The Ferocious Piranha

-Photo by EikeR

Piranha

The Piranha is a ferocious freshwater fish that lives in South America and the Amazon river. Even though it's a deadly fish in larger schools, it's still a popular aquarium fish. 

Did You Know?

Most people believe that the flesh-eating piranha swims in schools of hundreds. But, in fact most of the time the piranha swim alone! However, they do swim in schools of hundreds also, but it's not that common as swimming alone. 

Is It Dangerous?

Yes it is. The piranha is dangerous when in schools. They can attack any living animal that enter the water they inhabit, including humans. A gathering of hundreds will eat even an adult in about 5 minutes. Their triangle-shaped, razor-sharp teeth cut through flesh easily. However, a solo piranha won't kill you, it might bite and it will hurt, but you will not die. A piranha that swim alone eat small fish, fruits and seeds that fall into the water. Pretty much as any fish in the sea. 

Not That Big

It's rather small, 8-18 inches ( 20 to 45 cm long ). It has a deep thin body and can have different colors; black, brown, silvery blue and green. There are several species. It belong to the Characide family.

A Good Fish To Eat

It's not just the human getting eaten, it's the other way around aswell. The piranha is a good fish to eat. However, thanks to their razor-sharp teeth it's hard to catch them. They cut through the lines easily. Frying, grilling, boiling or roasting is the most common way to cook it. The downside is a "foul odor" that come's from it when sliced. 

Kept As Pets Around The World

 A rather popular fish to have in the aquarium. The downside of this spectacular killing machine is that they are expensive to have. they eat a lot of food. You can't have other fishes in the same aquarium aswell since they will get eaten. The most common piranha species that are kept as pets around the world is the red bellied one ( Pygocentrus Nattereri ). They are not the hardest fishes to have as pets. But, something many don't think of when getting them is that they become pretty large, in comparison to other typical aquarium fishes. unfortunately it's also too common that people who wanna get rid of their piranhas dump them in their local waters.