If you want to have the most wonderful marine aquarium in your own home, you have to first choose what kind of fishes you will put in it. More over, you have to be able to maintain your aquarium. This requires patience and motivation. Having a salt-water aquarium is not that hard after all.

Choosing the Right Fish for Your Saltwater Aquarium

The first step is to decide on the number of fish you want to house in your aquarium. Make a rough estimate on how many fish will fit spaciously in your aquarium. As a rule, you have to allow two inches of fish with every gallon of water in the tank.

Buy all the fish you need from a licensed pet shop or a reputable dealer. Buying from a good source will save you all the hassle and troubles. You will clearly buy the best and healthy fishes rather than the ones who are sick and may be more likely to die after a few days. The credibility of the seller is determined in his showcase aquarium. The look of the seller’s tank may become a motivational source for you.

Research and read more about the type of fish you want. Some fishes require particular needs such as diet, compatibility, temperature, and chemicals.

Buy a school of fish for there are only minimal compatibility problems. In addition, it will be easy to determine if any fishes are indicating an illness or whatsoever. Try the cardinal tetras or neons, loaches or pearl, Corydoras catfish, zebra danios and any of all the barbs.

Do not risk buying one of anything you like. Just stick to the school of fish rather than get different kinds of fish. The aquarium will be difficult to manage and maintain when there are different species of fish.

Try to get a clown plecostomus or bristle-nose. You may also want to get two otocinclus catfish to control the algae in the tank.

You may also want to raise a killifish. This kind of fish is easy to maintain and perfect for beginners though the killifish is very difficult to find.

Always ask you dealer about the fish compatibility in your aquarium. Take good caution of the cichlids for some of them can grow large. In addition, the angelfish need aquariums more than ten gallons. A type of fish called “Oscars” is quite messy and not preferable for your tank. Oscars tend to eat fish and can be particularly messy.

Keep away from buying piranhas. Piranhas are impressive creatures but they tend to eat a lot of goldfish as well as other fishes in your aquarium. In addition, mixing piranhas with other fishes may cause issues on parasites and diseases. If you really want to buy piranhas, you must watch their diet and quarantine them in a different aquarium. Piranhas are considered a school fish but they tend to eat one another if they are not fed properly.

You may want to get bala sharks. This type of fish looks fierce and wonderful plus it is not really a shark. It grows over twelve inches. This is recommended to those who want to grow large fishes.

In general, avoid buying a catfish. This fish can be nasty predators. Catfish tend to grow bigger and bigger over time. So, if you rally want a catfish, be prepared for the problems that may arise.

When choosing to keep carnivorous Characidae, there are some things you will want to keep in mind. First and foremost, be aware that anything smaller than the Characidae will be considered food. And mixing other aggressive carnivores will only lead to one or the other being eaten. You will want to keep herbivorous fish that are much larger with Characidae. They will generally leave anything bigger than themselves alone, and the herbivore will not be interested in attacking unless provoked. In contrast to the piranha, which has similar jaws and eating habits, a Characidae will attack both alone and in schools. Piranha tend to attack only in schools. But the effect either type can have on your hand is similar, so be careful. These kind of fish are definitely not recommended for the beginner.

Carnivorous Characidae will eat pretty much any kind of meat. Worms, smaller fish (a lot of dangerous fish keepers will stock the aquarium with several small, cheap fish so the predator has something to hunt), etc. Try to avoid giving them a taste for red meat, and do not put your hands into the tank while feeding them.

Characidae live in the brackish waters of South and Central American rivers. Lots of peat and vegetable matter contribute to hazy waters and a PH leaning towards acidic. When properly kept, Characidae will breed in captivity, leaving eggs that stick to the bottom of the aquarium. They will eat their young however, so if you are going to attempt to breed Characidae be prepared to move either the adults or the young into a separate aquarium right after hatching.

Serrasalmus Rhombeus, also know as white piranha or spotted piranha, are another favorite of people who like to keep dangerous fish. Like Characidae, piranha are from South America, in the Amazon Basin. They can grow up to 10 inches long in the wild, but most aquarium-raised piranha only grow to around 6 inches. As with Characidae, piranha are not for the beginner. As one of the most aggressive fishes, they cannot be kept with other fish. Their most prominent feature is the over-sized jaw, with rows of needle-sharp teeth. Piranha have been known to tear apart aquariums with those teeth. When netting a piranha, you must use extreme caution to keep your hands away from the fish at all times. They will attack and shred your hand without hesitation if you let them. In the wild, a school of piranha can reduce an entire cow to bones in a matter of seconds, so your hand is just a little snack for them.

Piranha eat meat, of course. They will attack and eat any other fish they are kept with. Some of the nicer things about keeping piranha include their relative indifference to water conditions, and that they will not breed in a tank. This prevents schools of piranha from appearing in your tanks. They will eat each other in captivity, especially if there are no other fish to attack. Piranha are extremely aggressive and dangerous, and should only be kept by experienced keepers.

Piranhas have red throats, razor-sharp teeth to rip flesh with ease, and silvery gold flesh (red-bellies have red bellies, of course). Piranhas are native to South America and Guyana and it’s against the law to bring them in and out of most countries. They are quite dangerous and aggressive fish since they reside in schools, which has a tendency to promote a competitive environment.

When planning a piranha aquarium, fish size should be regarded first. Grown piranhas have been known to develop to two feet long in a big enough tank. Piranhas are in addition group swimmers, which means they’ll need room to roam.  Strive to provide two gallons per each inch of piranha fish. An aquarium six feet long by two feet by two should allow ample hideouts. A minimum fifty-gallon aquarium is recommended.

TANK UPKEEP AND CONDITIONS

Piranhas (Serrasalmus nattereri) are very sloppy eaters. Ten to fifteen percent water switch-outs every seven days will ensure waste not trapped by the filter system is taken away. Regarding filter systems, almost all piranha aquariums will need at least two devices to manage the process, especially if the aquarium is fifty or more gallons. Nitrate concentrations, which have harmful effects on piranhas particularly, should be monitored directly. PH levels ought to stay between six and one half and 6.9 to copy those of the Amazon where piranhas came from.

Water degrees in a piranha enclosure should be about eighty degrees to encourage piranha movements. Many piranha owners employ additional water pump devices to prod piranhas to swim  in opposition to the waves as in the River of the Amazon. The practice additionally promotes metabolism levels, stimulating eating habits.

For decoration, it’s preferable to keep the fish tank low lighted to encourage piranhas to venture into open water. Man-made fauna is recommended. Any rocks and synthetic centerpieces will need to be tightly fastened, seeing as strong piranhas will hurl pieces around, potentially breaking glass.

DIET

Piranhas’ diet consists completely of proteins. Living meaty rations such as non-fatty poultry or beef and fillets of fish may be administered daily or bidaily. Feeder comet fish are a non-expensive choice, but piranhas will dine on practically any variety of meat. Experiment to find what yours favor. Whatever you do, don’t leave your fingers in the water too long!

TANK MATES

Obviously piranhas are aggressive fish, which makes your choice of tank mates relatively slim. However, some other aggressive fish can co-exist with them. For example, tetras, cichlids, oscars, pleco catfish and pacus. These fish are by and large excellent defensive fish, while the plecos have tough outer shells and can grow to larger, intimidating sizes. Pacus resemble piranhas and will fight back. Tetras are quick and small with sensory instincts which allow them to stay clear of piranhas. Piranhas also aren’t likely to give chase to such speedy, small cohabitants. Cichlids may or may not coexist with piranhas; they have simply been known to team up against them to survive. Oscars are large and in charge and inexpensive to replace if they’re slurped by a fat red-belly.

As a rule of thumb, don’t introduce too many new experimental tank mates into your piranha tank. Add them one by one to see how they adapt. Whatever you do, don’t get too attached to them until you know they’re going to make it!

SUMMARY

We hope you’ve benefited from this informational piece regarding piranhas. Feel free to visit AquariumUniverse.com for more piranha aquarium information including photos and videos, additional guides and aquarium resources.