of detention. Piranhas are quite sensitive to temperature, water acidity and oxygen saturation. If the inhabitants of the aquarium have a poor appetite, pay attention to these indicators.

Individual characteristics

It is worth noting that rumors about the bloodthirstiness of piranhas are greatly exaggerated. Almost half of the species are herbivores (about 40 out of 80), and only 4 species, the so-called “true piranhas,” pose a threat to mammals and humans in general.

Predators are distinguished by rapid tissue regeneration. Injured skin and fins quickly restore their functions. Cases have been recorded when a fish felt tolerably well after being left without an eye after a skirmish with a rival.

In captivity, piranhas are less aggressive than in the wild. Sometimes they are even shy, hide in cracks and holes and spend most of their time there. They are active only when feeding. In general, feeding deserves special attention.

If piranhas eat normally, they get along quite peacefully with representatives of other species, but if the food is poor, or there is not enough space in the aquarium, the fish can fight even with representatives of its own species. Moreover, the fights are brutal, predators often tear out pieces of each other’s flesh and inflict injuries.

Stress in fish can cause them to move to another aquarium; it happened that during this procedure, piranhas gnawed through the mesh of the net.

The smell of blood can make a predator go rabid. There have been recorded cases of piranhas going berserk when water was added to the aquarium in which the meat was washed.

Important! Piranhas eat their wounded, weak or sick brothers.

Precautionary measures

You should not place the aquarium on a low surface, especially if you have Small child or pet. You should not work in the aquarium with your bare hand if there are even the slightest wounds on it. In other cases, working with your bare hand (for example, removing leftover food) is quite acceptable, just try not to drive the fish into a corner.

Piranhas are bright and noticeable inhabitants of aquariums; it is difficult not to pay attention to them. But contrary to the reputation earned through Hollywood films, the life of fish in an aquarium depends primarily on humans. Try to remember that, despite all the aggressiveness and strength, it is, first of all, aquarium fish, requiring appropriate treatment.

Piranha is classified as a species predatory fish. It is rightfully considered one of the most dangerous in the world. And you can find it in the Amazon, Paraguay, Parana and Essequibo river basins.

Common piranha grows on average up to 20 centimeters. The mass of an individual is up to one kilogram, no more, but there are exceptions. Fear is caused by the large features of the head, as well as protruding teeth, which, in fact, pose a threat. The teeth are sharp, like a razor. Each is no more than one centimeter long, but usually up to 5 millimeters. With them, the fish instantly pierces the skin of its victim, and for the piranha it does not matter whether it is a person in front of it or an animal. With its teeth, a predator can easily bite off the finger of an adult. The fish differ slightly in color from each other. As a rule, the sides of the piranha are silver or dark, and the color itself is olive green or bluish-black.

Small fish live in schools and spend most of their time searching for food. Piranhas are voracious, so they can often be found in bodies of water where there is actually a lot of prey. Moreover, sometimes the predator can be found not only in rivers, but also in the seas, but not during spawning. By the way, piranha was sometimes found in unusual climatic conditions- cold rivers.

Piranha in an aquarium

As a rule, the fish waits for the victim in a shelter. And they instantly attack their prey. The latter does not even have time to realize how and what happened. And when a predator hunts a school of fish and the victims scatter, piranhas catch them one by one, and then swallow them whole or bite off pieces of meat. Scientists have found that toothy fish have a very sensitive sense of smell, so they notice any odor that comes from a potential meal. And best of all, piranhas sense blood. They say that a flock of adult individuals is capable of destroying everything in its path, not even sparing underwater plants. And the only ones who are not afraid of voracious fish are catfish of the genus Hoplosternum. And why, experts still cannot understand.

There are many stories in which we're talking about about the attack of these aggressive predators on humans. But in fact, most of the stories are fictitious. However, cases where fish actually attacked a person are not isolated.

