Wimple piranha

Care at a glance

Overview

The wimple piranha is an unusual, specialized feeder for a species tank of its own. It is best kept by someone with a little experience.

Caring for the wimple piranha

Give the wimple piranha a tank of at least 53 gal (200 L), with cover. Keep the water warm and soft, at 75 to 82°F (24 to 28°C) and a pH of 5.5 to 7.5.

It is an aggressive, specialized scale eater, not a typical community fish. It will nip scales and fins from tank mates, and it can be nasty toward its own kind. Keep it singly in a species tank, since even fast, large-scaled fish are likely to be damaged.

Good to know

Catoprion mento is a scale eater, or lepidophage. Its heavily built lower jaw is packed with outward angled teeth suited to the job. It stays small for a member of the family Serrasalmidae.

In the wild

The wimple piranha comes from the Amazon, Orinoco and Paraguay basins in South America. It lives in slow rivers, creeks and flooded areas, often among vegetation and submerged wood. The water there is usually warm, soft and slow moving. It is a specialized hunter that shadows other fish, then darts in to tear off a mouthful of scales.

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Spotted silver dollar

  Metynnis lippincottianus

  5.5 in (14 cm) · 53 gal (200 L)

  5.5 in (14 cm)53 gal (200 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Tiger pacu

  Acnodon normani

  5.1 in (13 cm) · 46 gal (175 L)

  5.1 in (13 cm)46 gal (175 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Spotted metynnis

  Metynnis maculatus

  7.1 in (18 cm) · 92 gal (350 L)

  7.1 in (18 cm)92 gal (350 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Red-bellied piranha

  Pygocentrus nattereri

  12.6 in (32 cm) · 160 gal (605 L)

  12.6 in (32 cm)160 gal (605 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Black piranha

  Serrasalmus rhombeus

  15.7 in (40 cm) · 106 gal (400 L)

  15.7 in (40 cm)106 gal (400 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  Banded silver dollar

  Metynnis fasciatus

  3.9 in (10 cm) · 70 gal (265 L)

  3.9 in (10 cm)70 gal (265 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)