Serrasalmus nattereri
To adapt well to life in the aquarium the temperature must be regulated between 20 and 28° C, they withstand a wide range. Your water needs are not too demanding when it comes to pH : from an acid value of 5.5 to slightly alkaline. Water hardness should be between 10 and 20 degrees.
Piranhas are carnivorous. They can be fed with small pieces of raw meat, small fish or pieces of fish and also worms. Be careful of waste. Check that there are no remains of food left in the aquarium unconsumed, as its decay will affect the quality of the water.
Like most carnivorous fish, living in aquariums requires filtration to be very effective and very fast. This need for abundant filtration is because its generous amount of waste has a high protein content. In the diet of piranhas is important the regularity of live food to maintain its natural condition.
As a predator, the piranha is a fish that should be kept in single-species aquariums. It is difficult for piranhas to have no problems with their aquarium mates, and one of the factors is the reduced space.
Due to its growth and water filtration issues, the ideal is to have a maximum of 5 piranhas every 100 liters of water.
There are usually no attacks or disturbances in the fish tank unless these fish feel threatened. Do not put your hands in the fish tank for maintenance tasks, as the piranha can scare and bite it. Well-developed specimens have very large teeth.
Piranhas are easily reproduced in aquariums. They are ovipar and the males take care of the nest until the fry are born. The pups must be removed and sorted by size.
It is very important to always feed the fry with live food, to avoid problems of cannibalism among siblings, especially of different sizes (they grow rapidly).
Young piranhas are golden below and have small black specks on their sides. In adulthood, its color becomes opaque gray with tiny pints that look like swirling silver sparkles.
(c) Adrián Blanco 2006 — Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —