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How to set up your pet piranha aquarium

Some planning and setup is needed before you buy your first piranha. Here’s a list of general steps you’ll need to take to get everything set up:

1. Choose the location of the aquarium and set it up. If possible, choose a location that doesn’t get direct sunlight because too much sunlight will affect the chemistry of the water and can also cause algae problems. Some people say that the aquarium should be located in a place that does not have a lot of human traffic, since piranhas are skittish creatures and can become stressed by too much traffic.

2. Rinse all your decorations and accessories.

This is a very important step because it will help remove dust from your new supplies. Rocks and gravel often contain a lot of dust that can make the water cloudy if you put them down right away. Some accessories may need to be soaked in water for a few minutes to remove all air and/or tannic acids. For example, try putting a piece of driftwood in your aquarium without soaking it first and you’ll see that it floats to the top every time.

3. Rinse all the aquarium equipment and then install it. Any part of your equipment (filters, powerhead, thermometer, etc.) that normally touches the water should also be rinsed. When you’re done, set up your computer.

4. Again, make sure your aquarium is exactly where you want it. This is very important because the next step is to fill it with water and at that point it will be almost impossible to move it.

5. Fill the aquarium with water.

6. Dim the lighting. As I mentioned before, piranhas are not a fan of bright lights. If your aquarium lighting is too bright, try wrapping them with electrical tape in the shape of a candy cane. This should help.

7. Install your filtration system. I’m not going to go into detail because the instructions will depend on which one you buy, so follow the instructions.

8. Set the heater. Most of them are simple enough to set up, however again you need to follow the instructions. Set the temperature between 24 and 29 °C (75.2 and 84.2 °F). Perfect temperature for most piranhas.

9. Taste the water. DO NOT put any fish in your tank until you are done. You need to make sure the water chemistry is correct before adding any fish. Recommended levels for most piranhas:

has. The pH level should be between 6 and 7.5
b. Water hardness (dGH): 4 – 18 °N
against Recommended water temperature: 24 – 29 °C (75.2 – 84.2 °F)

10. Cycle your aquarium. Cycling involves culturing bacteria in your filtration system before introducing your piranhas to it. Having the bacteria in place beforehand is very important because it will help remove the toxins that the piranha waste will create. Here is an excellent article from the Piranha-Fury forum that provides different ways to cycle your aquarium:

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?/topic/196087-cycling-101/

11. When the cycle is complete, buy your piranhas. Visit your local pet/aquarium store and take a look. Keep an eye out for those that seem sluggish or don’t look as healthy as the others. Choose the ones that are active and don’t have any damage on their bodies, like scrapes, severed fins, three eyes, etc.