Piranhas where they exist and their sizes. Piranha, piranha fish, piranha description, piranha fish, piranha and habitat. Character and behavior

In this article I will tell you how to keep piranhas in artificial conditions. Where do they live in natural conditions and how they look. I will describe the feeding options for this fish and the features of breeding in an aquarium. I will also debunk some myths about these toothy inhabitants of freshwater reservoirs.

Piranhas belong to the piranha family of the cypriniform order and in vivo live in fresh water South America. Science knows more than 50 species, the main differences of which are in the diet. Approximately half of the fish species are predators that eat not only fish and other freshwater inhabitants of rivers and lakes, but also pose a danger to warm-blooded animals caught in the water.

A characteristic species feature of piranha is a large mouth and protruding, flat, wedge-shaped teeth.

A distinctive feature of piranha is the structure of the lower jaw, with which the fish can make tearing movements. With a maximum length of about 40 cm, a pack of predators can completely destroy a large animal in a matter of minutes.

The color of most of the fish of this breed is silver-green, but during the spawning period they become almost black. Life expectancy in natural conditions is more than 20 years, but if this fish is kept in an aquarium, then this figure does not exceed 15 years.

Kinds

There are 4 main types of piranhas, which differ in the following ways:

Natterera or common

If the fish has a gray color on the dorsal fin and a bright red belly, then this species refers to the species Natterer or common. This species lives in the rivers of South America and has a length of up to 35 cm. The common piranha feeds on both food of animal origin and various underwater plants.

Cuvier

In the event that the fish has an orange color of the scales, then it can be attributed to the Cuvier or Piranha species from the San Francisco River. This species also does not exceed 35 cm in length and is found mainly in the San Francisco River basin. Red fish are ideal for keeping in large private aquariums.

Black (Caribbean)

It has a well-marked black spot. The distribution of this species is limited to the Orinoco River basin. Especially often black piranha lives in floodplain lakes and in places of seasonal flooding of forests.

Pompano

The Palometa piranha lives in the Orinoco River basin, the existence of which is currently not officially confirmed, but about 150 years ago this species was described in detail by many researchers.

All listed species can be kept in captivity, but only if favorable conditions are created for the habitat of this breed of fish.

Conditions and features of keeping in an aquarium

Breeding piranha in an aquarium is extremely rarely accompanied by difficulties.

Piranhas in artificial conditions of detention are necessary:

Spacious aquarium. For the correct maintenance of a small flock of these predators, you will need to purchase a tank with a volume of at least 300 liters.
Good water filtration. For effective water purification, a system consisting of filters and a pump should be used.
Regular and high-quality feeding.
"Company" in the amount of at least 5 individuals.
Certain temperature and water hardness.

Water temperature can be 24-26°C, hardness - 12-16, pH about 7

If all of the above conditions are met, then keeping this breed of fish at home will not be difficult.

Compatible with other types of aquarium fish

The easiest way to keep piranhas is with large species aquarium fish

Despite the fact that most of the varieties are predators, this breed of fish can be kept with other species, but on condition that the size of the fish will be very different.

Adult piranhas almost never attack small fish and hunt exclusively for large prey.

Safe keeping of piranhas in an aquarium with other species is possible only if regular feeding is organized.

Feeding - how and what?

Aquarium piranhas eat protein food

They feed aquarium piranhas with pieces of fish or meat, no more than once a day. To prevent the water from spoiling from uneaten food residues, it is recommended to feed for no more than 2 minutes. Then the rest of the food must be removed from the water. For the convenience of this operation, it is recommended to hang the food on a string, which is removed from the aquarium after the “meal” is over.

Breeding

If you want to start breeding piranhas in captivity, then before you start growing fry, you should know the basic principles of reproduction in artificial conditions. For reproduction it is necessary:

Prepare a spacious aquarium. For spawning, it is recommended to use a tank with a volume of at least 300 liters.
Cover the bottom of the aquarium with sand or soft soil, at least 50 mm thick.
Maintain water temperature in the range of 28 - 30 degrees.

After 3 weeks after the end of spawning, larvae hatch from the eggs, which are recommended to be caught and placed in a separate container. From the age of one month, larger specimens should be caught and placed separately to exclude the possibility of cannibalism.

Myths about piranhas

Thanks to Hollywood horror movies about piranhas, there are a lot of misconceptions about this "cute" toothy fish.

1 myth- piranhas purposefully hunt warm-blooded animals in the water.

Rebuttal: with enough food, they do not attack people and animals, but prefer to eat carrion, worms and other representatives of the ichthyofauna.

2 myth- Piranhas form large flocks to attack.

Rebuttal: large individuals usually get together in groups of 5 - 8 pieces.

Piranhas are most dangerous to humans and animals during the drought period.

3 myth- piranha predatory fish.

Rebuttal: many species are herbivores.

4 myth- fish are attracted by the noise of animals and people splashing in the water.

Rebuttal: piranhas don't hunt that way.

5 myth- from the smell of blood become aggressive.

Rebuttal: despite the fact that the presence of blood in the water does attract predators, an attack is possible only if the animal is seriously injured and has numerous injuries.

Breeding piranhas in home aquariums is not the most best idea, but if a decision is made to acquire such a fish, then care should be taken when caring for a piranha, whose teeth can easily bite a thick stick.

Piranhas inhabit the rivers of South America. Their habitat extends over tens of millions of square kilometers - from the eastern borders of the Andes mountain range to the very coast of the Atlantic. Piranhas inhabit the waters of Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. There are more than twenty types of piranhas. Some species grow up to half a meter in length, others remain quite small, a few centimeters long.

Contrary to popular belief, most piranha species are harmless. Only four species of these fish are aggressive and can be dangerous. There is a lot of evidence of piranha attacks on, but none of these cases led to fatal consequences.

The word "" of one of the South American Indian tribes means "tooth fish". This is a capacious characteristic of the fish, the teeth are exposed due to the special structure of the lower jaw. The muscles that control jaw movements are very strong. In fact, piranhas do not tear their prey apart, but cut off small pieces of meat. Piranha teeth are extremely sharp. It is believed that they can even damage metal.

Piranhas are cannibals. They can easily pounce on their wounded relatives.

Common myths about piranhas

Contrary to the imposed stereotype, adult piranhas do not form large schools. In New York, where piranhas were bred, these fish kept at a considerable distance from each other. However, during feeding, they pounced on the prey in a dense group. After finishing feeding, they restored their usual distance. Moreover, the density of fish exceeded a certain allowable value, piranhas began to fight among themselves.

It is not known exactly how piranhas sense prey. Perhaps they are guided by the movements that their victims make. Scientists have suggested that piranhas can respond to changes in water levels.

Piranhas are quite popular for breeding in aquariums. However, in most countries they are banned. Many owners of piranhas release these fish into natural reservoirs as a joke, as a result, news about piranhas caught either in the Volga or in the Vistula often appears in the press. Fortunately, harsh winters do not allow these fish to adapt to cold rivers. So the Amazon remains their main habitat.

The second name of piranhas is "river ripper". These fish have chosen the fresh waters of South America and, according to some ichthyologists, are considered the most dangerous fish living outside the oceans and seas.

Instruction

Piranhas are predatory fish with razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaws. A flock of piranhas in a matter of minutes tears to shreds everything that falls into their visibility zone, leaving a bare skeleton from their victim. These fish are always hungry and attack at the first sign of blood.

Adult piranhas can reach a length of 35 cm. The body of these fish is elongated, but flattened laterally. The color of the body of a piranha can be different: from silver-blue with dark patches to dark gray, strewn with shimmering sparkles. The coloration of juveniles is lighter than that of adults. In addition, the tip of the tail of young piranhas is usually bordered by a dark stripe. The anal and pelvic fins of piranhas are usually yellowish or red in color.

The special structure of the lower jaw allows these fish to snatch rather large pieces of meat from their prey. The piranha tooth has a triangular shape and reaches a height of up to 5 mm. The teeth of these predators are located so that their upper row fits exactly into the grooves of the teeth of the lower row: this makes it easy to cut off a piece of meat from prey. The cutting part of the piranha's teeth is so sharp that the Indians inhabiting South America generally use these teeth instead of a razor in everyday life.

Piranha jaws work in two modes. The first mode allows piranhas to tear off pieces of meat from the body of the victim when closing the jaws, and the second allows you to bite off or gnaw at denser tissues (veins and bones) due to the displacement of already closed jaws. It is curious that an adult predator may well bite a human finger, pencil or thick fishing nets. For the art of eating prey to have a mass effect, piranhas prefer to hunt. large groups. They prey on anything that moves.

The piranha fish community pounces even on large mammals who dared to cross this or that river. The smell of blood spilled by this animal immediately attracts more and more predators to the scene. All this leads to the fact that the mammal simply does not have time to jump out of the water and drowns from a huge loss of blood. Cases of attacks of these fish even on crocodiles were recorded: piranhas bit off parts of their tails. Of course, these predators pose a serious danger to humans.

In general, birds and mammals that come close to water or swim across the river are considered a favorite diet of piranhas. Currently, a person has brought several types of aquarium piranhas. It is curious that piranhas in the aquarium are modest and shy fish, from time to time rushing in all directions at the sight of a person.

Appearance of the fish

The body of a piranha is flat, rounded, laterally compressed. The dorsal and anal fins are elongated, the tail is wide, eyes are bulging and large. Coloring depends on what species it belongs to, as well as on nutrition. Olive-gray-green and dark blue colors predominate more often in the upper part, light piranha on the side With silver-gray tint.

The lower fins and abdomen are mostly reddish. The tip of the tail is edged with a black line. Young growth from adult fish can be distinguished by dark spots on the sides which disappear over time.

Home hallmark are her jaws. They are not found in nature anywhere else.

The length of triangular teeth reaches 5 mm. They are lamellar, slightly bent inward, incredibly sharp. Therefore, they easily cope with the victim, tearing it apart or cutting off pieces of flesh from it. In the teeth, even small sticks and bones.
The jaw is unique. When it is compressed, the upper and lower teeth go into the sinuses, creating a lot of pressure. Its action can be compared to a trap.
The grip strength is measured at 320 newtons, which has no analogues in the animal kingdom. The pressure created by the closed jaws exceeds its weight by 30 times.
An adult can easily deprive a person of a finger. Local residents living near piranha ponds have adapted to use their jaws with teeth like scissors, and they shave their teeth.

Now you have an idea what the appearance of a piranha is. This fish breeds by laying eggs. This period lasts from March to August. For spawning, the female lays thousands of eggs, then they are guarded by the male.

Features of piranhas

This fish, in addition to the amazing structure of the jaws, also differs ability to make sounds. For example, once on land, she barks like a dog, during lunch she can demonstrate “playing the drum”, in order to scare away her own, she uses “croaking”, and approaching another individual, the fish croaks.

Scientists have found that she gets all the variety of sounds thanks to the swim bladder, which she contracts with muscles. The sound produced depends on the speed of their compression.

At the piranha excellent hearing and sense of smell. The victim, being at a distance of more than 6 km, will no longer be saved, since she was smelled by a drop of blood.

Piranha Enemies

This small fish is not able to frighten either individuals exceeding its size, nor large predators, which, however, themselves became their victims. But these fish still have enemies:

In the waters of European countries and Russia, piranhas can be increasingly found. This is not a joke of nature, but the fault of inexperienced aquarists who, having failed to cope with the care of the fish, decide to release it into the wild.

Europeans and Russians have nothing to fear, because fish does not live in cold waters when winter comes, they will all die. The temperature comfortable for their stay is the range from 24 to 27 degrees.

Piranha is a fish that can easily adapt to new living conditions. In the aquarium, she feels great, which is why many try to breed her. At the same time, do not forget about taste preferences because the fish are predatory.

She needs properly feed, the diet is dominated by small fish, such as sprat, capelin. Don't forget about safety.

Is this predatory fish edible?

This fish is very voracious. There are many stories that characterize this feature. For example, there is a case with a pig that fell into the water, when the pack gnawed it to the bone in a matter of minutes. Often the victims themselves are the fishermen who want to feast on piranhas.

They get caught because edible fish meat, resembles a perch. They are often used fried. Fishing takes place with a bait, but the fisherman must be very careful, because the fish can snip off his finger.

So, we can conclude that piranha is necessary for a favorable ecological state nature is an animal whose extermination lead to imbalance when there is a great chance of outbreaks of epidemics and the occurrence of infections in water bodies.

These fish have long been infamous. It is considered right. They are hungry for murder and greedy for blood. Their appetite is insatiable, a flock of piranhas quickly gnaws the carcass of a pig or a ram, deftly tearing the meat from the bones.

However, not all types of piranha are so scary. Some of them are harmless. How do you know what to expect muddy water rivers? The Indians have their own signs.

The victim had no chance. As soon as the trout and the pool, where the piranhas were splashing, flocks of enemies rushed at her, it didn’t take even a second, as one of the fish plucked a whole piece from the side of the trout. It was a signal. Spurred on by the hunting instinct, six other piranhas began tearing new pieces out of the trout's body.

Now her stomach was torn. She twitched, trying to dodge, but another squad of assassins - there were now about twenty of them - grabbed the fugitive. A cloud of blood mingled with scraps of innards floated in the water. The trout was no longer visible, and the furious predators kept scurrying about in the muddy water, poking their noses at the invisible outline of the fish.

Suddenly, after some half a minute, the haze passed. The piranhas have calmed down. The desire to kill subsided. Their movements slowed down. From the trout, a fish 30 cm long, there was no trace left.

Common piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)

Genre classic: vampire and piranha

If you happen to see a piranha hunting in a movie, you will not forget this nightmarish scene. At one sight of it, ancient fears resurrect in the soul of a person. Fragments of old legends revolve in my memory: “It happened on the Rio Negro. Or Rio San Francisco, Xingu, Araguaia... My father fell into the water..."

From Alfred Brem to Igor Akimushkin, animal books are full of tales of bloodthirsty piranhas. “Very often a crocodile takes flight before a wild flock of these fish ... Often these fish overpower even a bull or a tapir ... Dobritzhofer says that two Spanish soldiers ... were attacked and torn to pieces” (A Brem). These messages have become "classics of the genre." From now on, every high school student knew that the rivers of Brazil were teeming with killer fish.

Over time, flocks of fish swam from books and articles to cinema halls. Horror films made about Amazonian predators include Piranha (1978) directed by Joe Dante and Piranha 2 (1981) directed by James Cameron.

Their plots are similar. There is a military base on the shore of a picturesque lake. They grow piranhas there. Accidentally predators fall into the waters of the lake and begin to eat tourists. And in general, the same “Jaws”, only smaller in size, and more in number.

Her name alone makes fans of these films shudder. And hardly any of the experts creepy stories, once in Brazil, will risk entering the waters of the river if he finds out that piranhas are found there.

The first reports of them began to arrive when the conquistadors reached Brazil and went deep into the wilds of the forests. These messages made my blood run cold.

"Indians, wounded cannonballs and musket bullets, screaming, fell from their canoes into the river, and ferocious piranhas gnawed them to the bone, ”wrote a certain Spanish monk who accompanied Gonzalo Pizarro, a seeker of gold and adventures in 1553, during a predatory campaign and the lower reaches of the Amazon. (Horrified by the cruelty of the fish, the pious monk did not think that the Spaniards, who fired cannons at the Indians, were no more merciful than piranhas.)

Since then, the reputation of these fish has been justifiably fearsome. They smelled blood better than sharks. Here is what the German traveler Karl-Ferdinand Appun wrote in 1859 to Guyana: “Intending to take a bath, I only immersed my body in warm waters river, as if headlong jumped out of there and retreated to the shore, because I felt a bite of a piranha on my thigh - just where there was a wound from a mosquito bite, scratched by me to the blood.

Reading such confessions, at some point you catch yourself thinking that piranhas are fiends of hell that escaped from there through an oversight and now tyrannize people and animals. There are no more terrible creatures in the world. An awkward step into the water - and dozens of razor-sharp teeth dig into your leg. God righteous! One skeleton remained... Is it all true?

The golden mean: flooded forest and great land

“It would be naive to demonize piranhas,” writes German zoologist Wolfgang Schulte, author of the recently published book Piranhas. For about 30 years he studied these tropical predators and, like no one else, knows their two-faced nature: “But it would also be naive to portray them as harmless fish, completely not dangerous to humans. The truth lies in the middle."

Over 30 species of piranha live in South America. They feed mainly on small fish, shrimps, carrion and insects.

Only a few piranhas attack warm-blooded animals: among them, for example, red and black piranhas. But these fish are quick to reprisal. If a young heron, having fallen out of the nest, awkwardly flops into the water, “it is surrounded by a flock of piranhas,” writes V. Schulte, “and seconds later only feathers float on the water.”

Piranhas in the aquarium have lunch

He had seen similar scenes himself, although it was not easy to understand river battles meticulously. Even experts have difficulty distinguishing certain types piranhas, as the color of fish changes dramatically with age.

However, the most aggressive piranhas usually feed only on carrion. “They rarely attack living mammals or humans. As a rule, this happens during the dry season, when the fish habitat narrows sharply and there is not enough prey. They also attack individuals with bleeding wounds, ”explains Schulte. If the attack is successful and the victim spurts blood, all the piranhas scurrying nearby rush to her.

So, the aggressiveness of piranhas depends on the season. During the rainy season, the Amazon and Orinoco flood. The water level in them rises by about 15 meters. Rivers flood a vast area. Where the forest has recently grown, boats float, and the rower, having lowered the pole into the water, can reach the crown of the tree. Where the birds sang, the fish are silent.

The flooded forests become a breadbasket for piranhas. They have a great selection of food. The local Indians know this and, fearing nothing, climb into the water. Even children splash in the river, dispersing flocks of piranhas.

Piranha teeth are sharp

Indian children swim in the Orinoco River, teeming with piranhas

Along the fairway of the Orinoco, teeming with "killer fish", lovers of water skiing carelessly ride. Guides carrying tourists on boats do not hesitate to jump into the water, and right from under their feet, tourists catch piranhas with fishing rods.

Miracles and more! Predators behave more modestly than trained lions. But circus lions sometimes have an appetite.

In piranhas, the character changes when the great dry land comes. Then the rivers turn into streams. Their level drops sharply. Everywhere you can see "lagoons" - lakes and even puddles in which fish, caimans and river dolphins who became prisoners. Piranhas, cut off from the river, do not have enough food - they fuss and rush about.

Now they are ready to bite anything that moves. Any living creature that gets into the pond is immediately attacked. It is worth a cow or a horse to lower its muzzle into the lake to drink, as angry fish cling to its lips - they tear out the meat in pieces. Often piranhas even kill each other.

"During the drought, no one local will not dare to swim in such a reservoir, ”writes Wolfgang Schulte.

Skeleton in the waves of memory: the fisherman and the river

Harald Schultz, one of the best experts on the Amazon, wrote that in his 20 years in South America, he knew only seven people who were bitten by piranhas, and only one was seriously injured. It was Schultz, who lived among the Indians for a long time, who once came up with an anecdote, ridiculing the fears of Europeans, for whom death is hiding at every turn in the Amazon forests.

Until now, this anecdote wanders from one publication to another, often taken for granted.

“My father was then 15 years old. The Indians were chasing him, and he, running away from them, jumped into a canoe, but the boat was flimsy. She turned over, and he had to swim. He jumped ashore, but that's bad luck: he looks, and only a skeleton remains from him. But nothing more terrible happened to him.

Most often, fishermen become victims of piranhas, while they themselves hunt them. Indeed, in Brazil, piranhas are considered a delicacy. Catching them is easy: you just need to throw a hook tied to a wire into the water (the piranha will bite the usual fishing line) and pull it, depicting the fluttering of the victim.

Right there on the hook hangs a fish the size of a palm. If a fisherman attacks a flock of piranhas, then just know that you have time to throw a hook: every minute you can pull out a fish.

In the passion of hunting, it is easy to become a victim yourself. A piranha thrown out of the water wriggles wildly and gasps for air with its teeth. Taking it off the hook, you can lose your finger. Even dead, it would seem, piranhas are dangerous: the fish seems to have stopped moving, but touch its teeth - the mouth will shrink reflexively, like a trap.

Red pacu (Piaractus brachypomus) herbivorous piranha

How many adventurers who reached the shores of the Amazon or its tributaries lost their fingers in the old days just because they decided to catch fish for dinner. This is how legends were born.

In fact, what is the enemy of piranha at first glance? The fish seems inconspicuous and even dull. Her weapon is "sheathed", but as soon as she opens her mouth, the impression changes. The mouth of a piranha is studded with triangular, razor-sharp teeth resembling daggers. They are positioned so that they snap like a zipper on your clothes.

The manner of hunting inherent in piranha is also unusual (by the way, sharks seem to behave): having stumbled upon a victim, it instantly rushes at it and cuts off a piece of meat; swallowing it, immediately digs into the body again. Similarly, piranha attacks any prey.

Piranha species lunar metinnis (Metynnis luna Sore)

Flag piranha (Catoprion mento)

However, sometimes the piranha itself falls into someone else's mouth. In the rivers of America, she has many enemies: large predatory fish, caimans, herons, river dolphins and freshwater turtles matamata, which are also dangerous for humans. All of them, before swallowing a piranha, try to bite it more painfully to check if it is still alive.

“Swallowing a live piranha is like sticking a working circular saw into your stomach,” notes American journalist Roy Sasser. Piranha is not the prophet Jonah, ready to patiently rest in the belly of a whale: she begins to bite and can kill the predator that caught her.

As already mentioned, the piranha has a superbly developed sense of smell - it smells blood in the water from afar. It is worth throwing bloody bait into the water, as piranhas swim from all over the river. However, we must not forget that the inhabitants of the Amazon and its tributaries can only rely on their sense of smell. The water in these rivers is so turbid that nothing can be seen ten centimeters away from you. It remains only to sniff or listen to prey. The sharper the scent, the higher the chances of survival.

Piranha's hearing is also excellent. Injured fish flounder desperately, generating high frequency waves. The piranhas catch them and swim towards the source of the sound.

However, piranhas cannot be called “insatiable killers”, as it has long been believed. English zoologist Richard Fox placed 25 goldfish in a pool where two piranhas were swimming. He expected that the predators would soon slaughter all the victims, like wolves that penetrated the sheepfold.

However, piranhas killed only one goldfish per day for two, fraternally dividing it in half. They did not deal with the victims for nothing, but killed only to eat.

However, they also did not want to miss the rich prey - a flock of goldfish. Therefore, on the very first day, piranhas bit off their fins. Now the helpless little fish, unable to swim on their own, swayed in the water like floats, tail up, head down. They were a living food supply for the huntresses. Day after day, they chose a new victim and, slowly, ate it.

