Pirara

The red bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri, occurs through much of the Amazon basin and south into the Paraná and Uruguay river systems. Famed as a rapacious predator, it is among the most notorious freshwater fishes in the world. According to Herbert Axelrod (1976), the myth began with a feeding frenzy staged for Theodore Roosevelt in Brazil in 1913. Usually only juveniles form aggregations, and the species is relatively easy to breed in the aquarium.

The whitespot eartheater, Satanoperca leucosticta, is a cichlid from the Guiana Shield in Guyana, Suriname, eastern Venezuela and northern Brazil. Farmed in several countries, it is frequently available in the ornamental trade. It is often confused with S. jurupari but is easily recognised by the prominent white spots or vermiform markings on the sides of the head. A larvophilous maternal mouthbrooder, it has been bred in aquaria.