Neville

One of my aquarist friends Tony has bought 10 Piranhas for his 50g tank. He is not new to this hobby actually, he also has a huge 100g in which he has iridescent sharks (which is a favorite fish in our country but I don?t like them), common plecos, catfish and a pacu. Now, these r no original piranhas, they r our local piranhas, especially bred in our country (Bangladesh); these guys grow up to only 4". But they r no less aggressive, they seem to eat everything ; they eat boiled leafy vegetables too. They even bite the plastic plants in the aquarium, yesterday my friend gave them a live shrimp, which they ate up almost instantly!!!! But they seem to be a little bit afraid of lights. So my friend wanted to know something which I couldn?t answer, because I?m no piranha expert.
First question is, is there any special lighting for piranhas? Is it harmful for them if my friend keeps the lights on? Second, is it right to feed piranhas vegetables occasionally? My friend also has a common pleco in his tank which is 7" long; piranhas don?t harass it but is there any chance they could attack it in the future? And what kind of decorations will be perfect for the piranhas? Rocks? Driftwoods? Sunken woods? Heavy plantation or more swimming space? Any suggestions about these beasts ? Please help my piranha friend.

sirdarksol

Sounds like these piranhas are omnivores. Some of the little guys are strictly carnivores. They're the ones you hear about the most. Some are herbivores, and will mostly chew on submerged roots. In this case, they do both. I doubt the plants will hurt them. (The plastic might, though)
I would be pretty leery about the pleco, though I have been told that they tend to hold their own in a fight against a piranha, even a normal, full-grown piranha. (This was only one person's experience, however)

Neville

is there any suggestions or advice regarding lighting and tank decor ? please.........

Trpimp147

larger tank, 3 times the filtration... and many power heads in the corners to simulate there water they live in. try and get them on pellits and less on live foods, cleaner the tank is and such. many live plants for a little hiding, i would suggest buying them big so if they eat them it wont be 1 bite. some large rocks make some caves, and for the lighting i wouldnt see why it would hurt them much but as you prob seen on tv these fish live in dirtyer water where light doesnt shine down to far in it so keep that in mind, maybe a diff color light might work better.

Neville

Thanks trpimp, thanks a lot, these fish r really interesting. i'm thinking of getting some of them myself. they r a little rare in our country though; but i think i'll get some of them soon.

Wilhelm Joshua Tan

Not all piranha are carnivous, some like the pacu and the largest piranha, the redhook silverdollar, eat on plants but red-bellied piranhas eat on meat like dead fish, water hog, baby reptiles and chicks and many more in South America.