Amazon "wolves" - friends of the Indians

At home, these predators are real orderlies of rivers (recall that wolves are also called orderlies of the forest). When rivers flood during the rainy season and entire forests are hidden under water, many animals do not have time to escape. Thousands of corpses roll on the waves, threatening to poison all living things around with their poison and cause an epidemic. If it were not for the agility of piranhas, eating these carcasses white to the bone, then people would die from seasonal epidemics in Brazil.

And not only seasonal! Twice a month, on the new moon and full moon, a particularly strong ("syzygy") tide begins: the waters of the Atlantic rush into the depths of the mainland, rushing up the riverbeds. The Amazon begins to flow backwards, spilling over its banks.

Considering that every second the Amazon dumps up to 200 thousand cubic meters of water into the ocean, it is easy to imagine what a wall of water is rolling back. The river spills for miles.

The consequences of these regular floods are felt even 700 kilometers from the mouth of the Amazon. Small animals are killed again and again by them. Piranhas, like kites, clean the entire area from carrion, which otherwise would rot in the water for a long time. In addition, piranhas exterminate wounded and sick animals, healing the populations of their victims.

Pacu fish, a close relative of piranha, is a vegetarian at all - she is not a forest nurse, but a real arborist. With its powerful jaws, it gnaws nuts, helping their nucleoli to wake up in the soil. Floating through the flooded forest, she eats the fruits, and then, far from the place of the meal, she spews seeds, spreading them, as birds do.

Learning the habits of piranhas, one can only recall with bitterness that at one time the authorities of Brazil, falling under the terrible charm of legends, tried to do away with these fish once and for all and poisoned them with various poisons, simultaneously exterminating other inhabitants of the rivers.

Well, in the 20th century, man experienced "dizziness from progress." Without hesitation, we tried in our own way to establish a balance in nature, destroying natural mechanisms and each time suffering from the consequences.

The natives of South America have long learned to get along with piranhas and even made them their helpers. Many Indian tribes living along the banks of the Amazon do not bother digging graves during the rainy season to bury their relatives. They lower the dead body into the water, and piranhas, born gravediggers, will leave a little of the deceased.

The Guarani Indians wrap the deceased in a net with large cells and hang it over the side of the boat, waiting for the fish to scrape off all the flesh. Then they decorate the skeleton with feathers and honorably hide (“bury”) in one of the huts.

Black-sided piranha (Serrasalmus humeralis)

Since time immemorial, the jaws of piranhas have been replacing scissors for the Indians. When making arrows poisoned with curare poison, the Indians cut their tips with the teeth of piranhas. In the wound of the victim, such an arrow broke off, the more likely poisoning it.

There are many legends about piranhas. Villages and rivers in Brazil are named after them. In the cities, "piranhas" are called girls of easy virtue, ready to cleanly rob their victim.

Nowadays, piranhas have also begun to be found in the reservoirs of Europe and America. I remember that some tabloid newspapers also reported the appearance of "killer fish" in the Moscow region. It's all about the lovers of the exotic, who, starting at home unusual fish, can, having had enough of a "toy", throw them directly into a nearby pond or sewer.

However, there is no need to panic. The fate of piranhas in our climate is unenviable. These heat-loving animals quickly begin to get sick and die, and they will not survive the winter in open water at all. And they don't look like serial killers, as we have seen.

Piranha(Serrasalminae) is a carp-like predatory fish the characin family.

Description of Piranha:

Piranhas are 30 cm long and weigh almost 1 kilogram. Mature piranha - big fish, with a silver-olive color and a red or purple tint. There is a black border at the ends of the caudal fin. In growing piranhas, the color is silver, the sides with black spots. The anal and pelvic fins are red.

The lower jaw and powerful teeth enable these fish to tear off large chunks of flesh from the victim. The teeth of piranhas look like a triangle 4-5 mm high. They are placed in such a way that the teeth of the upper jaw fit directly into the slots between the teeth of the lower jaw. The jaws of these fish act like this: during the closing of the jaws, the flesh is cut off instantly sharp teeth. When moving in different directions with closed jaws in a horizontal position, piranhas are able to grab large areas of food - veins and bones. A mature piranha can easily bite off a person's finger or bite a strong stick.

