What do piranhas eat? Introduction to common bait types

Piranhas, also known as man-eating fish, man-eating piranha, etc., live in the Orinoco River and Amazon River basins of South America. Their body length varies and can reach 50 cm. The fish body is thick and stout, with a broad jaw, and teeth like razors that can interlock with each other. There are many varieties, and those commonly seen in the aquarium market are varieties with a certain ornamental value. Now let us take a look at what piranhas eat!

What do piranhas eat?

Piranhas inhabit the main stream and larger tributaries, in places where the river is very wide and the current is relatively rapid. 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 rest in shaded places. 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, being especially sensitive to the smell of blood. Any trace of the smell of blood will provoke a frenzy of attacks by a large group of “piranhas”.

The distribution environment of piranhas

Piranhas are distributed in the rivers of south-central South America east of the Andes and in the coastal rivers of Brazil and Guyana, with records of discovery in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay, Peru, and Venezuela. According to biologists' statistics, more than 30 species of piranhas have been discovered. They not only appear in the Amazon River basin, but also, in South America east of the Andes, from the southern coast of the Caribbean to northern Argentina, piranhas are found in a number of Latin American countries.

What natural enemies do piranhas have?

1. Electric eel: In order to deal with piranhas, many fish species 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 eat them slowly.

2. Spiny catfish: The spiny catfish is good at using its sharp spines. Once it is targeted by a piranha, it swims at the fastest speed to beneath the lowest piranha, and no matter how the piranha moves, it moves in sync with it. If the piranha wants to bite it, the spiny catfish immediately flares its dorsal spines, leaving the piranha helpless. Moreover, on the Amazon River killer ranking list, the spiny catfish ranks first, while the piranha ranks only fourth.