All this talk of characins and not one mention of piranhas (that I saw)?? Piranhas are definately my fish of choice. Any other piranha owners/lovers here? Post what you have here. Me, I have a sub-adult purple sanchezi (serrasalmus sanchezi) 4" Red bellys, of course (pygocentrus nattereri) 5" x 7 Elong (serrasalmus elongatus) 6.5" and a muda (serrasalmus serrulatus) 5" Anyone else? Randy CFB
Unfortunately, here in Singapore which this forum based in, piranhas are banned, since the environment here is the same as the Amazon, an outbreak of them here would not be a good thing. Strangely, african tigerfish and the likes can be found easily. Beats me how they allow those through, maybe they need a B grade movie to officiate their ban.
Well, I'm sorry you guys miss out on these great fish but I totally understand the reasoning. A lot of US states ban them as well since they could possibly withstand the winter and become invasive. How about snakeheads? They are illegal here in the States. I live a couple hours away from the Potomac river, where they are still breeding as we speak.
I like them too. Somehow, the thought of them being possibily man-eating and keeping them as pets seems like a very attractive idea. But then again, this option is not open to those of us living here in Singapore.
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
Yippie!! Reptiles and Fishies!
Who mentioned Snakeheads?? that we have an abundance of..
That's what I don't understand... I have never attempted this, nor would I ever, but I think a snakehead is a more viscous predator than the piranha. I don't see how it would stand a chance of surviving in native water... but I am no way an expert on invasive species and habitats so I digress...
Benny- that is a beautiful serra in your picture. I would need a better side shot to give an accurate ID, but I am going to say Serrasalmus compressus. My initial though was S. Rhombeus, but the absence of a terminal band on the caudal fin made me look a little closer at the body spotting. Some of them appear to be more elongated, pushing me more torwards a compressus. However, S. Rhombeus is a very complex group that needs to be re-evaluated by scientist so it could be a variant of the Rhomb that I am unfamiliar with.
Regardless, beautiful fish! Whoever his owner is takes very good care of him.
Randy
CFB
We can't really ban snakeheads in Singapore because it is a native fish to this region and are bred here as food fish as well. Same thing, you are missing out on them as some of them make interesting and colorful pets.
Bryan- I fully understand why the snakehead can't be banned... my point is that the snakehead is a more viscous predator than the piranha and wouldn't last in Asian waters. But, I am not in any position to make that call and it's is just my opinion, but you know what they say about opinions...
As for missing out, I know that all to well! I drool over pictures of other peoples snakehead pictures all the time. I would love to have a tank of them but some idiot had to let some loose in the water and BAM, now they are illegal in the US. If people aren't more careful with piranhas, I see the same fate for them. Over half of the US states (mostly the southern ones that have mild winters) have them banned already.
I'm actually not that far from the Potomac river, where the snakeheads are breeding and working on destroying the ecosystem. I'm thinking about going fishing for them this summer.
Randy
CFB
Use live frogs or any surface lure (soft lures or slow spin spoons), they hit those hard and fast. I have always enjoyed luring for them. Its quite strange, no one in the states are fishing for them as food, might be a good business idea to turn a pest into a new commodity in the food industry. If you are keen, PM me.
Yes, don't forget to explain why you have to bonk it on the head too!
I keep Whimple piranha in planted tanks.
They do well. They stay small.
They are legal.
Regards,
Tom Barr
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