Fish are quite voracious and in their natural habitat they can attack any fish and animals, even which are several times larger. Even crocodiles are afraid of these predators. It is also interesting that sometimes piranhas can act as cannibals and eat their wounded comrades.

Piranha Habitat:

They live in reservoirs and rivers of South America, in particular the Amazon, La Plata and Orinoco. More piranhas can be found in the foothills of Colombia, the Andes, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina and Uruguay. Small populations exist in Mexico, USA, Spain and some others. European countries. Piranhas have spread widely. Especially the number of piranhas increased in the 1940s to 1950s. The reason was the extermination of most of the black caiman population.

Piranha care:

The temperature should be 24-26°C. Water should be purified and filtered, as well as aerated. 2 times a week you need to change 40% of the water to a new one.

Piranhas are schooling fish and for their normal maintenance, at least 7-10 individuals are needed. Without relatives, they quickly become overwhelmed.

You can lower your hand into an aquarium with well-fed piranhas. But if you have bleeding cuts and sores, then don't do it. And in general it is better not to risk lowering your hand into an aquarium with these predators. Piranhas can, in principle, be kept in the same aquarium with other characion fish, on one condition - constant and regular nutrition.

It is interesting that piranhas, although the most dangerous predators on the ground, they are nevertheless very fearful. The aquarium where piranhas will live is best kept from shadows and noise, otherwise these critters may faint from fright. Sometimes, it is even enough to make a sharp movement near the aquarium to scare them away.

Of particular interest is the process of feeding these fish. Calm and graceful while swimming, smelling food alone at one moment pounce on it. You need to feed piranhas with meat.

Piranha breeding:

Piranhas are not difficult to breed fish and it is possible to breed them at home. Paradoxically, piranhas take good care of their children and drive away anyone who might be a danger to them. It is worth mentioning that piranhas are dangerous during breeding, when producers guard the eggs.

Water for dilution is as follows: temperature 26-28 ° C, hardness dH up to 6.0 °; pH 6.5. Reproduction is done by pituitary injections. The main thing is to feed the fish often with a variety of foods. The aquarium should be spacious, from 300 liters or more. For breeding, it is best to plant a group of piranhas, there should be more males than females. When excited, the fish acquire a black and blue color.

You can start feeding the fry with Artemia. It is important to sort them by size frequently, otherwise the larger fry may eat the smaller ones.

Spawning is needed for 300 liters of water or more. It is worth planting a group of fish for spawning, and there should be more males. In an excited state, the fish become blue-black. Feeding fry is not difficult.

The main types of Piranhas:

In our country there are the following types of these fish:
1. Common Metynnis Metynnis hypsauchen;
2. Slender piranha Serrasalmus elongatus;
3. Red piranha Rooseveltiella nattereri (approx 10 different names);
4. Dwarf piranha Serrasalmus hollandi;
5. Lunar methinnis Metynnis luna;
6. Red pacu Colossoma bidens (grass-eating piranha);
7. Flag piranha Catoprion mento;
8. Red-finned mile Myleus rubripinnis.

There are species of piranhas that feed on vegetation (Colossoma macropomum). They clear water from vegetation. Small species of these toothy fish are specially bred for aquariums, in which they are no longer aggressive.

These fish got their name from ancient language guarani: "pira" - which means fish and "ania" - devil, demon, fangs, teeth.

Piranhas are such critters that have to fall in love with themselves. They cause great sympathy for themselves, despite their awesome appearance.

In most countries where they live, piranhas have been tried to be destroyed. But they are pretty durable.

piranhas, like wolves, represent a kind of orderlies of nature - they kill old, sick and weak fish and animals. But in any case, if you keep these fish, be careful.