Giant Nibbler

The most big piranha, which has ever been seen by a person, grew to 80 centimeters in length. She weighs about 2 kilograms. You can even find one like this in Russian reservoirs. For example, one specimen fell into the usual nets of fishermen in Kazakhstan (near the village of Mutkenova, Pavlodar region). But in fact, the fish is found in South America and, scientists say, the life of our weather conditions unacceptable to her. Ichthyologists claim that the piranha could have been released from a private aquarium (and this is not an isolated case), and the fish adapted to unusually low water temperatures. In this case, the survivability of the piranha is amazing.

Another monster was caught by British traveler and fisherman Jeremy Wade. He caught a miracle of nature in Africa during his expedition to the Congo. His catch grew to one and a half meters in length, and in the giant mouth there were exactly 32 huge sharp teeth. They were similar in size to the teeth of a white shark.

However, experts say that this is a Goliath tiger fish, which is one of the most terrible freshwater fish in the world. A deadly and larger version of the piranha. With her set of teeth, she can even attack crocodiles.

There are five known species tiger fish, but the largest lives exclusively in the Congo River basin. The predator grows up to 180 centimeters in length, and gains weight up to 50 kilograms. Goliath eats different fish smaller in size, sometimes for lunch it eats small animals that have fallen into the water, and can attack humans.

Catching such a fish is quite difficult. with their own sharp teeth it is capable of cutting through fishing line of any thickness. Therefore, for hunting Goliath, special steel leashes of increased strength are made.

However, contrary to popular belief, the 50-kilogram Goliaths that are found in some African rivers, are not actually piranhas.

Bite force

How strong is the piranha and how scary are its teeth. This question was answered by an international group of scientists from Egypt, Brazil and the United States. Experts conducted a study aimed at measuring the bite force of the common diamond-shaped piranha. Why was this particular individual chosen? Because it is the largest piranha in the world, up to forty centimeters in length and weighing more than a kilogram.

For the sake of the experiment, scientists caught several large species of fish from the Amazon River and began poisoning them with dynamometers. During this study, by the way, specialists took great risks with their own fingers, since predators could freely bite off a person’s limbs instead of the device.

All about piranhas

One way or another, piranhas willingly took part in a special experiment. And they only bit the proposed dynamometer. And the result of the study was impressive. The most powerful bite was three hundred and twenty newtons. And this figure turned out to be the highest among animals. That is, the piranha bites the most powerfully among all the animals that now live or once lived on Earth.

According to scientists, even the famous tyrannosaurus, which lived many millions of years ago, did not have such strong bite. And the only one who could compare in bite force with the piranha was its direct ancestor, who lived during the times Jurassic. It was an order of magnitude larger than the current fish. Its length was one meter and thirty centimeters. The fish weighed more than seventy kilograms.

And the bite force of this ancestor was approximately four and a half thousand newtons. If we return to the tyrannosaurus, its bite force was three times stronger, but this is taking into account the enormous difference in weight (the tyrannosaurus reached ten tons). Therefore, the palm in terms of bite force belongs only to the piranha.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen

Common or red-bellied piranha(Pygocentrus nattereri) is a notorious inhabitant of the fresh waters of the South American continent and perhaps the most famous representative of the genus.

The species' distribution range includes reservoirs located between the Orinoco River basin, in Venezuela, in the north, and the Parana River, in Argentina, in the south.

Piranha- a tall, silvery fish with a greenish-blue back, brown-orange throat and belly, at first glance it seems quite harmless, if not for the large head with a powerful protruding jaw studded with razor-sharp, strong triangular teeth, revealing a formidable predator.

Razor-sharp triangular teeth reveal the piranha as a formidable predator

The teeth in the upper jaw are slightly smaller than those in the lower jaw. Moreover, in the normal state, the teeth are covered with massive lips so that only their very tips are visible. The special arrangement of the teeth and the movable lower jaw allow piranhas tear off quite large pieces of flesh from its victim.

Predatory lifestyle piranhas affected the size of the eyes and nostrils. U piranhas a very keen sense of smell, they are able to find potential prey even in complete darkness among dense vegetation.

Juveniles have black spots scattered across their silvery body. The gill covers, pectoral and anal fins, including the belly itself, are bright red. The tail is trimmed with a wide black edging.

