[WebHostExpert]

Well this is a question I orginaly posted for frank, but it got deleted. Hi fishman2.
This would have to be answered by a pro.
Do any kind of piranha in the wild school together when not eating?
I was told by my cousin, who was a piranha gyro that piranha do not school or swim together in the wild. and that any piranha I bought would be a genetic injaneered fish and they all are inbreed at fish stores. So they would not act like they o in the wild.thanks

 

[fishman2]

"Hi fishman2." Hi MAD piranhas, feel free to punch me a couple of times

. I probably deserve it :laugh:

"Do any kind of piranha in the wild school together when not eating? "

Pygos school together in groups of about 25 or so of equal size. Rhombs school too, but stay further away from each other than Pygos. At least that is what it looks like to me in the few nature shows I've seen and from talking to Frank.

"I was told by my cousin, who was a piranha gyro that piranha do not school or swim together in the wild."

How does he figure that when piranhas are caught together in nets or within moments of being hooked?

"and that any piranha I bought would be a genetic injaneered fish and they all are inbreed at fish stores. So they would not act like they o in the wild"

There is no proof that inbreeding does anything to fish. It is a controversial topic. Here in Oregon we are going through the same thing with Salmon where people want wild salmon not farm raised. In DNA studies (salmon are heavily sequenced) there is no differences in the genes.

Wild caught fish are better for the gene pool by intermixing with the tankraised cause it does replenish the stock and prevents having fewer runted fish. Frank had an article I read, (he took it down when he was revising pages), that Dr. Fink found some differences in the bones from tank raised than wild. More serrae counts than normal (those are the small sawlike bones on the belly). Other than that, it was just a RB.

"So they would not act like they o in the wild."

If I put a tank of wild and tank raised could your cousin really be able to tell the differences? I don't think so, unless you knew they were intermixed.

 

[WebHostExpert]

lol humm I would have.. not gona go there.. I am wondering if like you said being caught in a net so must be schooling if there was just a whole lot of p's there. He had told me that because of a p being raised in a tank that the fish would have a different temperment and attitude then if it was a wild p. I would say the only way you could really find out would be to watch the fish in there natual state and to study them. I'm sorry but I don't like to just beleave something one or two people have told me, I like to see it for myself. But unless I fly on over there I guess I will probably never know....

 

[Innes]

e-mail frank, and he might actually get your question :laugh:

 

[fishman2]

Watch Discovery Channel and National Geographic, they have shows on piranhas once in awhile. Then you can decide for yourself.

"He had told me that because of a p being raised in a tank"

" p being raised in a tank that the fish would have a different temperment and attitude then if it was a wild"

How is he able to judge that if he has never been to South America or done comparative studies? Fish in aquariums are not in a normal situation and I would be hard pressed to even imagine how anyone could state that as a fact. If tank raised fish are released (and many are in the U.S.) they behave as normal as they would in the wild from their native land. Plenty of documented cases of that. Go to U.S. Fish and Wildlife website and read up on non-native species.

"but I don't like to just beleave something one or two people have told me" Hey I agree with you, but you also got to understand science is not done from a home aquarium, it is done by field researchers incountry. Do a web search and you will find plenty of actual scientific stuff on research. I'm not talking about home websites on piranhas, but real field research material. Look up K.O. Winemiller or Leo Nico and you will read stuff on piranhas that dispute the stuff you are being fed.

 

[fishman2]

"e-mail frank, and he might actually get your question"

I emailed him for Mad piranha. I'll post his reply here when I get it. :

:

 

[CHUD]

mad piranhas, your cousin seems very opinionated and more of a gyro? Not a guru. Listen to fishman2 and experts in the field. IMO, u don't have to be an expert to see that in general, piranha are shoaling fish. I think most of us are experts in observation and deduction.

 

[WebHostExpert]

Just really want to know the truth, thats all. Well from what my cousin says him and a fello aquaist went to south america to see the fish first hand, and brought some back over ten years ago. So who knows if hes full of sh*t or right.
thanks fishmann I hope frank has some input.

 

[fishman2]

hmmm, seems to me if he went to South America he would know the Amazon is vast and is more like an ocean than a river you would see in the U.S.

Anyway, didn't get anything back from Frank yet. Probably ignoring me LOL