Edit Pygocentrus piraya
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Name
Scientific name
Pygocentrus piraya
Described by
Authority Cuvier, Year 1819, Bracketed
Family
Serrasalmidae
Common names
Piraya
Photograph credits
All 3 credited
Summary
The piraya, Pygocentrus piraya, is a piranha restricted to the rio São Francisco watershed in eastern Brazil. It can be identified by brigh…
Size and aquarium
Maximum size
350mm, standard length
Aquarium size
Not recorded
Water
Water conditions
Temperature 20–28°C, pH 6–8
Hardness
2–20dGH
Conductivity
Not recorded
Behaviour
Temperament
Not recorded
Social needs
Solitary or specimen
Community suitability
Not for a community
Where it lives
Countries, regions, rivers and lakes
Brazil, Das Velhas, Preto, São Francisco
Writing
Etymology
Pygocentrus: from the Ancient Greek πῡγή (pūgḗ), meaning 'rump', and κέντρον (kéntron), meaning 'sharp point, thorn, spine', in reference to the serrated abdom…
Distribution
Restricted to the rio São Francisco watershed in eastern Brazil, where it has been recorded throughout the system including major tributaries such as the rios …
Habitat
Has been recorded from major river channels, smaller tributaries, floodplain lakes, and large artificial reservoirs formed by dams.
Aquarium size
Suitable only for public installations or the very largest private aquaria.
Maintenance
Some aquarists maintain this species in bare-bottomed arrangements for ease of maintenance, but standard aquarium gravel or sand are both suitable substrates. …
Water conditions
Not written yet
Diet
Pygocentrus spp. are not exclusive carnivores and are more accurately described as opportunistic generalists. The natural diet consists not only of live fishes…
Behaviour and compatibility
Best-maintained alone, although adults may leave much smaller fishes alone if well-fed. An extremely large aquarium would be required in order to attempt maint…
Sexual dimorphism
Females generally attain a larger adult size than males, and sexually mature individuals exhibit a more-rounded body shape, especially during reproductive peri…
Reproduction
Unrecorded, but probably employs a similar reproductive strategy to that of the congener P. nattereri whereby wild populations exhibit two annual reproductive …
Notes
Pygocentrus species are famed as rapacious predators capable of rapidly stripping flesh from bone and a danger to any animal entering its native waters, althou…
References
References
9 on this profile