With age, the black spots disappear, and the body takes on the color of old silver with fine golden sparkles of small scales. But the red tint on the belly and fins remains. The adipose fin is completely devoid of rays, whereas dorsal contains from 14 to 18 branched rays.
Extending from the ventral fins to the anal keel, it is covered with jagged saw-tooth scales; because of this feature, the piranha is called the sawfish in America.

Thanks to numerous myths telling about their bloodthirstiness, piranha They are quite rarely kept in amateur aquariums, although caring for these fish does not present any difficulties.

Adults piranha- quite large fish, even in an aquarium growing up to 20-25 cm.

In nature piranha They live in large schools, so it is better to immediately purchase at least 8-10 fish to keep in an aquarium.

For a group of ten piranhas about 4 cm in size, an aquarium with a volume of 100-150 liters will be enough for the first time, but it is better to immediately allocate them a more spacious tank, since for several adults piranhas an aquarium of 500 liters will not seem too spacious.

A flock of adult piranhas in an aquarium

For decorating an aquarium with piranhas can be used various elements decor: stones, driftwood, live or artificial plants.

But The best decision is a tank densely planted with living plants with open areas for swimming, with dim lighting to suit the needs of the plants.
In such conditions, fish feel more confident and begin to move more actively, demonstrating natural behavior.

Adult piranha in an aquarium

Piranhas- predators, therefore they are not interested in aquatic vegetation as food.

Piranhas, however, like many other fish, cannibalism is characteristic, and it is characteristic not only of adult individuals, but also of slightly older fry. Therefore, it is better to purchase juveniles belonging to the same litter, thereby significantly reducing the risk of being eaten by one of them in the near future.

The cause of cannibalism usually lies in overcrowding or lack of food. When fry are densely packed, injuries in the form of bites are inevitable, while some of the injured fish die, while others survive due to their high immunity. Moreover, the wounds heal quite quickly; after several days, only small depressions at the bite sites remind of them.

Aggression is caused by incorrect, from the point of view of the pack, behavior of the prey. It could be a sick or injured fish, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a member of another species or one of the members of its own school.

Despite their reputation as bloodthirsty predators, in captivity, piranha highly susceptible to stress and sometimes very timid. At the slightest danger, the flock in full force quickly disappears into the thicket of plants.
The fry simply lie on their sides, pretending to be dead.

Therefore, you should not be afraid that one day you will be left without a finger when carrying out periodic work in the aquarium. Piranhas will always stay away from the same scraper or siphon.
But we shouldn’t forget about who we’re dealing with either; when driven into a corner, when caught, a large specimen is quite capable of causing injury. But since most aquarists catch fish with a net rather than with their hands, it is the nets that suffer from piranhas first.

If the fish are full, then the first reaction from an object dropped into the aquarium will be a rapid flight.
If piranhas do not feed for a month and they will not eat each other by the end of such an experiment, then any biological object falling into the water can cause an attack.

Piranha diet

In nature piranha They mainly feed on fish, which they actively pursue or attack from ambush. In addition to fish, their diet includes insects, crustaceans, birds in the water, as well as mammals, reptiles and amphibians. In other words, prey piranhas Any living organism that has attracted the attention of a hungry pack of predators in one way or another and does not have time to leave the water in time can become. Individual flocks piranha, at certain times of the year, they concentrate under the trees on which birds nest. Patiently waiting for the moment the chick falls out of the nest.

Feeding piranhas in an aquarium does not cause any difficulties. Their daily diet can consist of fillets of almost any lean fish, pieces of squid, shrimp, beef heart, etc.). They will not refuse even the living aquarium fish. Thanks to its wide throat and movable lower jaw, an adult piranha without much effort it can swallow a ten-centimeter fish whole.

Juveniles are fed every day, adult fish - every other day or also daily, but to prevent obesity, they are given one or two fasting days a week.

When giving large pieces of food, you should hang them on a wire. When such a piece is lowered into the aquarium, at the first moment the entire flock rushes into the scattered one. After some time, as a rule, the smallest individual decides to swim up to the food and bite off a small piece of it. After all the other members of the pack are convinced that nothing terrible has happened to their relative, they rush together to catch the prey and in a matter of seconds there is nothing left of it.

