What do piranhas, bony fish of the class Osteichthyes, eat to grow up? How much does one cost on the market? What are their natural enemies? What fish are good to keep them with? (With farming techniques)
Piranha, also known as red-bellied piranha and man-eating fish, is more commonly found in places with relatively swift currents, main channels and wider rivers. Because of its good-looking appearance, it is deeply loved by aquarium hobbyists, so what do piranhas eat to grow up? How much does one cost on the market? What are their natural enemies? What fish are good to keep them with?
What do they eat?
Piranhas inhabit main channels and larger tributaries, in places where the river is very wide and the current is relatively swift. Adult fish mainly forage at dawn and dusk, feeding mainly on insects, worms and fish, but some closely related species eat only fruit and seeds. They are active mainly during the day, and at noon they go to shaded places to rest. When alone, they forage for relatively small individual fish; when in groups, they hunt any creature that enters the water, including humans, and will also actively attack anything moving in the water. They are especially sensitive to the smell of blood, and any trace of blood will provoke a large group of “piranhas” into a frenzied attack.
Latest market prices:
The piranha is a freshwater carnivorous fish species, varying in body length, with sharp teeth, and famous for its ferocity. Moreover, it is generally divided into two major categories: one is the P genus, suitable for group living, and the other is the S genus, which can only be kept alone. Their prices are also quite varied, with both expensive and cheap ones. For example, the golden branti costs about 5000 yuan each; the Allen piranha (fry 2-4 cm 80-120 yuan each; about 15 cm 450-600 yuan each; the Indian warrior (15-20 cm 1500-2200 yuan each; 22 cm+ 2400-3000 yuan each); the yellow diamond piranha (red-gill yellow diamond 10-15 cm 400-600 yuan each. Regional consumption differences also cause some differences in price.
Natural enemies:
1. Electric eel: To deal with piranhas, many fish have developed their own "cutting-edge weapons" over thousands of years of survival competition. For example, the high-voltage current released by a single electric eel can send more than 30 piranhas to the "electric chair" for execution, and then slowly eat them.
2. Spiny catfish: The spiny catfish is good at using its sharp spines. Once it is targeted by a piranha, it swims at top speed to beneath the belly of the lowest piranha. No matter how the piranha swims, it synchronizes its movements with it. If the piranha wants to bite it, the spiny catfish immediately erects its dorsal spines in anger, leaving the piranha helpless. Moreover, on the Amazon River killer rankings, the spiny catfish ranks first, while the piranha ranks only fourth.
Fish that can be kept together:
1. Arowana: The arowana has a domineering appearance, is spirited, and looks very much like a dragon. Arowanas are loved by more and more people, and with the long-standing dragon culture of the Chinese nation, they are especially sought after by Chinese people. Because they also carry the meaning of dragons soaring and tigers leaping, they can be called the best choice for mixed keeping, and when kept together they are very ornamental, with the dragon above and the tiger below, each occupying its own territory!
2. Tiger fish: Tiger fish are suitable for being kept together with their own kind, such as Thai tiger and Indonesian tiger kept together. Although there will occasionally be fights between them, they can all resolve them on their own, and the whole tank looks extraordinarily imposing. When keeping tiger fish together, you should try to imitate the natural environment as much as possible, plant some aquatic plants, place some rocks, make some stone caves, and you can also use some ceramic flower pots to simulate rock caves, which can make the tiger fish happier.
3. Stingray: The stingray is also called the devil fish. Its activity level is not strong, and its activity depth is between 5 and 100 meters. It often hides its body in sand and mud. Some species have brightly colored bodies. It mostly feeds on small fish and crustaceans and benthic animals in sandy and muddy areas. Although it can be kept together with tiger fish, the size difference must not be too great, otherwise the stingray will chase the tiger fish.
4. Flying fox: The flying fox fish is a large ornamental fish of the genus Semaprochilodus in the family Prochilodontidae under the suborder Characoidei. Its body is laterally compressed, all fins are red, the anal fin and caudal fin have horizontal striped markings, and the base of the tail has an adipose fin. The characteristics of its mouth can help the keeper clean up fish feces and food residue in the fish tank. Moreover, the flying fox has a very auspicious meaning in the minds of Chinese people, and it is a suitable choice for keeping together with tiger fish.
5. Silver dollar: The silver dollar fish is a freshwater fish of the genus Metynnis in the subfamily Serrasalminae of the family Characidae under the order Characiformes. It is distributed in streams in Guyana and northern Paraguay, and also in Brazil. It has a peculiar body shape, beautiful colors, is active and gentle, swims in groups, is hardy and easy to keep, likes to hide in waters with abundant aquatic plants, likes to nibble on aquatic plants, and can add vitality to a dull fish tank.
Farming techniques:
1. Preparation for keeping: Friends who are about to start keeping piranhas must make the following preparations before keeping them. First, you need to know the piranha's own characteristics and varieties, then decide whether to keep P genus piranhas or S genus piranhas, and then decide whether you want substrate sand. Of course, the P genus is suitable for group keeping, while the S genus is suitable for keeping alone. This has to be chosen according to personal preference and market conditions. Those keeping them in groups need to be mentally prepared for internal losses. In terms of internal losses, the red-bellied piranha has the smallest internal losses, while those kept alone are not easy to show their best condition, which requires fish keepers to take extra care.
2. Purchasing method: All fish keepers should know that choosing a good fish to start with is a very important step, and how to select piranhas is also a issue many fish keepers care about. You can choose based on personal preference, price, health condition and several other aspects.
3. Fish tank selection: When choosing a piranha fish tank, you have to see whether you plan to keep P genus piranhas or S genus piranhas to decide the size. The most important thing when choosing a tank is still to test it, to see whether the filtration system is strong, whether there is any water leakage, whether there are scratches, and whether the equipment is complete.
4. Water quality management: Everyone who has kept fish will surely pay great attention to the issue of water quality, and piranha keeping is certainly no exception. Because many piranhas grow in the murky waters of the Amazon, piranhas have very strong adaptability and can generally grow well in soft water ranging from weakly acidic to neutral. Then there is temperature. It is recommended that it generally should not be lower than 20 degrees, and it is best to keep it above 24-26 degrees year-round.
5. Fish food selection: The main foods of piranhas are frozen bloodworms, small mud carp, loach, or the internal organs of some food fish, pork, or some pellet feed. As far as eating is concerned, the P genus generally is not very picky, and small fish, chunks of meat and so on are all fine. In addition, diversifying feeding will greatly help the health and body color of piranhas.
6. Disease prevention and control: Piranhas are a very easy variety to keep, but they can still get sick. You must do preventive work before these troubles find the piranhas. If prevention does not achieve the desired effect, then you need to learn how to treat them.