[EMJAY]

my p's are no bigger than 5" at most and they are really dark, they don thave much red on them at all, they swim in circles with eachother and poke at eachoter with their noses. they sometimes but rarely fight, and when they do its not more than a nibble at anothhers fin which just grows back in a few days anyway. so what size are p's when they are ready to mate, are they full grown, if so then why are mine acting weird?

 

[Genin]

they don't have to be full grown to mate. 5"-6" seems about right for reds to become sexually mature. you may have some fry on your hands soon.

Joe

 

[Judazzz]

I think this is just common behaviour for somewhat larger reds in a limited environment. Mine exhibit the same sort of behaviour, and I think it's all for establishing a certain hierarchy, to find out who's the top dog... Breeding will come if they are happy with their surroundings and feel at ease, and have enough space to pair off.

 

[bobme]

im not 100% sure, sorry. But i thought 6 inches was the "about" mating rang of them.

 

[SnowCichlid.]

Well there is no 100% positive answer because because even like us humans we will begin the proccess of puberty at different stages than others, but the sizes mentioned are a rough idea of an average :smile:

 

[GARGOYLE]

I agree with SC. But most reported breeding pairs are about the 6" range. Dont get to happy cause just cause they are about that size doesn't mean they will pair off just yet. Make sure they have plenty of room and water parameters are perfect. It would be nice though.

 

[Sir Nathan XXI]

they can start around 6 or 7 inches

 

[hastatus]

so what size are p's when they are ready to mate, are they full grown, if so then why are mine acting weird?

Your P. nattereri are not full grown, they are actually less than half grown. The topic of sexual maturity is well discussed in this forum and doing a quick search in Piranha Husbandry should give you some ideas on this topic. Also, I have other links you can use to find documented cases of this species spawning in aquarios that might be helpful in Piranha Science.

 

[Xenon]

Moved to husbandry