Often in publications mentioning piranhas, it is said about their ability to bite through almost steel wire. In fact, in the process of eating, piranha behave very carefully. Feeling any hard matter under your teeth, piranha tries to bite off a smaller piece; if this fails, she completely gives up trying to bite off anything.
At your victim's piranha With their razor-sharp teeth, they cut off all the soft parts, the skeleton, as a rule, remains intact. Although in the excitement, even a large fish thrown for food can easily be bitten in half.

Piranhas, like other predators, they eat quickly and sloppily, trying to fill their stomachs for future use as much as possible. Small pieces of food that fall to the bottom are usually ignored by them. Therefore, it is recommended to give fish food in pieces that they can swallow completely without tearing it.

To maintain the red color of piranhas, it is advisable that their diet include shrimp or pink salmon meat.

Piranhas - sexual dimorphism

Sexual dimorphism is weakly expressed: females are usually larger than males, but in order to judge this, the fish must be the same age and raised in the same conditions, which is unlikely in practice.
A more reliable sign is the keel of the abdomen; in the male, when viewed from the front, it has the shape of the letter V, and in females it has the shape of the letter U.

Breeding piranhas in an aquarium

Sexually mature piranha become reaching a size of about 15 cm, usually at the age of one and a half years.

Piranhas, grown in an aquarium, for reproduction, it is not necessary to create any special conditions. The minimum that is needed for this is clean and warm water, a sufficient volume, plus a varied diet.

Spawning does not depend on the time of year. After the first spawn, the next ones usually occur once or twice a month. Reproductive capacity piranhas lasts quite a long time.

The upcoming spawning can be judged by the changed color of the fish and some changes in the situation in the aquarium. During the spawning period piranha darken, acquiring an almost black color.

Spawning occurs in the open. First, the male builds a nest, which is a hole about 20 cm in diameter. All plants growing nearby are mercilessly chewed off to the very roots.

Spawning usually occurs in the early morning. The female lays about one and a half thousand bright orange eggs, having a diameter of about 2 mm. This is where her role ends. The male takes care of the rest of the eggs. He selflessly throws himself on the hand raised to the viewing glass. Any other objects that appear within the boundaries of the nest are also attacked.

The male covers the eggs with soil. Periodically, it makes sharp circular movements around the nest and fans the clutch with its fins, creating the necessary flow of water. For normal hatching of larvae, it is recommended to use fairly coarse soil in the spawning area, since small soil quickly cakes, and the care of the male only aggravates this process. As a result, part of the eggs suffocate, and the hatched larvae simply do not have enough strength to get out.
The male's activity in caring for the nest decreases every day. And the floating larvae become completely left to their own devices.

Depending on the water temperature, the larvae appear on days 2-4, and begin to swim freely only after a week.
The starting food for them is Artemia nauplii, but after a few days the fry are able to eat chopped tubifex, and a week later they try to swallow the worms whole.

With plenty of feeding, the fry grow very quickly. Having reached the age of one month, the juveniles already look like small shiny coins with dark spot at the base of the caudal fin.

After another month, black spots appear on the body. At the age of three months, the fry's lower jaw begins to protrude forward and the fins become colored. Now they are starting to look like adults piranhas.

Juvenile common piranha

At this age, fry can be fed scraped fish and meat, as well as chopped shrimp. When switching to this food, you should pay more attention to the quality of the water in the nursery aquarium.

If spawning took place in a species aquarium, then the larvae and fry can be raised in it. Adults piranha, they do not pay any attention to the larvae.

The danger of being eaten begins when the fry reach a size of 5-6 cm. In a separate nursery aquarium, similar problems can arise when the fish reach maturity.

Common piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) - estimated cost in Russia

Size	Average price per piece
Up to 3 cm (S)	257 rub.
Up to 6 cm (M)	380 rub.
Up to 13 cm (L)	715 rub.
Up to 16 cm (XL)	1350 rub.

The common piranha is a species of predatory ray-finned fish. It first became known about it in the middle of the 19th century. In nature, there are about 30 species of these fish, 4 of which can pose a potential threat to humans.

