red bellied pirahnas

Question
First off, for a shoal of 6 red bellies, how big should the tank be?

Also, is feeding piranha live food, what hazards are there when it comes to diseases transference in the water from the food? (i.e. mice)

Also, what if you get bit are there any dangers of disease?

Answer
Hi Warren,
You would need a 200 gallon tank to house 6 red bellies.  They must be kept in schools.
Feeding mice is not a good idea, in fact it is very cruel.  Piranhas should have good quality flakes and pellets when young.  As they grow bigger, they should be fed cleaned earthworms that you buy at the bait store. ( You clean the earthworms by putting them in oats for a week or so.)  Minnows that you buy at the bait store.  Frozen fish and shrimp that you buy at the market, and unfreeze before feeding.  All kinds of frozen foods that you find at the pet store such as krill, plankton, etc.  Crickets that you buy at the pet store. Big Pellets, and sticks are also a good source of food.  Never feed feeder fish, as these fish are always full of disease, and have no nutritional value.
A Piranha will never bite you if they are well fed, and you must feed them at least 3 times a day.   You must have good filtration to keep their water clean.  
Keeping Piranhas is no different than any other fish except that they will eat lots more because of their size, and you must keep their water chemistry free of ammonia, nitrites, and low nitrates.  Feeding them mice, etc. will only bring disease to your fish.  You must also have decorations in your tank for them to feel secure.  They rarely attack unless they are hungry.
Hope this helps.
Lynda