Tetras and Characids
Red-bellied piranha
Pygocentrus nattereri
Photo: Mattia Nocciola · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Key facts
- Temperature24–28 °C
- pH6–7.5
- Minimum tank400 l
- Adult size30 cm
- Difficulty★★★☆☆
- Lives in a groupof 5 or more
- TemperamentAggressive
- WaterFresh
Full profile
- Family
- Serrasalmidae
- Origin
- Amazon River Basin, Paraguay, The Paraná River and rivers in northeastern Brazil
- Size
- 30 cm
- Temperature
- 24 – 28°C
- pH
- 6.0 – 7.5
- GH
- 2 – 15 °dGH
- Difficulty
- ★★★☆☆
- Water type
- tropical freshwater
- Swimming level
- medium
- Behavior
- Aggressive (only toward members of its own species, in a group, and in a specific aquarium)
- Minimum number of individuals
- 5
- Minimum aquarium size
- 400 L
- Diet
- Carnivore (fish, shrimp, mussels; do not feed live fish)
- Reproduction
- oviparous; the pair builds a nest on the bottom and defends it
Notes: More skittish than its reputation suggests: it becomes stressed with little cover. Be very careful with your hands during maintenance. In Spain, keeping this species is not prohibited, but check the regulations in your region.
