Argentina - List of fishes

When searching for food, it often swims with it head bowed down. During breeding, the female deposits it eggs in areas where aquatic vegetation is dense.

It must be kept in a good sized aquarium with efficient filtration, as it is used to chewing it food and scattering it. It is sometimes aggressive toward other species. It breeds easily in captivity. There are several varieties.

Small barbs located around its mouth enable it to search for food in the sand or mud. It goes regularly at the surface to breathe oxygen from the air. It acclimate easily to aquarium.

The female is stockier than the male. It easily accommodates to life in the aquarium. It is recommended to isolate the breeding pair. After spawning, remove the adult from the nesting site because they could eat the eggs and juveniles.

Mostly herbivorous, appreciates the ripe fruits fallen from trees whose seeds it helps disperse. In the aquarium trade, it is sold under the name "herbivorous piranha". Because of its size, it is not recommended for specimens aquariums. It is bred in pisciculture.

It is accommodated to life in freshwater. It is ovoviviparous: the eggs hatch in it body, and it gives birth to fully formed juveniles. It acclimate easily in aquariums, but beware of the stings from its tail that can inflict very painful wounds.

It is carnivorous, its sharp teeth have earned it the local name. (Pira = fish, Nha = tooth). Its dangerousness was often exaggerated: it serves as prey of many animals (alligators, giant otter ...). Piranhas are especially dangerous for humans in the dry season, when they lack food.

It is a nocturnal hunter. It lives in the bottom of the rivers, where it remains upright to hide among the reeds. It fits well in a large aquarium. But we must avoid leaving it with small fish that it could eat.