Piranha

Introduction

Piranha which also known as the caribes are the most notorious living aquatic animals in South America. It categorized as omnivorous freshwater fish that live in rivers and lakes in South Africa. The size is only a foot long but it is the most ferocious or fierce fish species in the world and the acts as predator in nature. Piranha was considered as the cruelest fish because it differs from sharks and barracuda which only attack victims that were smaller than their selves. There are approximately 20 species of piranha found living in the Amazon River, with only four or five of them posing any danger. Most piranha species are quite harmless and docile, but the ones with the nasty reputation for aggressive behavior are the red-bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri.

Piranha in other hand habitually will attack victims either smaller or bigger than their selves. When schools of piranha are in a feeding frenzy the water appears to boil and churn red with blood. They attack with such ferocity that they strip an animal of its flesh within a matter of minutes, even taking bites out of each other in the process. Piranhas are world-famous for their razor-sharp teeth. Native peoples of South America will catch the piranha and use their teeth to make tools and weapons. Even the fishermen who catch these vicious little predators have to be careful when the fish is out of water. A single piranha out of water is still dangerous enough to take off the flesh, or the odd toe, from an unwary fisherman.

Piranhas belong to the Characin Characidae family or the Serrasalmidae sub family of fish which also include the Pacus fish that is herbivorous by nature but still has a good set of gnashes. Research has shown that the Piranha will also eat vegetation and does not just rely on meat for its staple diet. Research has shown that in fact it’s only a small number of species like the Red-Bellies that are actually meat eaters, the majority of Piranha fish are vegetarians otherwise called herbivores.

If you only place two Piranhas in a tank together they will fight for territory and the weakest fish will be killed, but when four are kept this does not happen and they live together. It must be remembered that these fish are naturally aggressive and if say odd numbers of three or five or seven fish are put together then they will gang up and attack the odd ones out of the pack. In the wild, piranhas from the genus Pygocentrus live in large shoals, roaming the South American rivers. This situation is impossible to imitate in captivity, but even in a tank they will show some traits of their wild behavior, provided they are kept under proper conditions.

First of all, most shoals will have one or more dominant animals, depending on the size of the shoal: the leader(s) of the pack. Even though the fish will often hang out together, in crucial moments the dominant fish will show its might. In most cases, the alpha-animal will be the largest, most aggressive and bold specimen, first at feeding sessions and owning and guarding the best spots in the tank (the spot with the best view, the best place during feeding time, in the current from a powerhead). Any unwilling 'servants' will be corrected instantly by aggressive behavior, chasing or even inflicting wounds.

Piranha in the Ecosystem

The habitat of piranha was called Whitewater Rivers. A whitewater river carries loamy water with a great deal of fine particles in suspension thus giving it a milky yellow-gray appearance. Some Piranhas live in the poor blackwater rivers and some in clearwater rivers. But in these cases they live near where two rivers meet and white- or blackwater mix with whitewater. In general Piranhas are amazingly tolerant to different water conditions. They live in rivers with a temperature of 24 - 30 degrees C (75 - 86 F).

Why are there only Piranhas in the South America? The most likely reason is a phenomenon called the Pororoca. This happening occurs only in the South American rivers due to their relief conditions. 3500 km from the mouth, the Amazon flows at an altitude of just 150 m. compare this with the Congo that lies at an altitude of 400 m. The result is that the tide rises into the rivers, several hundred km. The masses of freshwater offer an increasing resistance to the saltwater until the compressed mass 'explode'. Thunderously the waters rise to a 6 to 8 meters high giant wave that rolls towards the ocean.

The Pororoca kills a large number of animals and leaves the waters filled with cadavers. Now the Piranhas come into the picture as the only fast-acting underwater health squad available. Without the Piranhas the amount of contagious diseases would be tremendous. Of course Piranhas attack living creatures as well. When they are hungry, as for example if they have been trapped in a drying lake. Like hyenas, Piranhas sometimes hunt on their own and like them they not only feed on dead animals, but attack everything that is sick, weak or unfit to live long.

Piranha Species

These are the big group species of piranha. Under each group there is a lot of species that most of it hasn’t been fully recognized under a proper research.

• Genus Pygocentrus (True Piranha's)
• Genus Serrasalmus (Pirambeba's)

• Genus Pristobryon
• Genus Pygopristis
• Genus Catoprion (Wimpel Piranha's)
• Pacu's
• Silver Dollars

Conclusion

As a conclusion, as we know that piranha lives in the different habitat and ecosystem than the habitat we have in Malaysia. Nowadays, peoples bring piranha in Malaysia as pets and for businesses purposes. As for example, in Kg. Tehel, Jasin Melaka, a family has work out for the piranha businesses. They sold it to peoples who eat piranha this is because the piranha has been mixed with black pomfret therefore it will be bigger than usual piranha and the meat are much softer than usual piranha in South America. The piranha was feed with chicken’s meat twice a day.

According to the owner of the fish ponds, piranha less favorable to come out to the water surface. They prefer to live deep inside of the ponds or the man made lake. This shows that piranha loves darker places and deeper water differs than other fish species. They also lives are the river with a little bit muddy area which suit with the Amazon’s rivers. Therefore, piranha is not suitable to be brought to Malaysia as an alien species. Which means it doesn’t fit with the habitat in Malaysia.