[WebHostExpert]

I read (dont know how factual this is) that piranha will only attack from the back of a fish, never head on. That they actually look for the fishes eyes and intentionaly good after the other end. Now hearing that kinda makes sense why so many people have kept oscars (I beleave there red tail) in with p's. these certain oscars have a redish circle on there back fin that looks like an eye on both sides. thus the piranha don't know with end to attack. humm does anyone know if this is true???? I had my snake head in my tank with my p's all day yesterday and they left him alone. then today I herd something and turned around and they were all goin at it. so I removed the snakehead from the tank and put him back. now missing his fin.

 

[SnowCichlid.]

Hey this is due to the P's natural feeding habbits ... especially as a Juv. it will be a fin nipper. This is why the peacock bass has what appears to have an eyespot on its tail ... it is believed to flsly wanr teh P's that it is watching their move ... But P's will attack other than from the behind but in most casses it attacks from the rear

 

[Natural.Playboy]

i used to have p's a while ago and when they were smaller they only attacked from the back... but as they grow they attach wherever they want because like 2 or 3 bites will take out a feeder

 

[Poseidon X]

From what i gather from their eating habits, There first more is to disable their prey from escaping by biting their fins..Then they manuever to bite the prey's head off to prevent a retalitory strike. I almost always find my feeders completely beheaded with only a small chunk of the body remaining.

 

[jabster]

Usually mine will attack from the back and remove the tail first, then decimate it as its floundering. But, I've seen some head first hits. Once, when the bigger guy wasnt even hungry, a goldfish swam into his area, the P just did a move that pushed the gf away, twice. Third time gf came right back and the P got ticked and bit his head off. He just let it drop to the bottom and stayed in place. :rockin:

 

[Grosse Gurke]

I would think the reason they attack from behind is that the prey is usually trying to get away. Mine pygos initiate an attach no matter which way the feeder is faced but when the feeder sees the p it tries to hall ass and gets grabed from behind. That is my experience with pygos, but I know my rhom attacks the larger feeders 3"-5" head on and rams them to disorient them and then bites them in half.