Pygocentrus cariba
Pygocentrus cariba naturally inhabits an area limited to the basin of the Rio Orinoco River flowing in Colombia and Venezuela, including its tributaries such as Rimini Irida, Guaviare, Meta, Vichada, Tomo, Casanare, Apure and Guarico.
Each jaw of Pygocentrus cariba contains one row of sharp, triangular teeth that, like razor blades, easily cut through even very hard materials. Females are usually larger than males and mature females have a more rounded abdomen, especially during spawning periods. The maximum size of the fish is 25-35 cm.
The fish can only be kept in large aquariums with a minimum size of 240x90x60 cm. Pygocentrus cariba extremely aggressive fish, and signs of aggression, it shows not only to other fish species, but also to their relatives. In relatively small aquariums the piranhas become intolerant of each other resulting in life-or-death fights between the fish. Due to this, it is advisable to keep only one fish in a single tank. Only in a large aquarium can contain multiple individuals (5-6 pcs.) and then, if it placed a large number of shelters in the form of large boulders and snags, so that in the case of aggression by one of the fish, the others could hide in a shelter. It should be said that seamlessly with each other fish live until they reach size 1.5 - 2 cm, but as their size becomes more they begin to attack each other, causing serious injury. In order to minimize the fish's aggressive behavior, they need to be fed all the time.
Water parameters: temperature 20-28°C, hardness 1-20°, pH 4.0-7.0. These fish generally produce a lot of waste, so it is important to use a high-performance external water filter. Stronger water aeration is also required. When placing the heater in the aquarium, it should be mounted as securely as possible in the aquarium, because the adult fish are very often damaged aquarium equipment. Replace 1/3 to 1/2 of the aquarium water with fresh water each week.
During care of the aquarium must be extremely careful that Pygocentrus cariba not hurt your hand with their sharp teeth, you should only lose vigilance, and piranha in an instant can bite off a piece of meat from your finger hand6 and such wounds are very painful and poorly healing.
Sand, gravel or a mixture of sand and gravel should be used as a substrate. The presence of different decorations on the bottom is a matter of personal taste. It should be noted that living plants in an aquarium, you can not plant, as they will all be eaten, if not immediately, then the spawning period certainly.
There are no particular requirements for lighting; it can be either medium-intensity or bright, which is preferable. The duration of the daylight hours is about 10 hours per day.
The Pygocentrus cariba's menu consists not only of live fish, but also of aquatic invertebrates, insects, nuts, seeds and fruits. Piranhas will also attack sick fish, much larger in size, by nibbling their fins. In the wild, piranhas very rarely attack animals in the water, except during dry periods when there is little food in the river and the piranha population is large. In aquariums, piranhas are fed with bloodworms, earthworms, shrimps, mussels, live fish and fish meat. Piranhas should not be fed with mammal and bird meat, as several of the lipids contained therein cannot be properly digested in their stomachs, leading to obesity and even degeneration of internal organs. You should also avoid feeding piranhas with goldfish, which very often carry the risk of catching a disease and do not have a high nutritional value.
Reproduction
Pygocentrus cariba does not breed under aquarium conditions. All fish are supplied to local retailers from their natural habitats.