The length of an adult varies from 20 to 30 cm. However, cases have been recorded when according to description eyewitnesses piranha reached a length of 80 cm. It was the largest of its kind.

The color of females and males is different. In nature, male piranhas are blue-black or green in color, with a silvery tint. Females of this fish species have purple scales.

With age, the color becomes darker. Piranha fish differ in the specific structure of the jaw. Closed teeth resemble a closed zipper. This structure helps them successfully hunt fairly large prey.

Pictured is a piranha fish

To the most famous piranha species These include characin-like fish, black pacu (herbivorous fish), lunar and common metinnis, slender, dwarf, flag piranha, and red-finned miley.

Scientists classify piranhas and pacu as members of the family of “toothed salmonids,” which are distinguished by the presence of a serrated keel. Otherwise, especially in nutrition and jaw structure, they are very different.

Features and habitat of piranha

You can meet piranha in the waters of South America: in Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador. Amazon, Orinoco, Parana - the most popular river places, where does piranha live.

In the photo there is a piranha pacu fish

They love fresh food warm water, rich in oxygen, calm flow and abundance of vegetation. Sometimes they can be found in sea water. During this period, females are not capable of spawning. Several species of fish can coexist in the same territory.

Character and lifestyle of piranha fish

About piranha fish There are many myths circulating. Piranha usually called killer fish and monsters due to their aggressiveness. The “quarrelsome” nature of fish can be seen by observing how they behave in a school.

It is not uncommon to see that they are missing a fin or have scars on their body. Piranhas can attack not only representatives of other species of the animal world, but also their “brothers”. There are even cases of cannibalism. Basically, piranhas choose rivers where a lot of fish swim, since food for them is the main thing in life.

Cases of “cannibalism” sometimes occur in a school of piranhas

Piranhas mostly swim in small groups of 25-30 individuals. Some flocks can reach about a thousand representatives of this species. Herd behavior is inherent in them not due to the desire to kill. On the contrary, it is defense mechanism, since there are animals in nature for which piranhas are food. For example, caimans, some species, .

The diet of piranhas is extremely varied. It includes:

amphibians;
invertebrates;
plants;
weak or sick individuals;
large animals (buffalos).

Fish aggression increases due to the beginning of spawning. During the rainy season - end of January - best time for procreation. Before breeding begins, males make a hole at the bottom, blowing out silt. About a thousand eggs can be placed in such a “shelter”.

Males protect their offspring and provide them with oxygen thanks to intense movements. Sometimes, to preserve the offspring, the eggs are attached to the leaves or stems of algae. The larvae appear after 40 hours.

Until this time, they eat the reserves of the gall sac. As soon as the fry can get their own food, their parents stop caring for them. A piranha is considered sexually mature when it grows to 15-18 cm. Piranhas are gentle, caring parents. Older individuals behave quietly. They do not attack the prey, but prefer to sit out in the seaweed or behind a snag.

Despite the belief that piranhas are killer fish, it must be said that they can experience shock from fright. If frightened, it may “faint”: the individual’s scales turn pale, and the piranha sinks sideways to the bottom. But after she wakes up, the piranha will rush to defend itself.

Piranha fish are dangerous for a person. There have been no recorded cases of humans being eaten, but bites from these fish can cause serious harm. Piranha fish bite painful, the wounds take a long time to become inflamed and do not heal. Approximately 70 people a year are bitten by piranhas.

Piranha is a predatory fish. The biggest danger is its jaws. Scientists conducted an experiment. Several dozen individuals were captured from the Amazon. Dynamometers were lowered one by one into the aquarium where they were located.

As a result, it turned out that the bite could reach three hundred and twenty newtons. It turned out that piranhas have the most powerful jaws of all existing fauna. Numerous photo of piranha fish demonstrate the degree of danger from meeting this predator.

Piranha food

The most important thing is to give food in doses. It may seem that the fish are hungry. Actually this is not true. Piranhas have a constant desire to eat.
The water in the aquarium must be clean, so you need to remove any remaining food after each feeding. Contamination can make your fish sick.
2 minutes is the optimal time for individuals to eat.
In order for piranhas to be healthy and feel good, they need to diversify their diet as much as possible. It is useful to feed fish with shrimp, tadpoles, frozen fish fillets, and finely chopped beef.
There is a product that you should not give to your pets - freshwater fish. In general, you cannot feed piranhas with meat alone.
Young individuals can be fed with bloodworms, tubifex, worms, and then gradually transferred to an adult diet.

