If piranhas will be your main fish, then you'll probably find your other
fish choices severely limited. Piranhas do not 'nip' fins. They assume a
position above and behind the victim and lunge, turning their body 90
degrees so that they can wrap their teeth around the adipose fin (or the
area behind the dorsal fin). The will then do a quick twist and swim away
with a chunk of fish the size of their jaw. If their prey take to the
upper waters, then the Piranhas repeat the behaviour aimed at the anal
fin. Whatever fish you have, if they survive the assaults (and large fish
frequently do) they will have chunks missing behind the dorsal fin (even
losing the adipose and dorsal fin completely), or chunks missing
underneath them (though as soon as the intestines start pouring out, they
don't usually live longer than about 2 weeks).

Another minor point, is that humans are not compatible with deep Piranha
tanks which require people to climb in to do maintenance. Do you think
they are just going to watch you? Are you aware what their eventual size
is? (which they *will* achieve in a 1200g tank). Of course you'll be
feeding them a lot of meat to get them to that size ($$$), and if you
don't, they will simply eat each other (problem solved). I think you'll
have a lot of research ahead of you, and it certainly sounds like an
interesting project.



In the wild Piranha nip fins, and also if fed properly. They do kill other
fish and eat them whole(when they are given the chance) but for the most
part they nip the fins if not starved. As for the attacks you are
describing: I have six 5 inch Piranha right now and I have not seen them
attack in the way you are describing. When I put a group of feeder fish
into the tank they indeed do nip the fins of the fish, and the fish actually
last quite a lot longer then one would think (11 days being the longest I
have had 24 fish last). In the local pet stores around here I have stopped
in to pick up feeders and crickets and have seen young guppies (as food for
schools of 12-15 Piranha) that have reached into maturity and even spawn
more guppies. Just about every fish in the tank including the Piranhas
themselves had fins that were in some way or another damaged but nothing
like what you are describing. I have actually had people come over and
expect a blood fest and be utterly disappointed with what they see. I have
left them to get hungry for a few days and they do consume the fish rather
savagely then, although I don't intend to starve them as they are very
aggressive fish and regular feedings do very much calm them.

As for people being compatible: That was not what I had said (meant). What
I said was that they do not view us as a "normal" food source. Why would a
fish decide to bite a large animal that can very well end its life in a
swipe or kick, rather then attacking smaller fish that have almost no
chance? Only humans hunt for sport my friend, animals take the easy way
because its survival. There are a number of documentary's that show the
native peoples who live around rivers (that have huge schools of Piranha
teeming in the waters) swimming and bathing as if there was no more then
trout amongst them. The narrator of the documentary dove into the waters
with the natives and was swimming for quite some time, unmolested by the
Piranha (which when shown through the underwater camera were swimming in
amongst them all over the place). There were literally thousands in the
water with about 20 people and not one person was bitten. And these Piranha
were feeding because the fishermen that the camera man was in the boat
filming with, was using small fish as bait and dragging it in an injured
fashion on top of the water catching Piranha one after the other. Most
Piranha attacks are grossly exaggerated and there are no confirmed reports
of people being eaten by Piranha. When a Piranha does attack a person its
usually because that person is swimming in dams created by the Brazilian
Govt ( I think that's the place) that are popping up everywhere to gain
power and large water sources. These dams are prefect breeding areas for
the Piranha and people are usually bitten because they have been swimming
too close to a nest (Piranhas are very protective parents), and even those
people suffer wounds that any small dog can make look minor in comparison.

As for getting in the tank: The same narrator went to a aquarium in France
where they have a tank of those very same Piranha (200 in total I believe he
said). He donned a mail suit (out of fear and just in case, because you
should never say never) and entered the tank with a 10 pound chunk of sheep
rib. Immediately the Piranha attacked the chunk of meat and not one bit the
narrator. A few bounced into the camera in a frenzy but not even a nip did
he get. They paid him no more mind then if he was an everyday thing (like a
rock) in the tank, some were weary but for the most part he went unnoticed.
And that was in a full frenzy when they are most likely to attack.

As for the size: Of course I am aware of their eventual size. They get to
about a foot and sometimes longer and quite thick, if you catch my meaning.
That's the whole purpose of the large tank, I want them to get to their full
size and hopefully they will breed. Feeding shant be a problem as they
(fish keeping) are about my only money draining habits/pleasure. I have
read many books about these fish and doubt I need to do anymore research,
other then finding out more about the other species of aquatic life that
live with them and how they interact.



Sean