Reproduction and lifespan of piranha

During the breeding season, the female turns upside down. About 3000 eggs can be born at one time. The average size of one egg is one and a half millimeters.

If breeding occurs in an aquarium, you need to remember that in the first days after the birth of offspring, fish are very aggressive, so you should not put your hands into the aquarium or try to touch the fish. Parents need to be separated from their offspring. For this, it is better to use a net with a long handle. Their living conditions should be similar. If you want to breed piranhas at home, you should purchase a spawning tank.

One pair of growers requires about 200 liters of water. The water should be warm - 26-28 degrees. During this period, it is better to add soil instead of pebbles and remove all plants. On the eve of spawning, it is recommended to feed the fish intensively. Professional aquarists breed piranhas using special hormonal drugs. When kept at home, piranhas can live up to 10 years.

The small, toothy predator piranha can become a beautiful and original exotic decoration for absolutely any aquarium. However, before acquiring such an aggressive, but at the same time extremely shy fish, it is worth providing it normal conditions a habitat. Without forgetting to take into account that aquarium piranhas This predatory fish, which can inadvertently bite their owner or very quickly deal with their neighbor in the aquarium. That is why experts recommend keeping this fish only for professionals and experienced aquarists.

Quickly navigate to the article

Distinctive features

Piranha fish belong to the Characionidae family, from the order Carp-toothed. The natural habitat is freshwater bodies of water on the South American continent, but the most common place famous river Amazon. IN natural nature There are a huge number of varieties of piranhas, but only a small subspecies is best kept at home. The most common are: red-bellied aquarium piranha, moon piranha, dwarf and slender piranha or red pacu.

These predatory individuals have a dense body, compressed on the sides with a length of 5 to 15 cm. but in natural conditions these fish reach 30cm. Characteristic, unique to this type of fish, is a massive lower jaw with sharp teeth, which can easily cause serious injuries and eat your prey in a matter of seconds.

The color of the young individual is light silver, and the entire body is covered with black spots. But over time, the color of the scales changes and more closely resembles antique silver, ranging from dark gray to shiny. However, with the right content and constant balanced diet, the color acquires a beautiful rich color. Some varieties may have a golden tint on the sides and dark stripes at the tip of the tail.

An interesting video about piranhas from the “All about Pets” channel.

Basic care requirements

Aquarium piranhas are schooling fish, which is why it is better to keep them in flocks, about 10 individuals, but if volumes allow, more can be done. In the case when they cannot create their own flock, they become timid, and as a result they develop poorly and their life span is significantly reduced. Adults can live quietly alone, and at the same time feel quite confident. In addition, even alone they can easily attack not only others large fish living in an aquarium, but also individuals of their own species.

In an aquarium, the water must always be clean, which is why filtration and aeration are the most important requirements for keeping this type of fish. A weekly water change of approximately 10-15% is also an important condition for the good development of fish. It is also necessary to set the optimal temperature in the aquarium, approximately 26.5 ° C. If the water in the aquarium is constantly cold or, on the contrary, warm, this can cause a weakening of the fish’s immunity and the occurrence of diseases.

Particular attention should also be paid to decorating the space in which these individuals live. Because fish feel comfortable and confident in aquariums with dense vegetation. That is why more than 50% of the water space should be equipped with special shelters in the form of caves, houses, snags and planted with artificial plants. Of course, natural greens will not interfere with piranhas, but they will quickly deal with such a delicacy, because this type eats everything you can eat.

Basic nutrition rules

Piranhas living in aquariums are unpretentious in food, but it is important not to overfeed your pets, if possible, change their diet every day and remove leftover food immediately after snacks. The main difference between piranhas and other aquarium fish is that, having had enough, they move away from food and do not pick up the leftovers of the meal. Therefore, in order to prevent rotting and rapid contamination of the water, it is better to remove the feed immediately.