Among the fish terrifying per person, the most terrible is considered White shark. But not less chilling stories talk about a small piranha fish. According to many legends, she is able to gnaw a large animal in just half an hour. As soon as a drop of blood gets into the water, it turns into a distraught demon that rushes at everything that comes across to it.

Piranha fish - scourge South America

Here she is - famous and legendary. A small fish, only some 20 cm, with a purple (in females) or blue-black (in males) color. It can also be olive-silver or bright red. Sweet fish? Believe me, it's better not to deal with her. Piranhas are known for their reputation as bloodthirsty fish. Enough to look at her strongly developed jaw with many sharp, pyramidal teeth.

The very name is fraught with danger. The word "piranha" is borrowed from the South American Indians and means "toothy demon." Indeed, they have terrible teeth. The jaw muscles are so developed that the piranha can "cut off" the smallest piece. She does not tear her prey, but cuts it in pieces, like a surgeon with a scalpel. The teeth are very sharp, not a single thick skin is a defense. An adult piranha can easily bite a stick or a human finger. A piranha can even bite through steel. They are especially dangerous during spawning, when at first a pair of fish, and later one male, guard the eggs.

Piranha fish: predator or not

The piranha family includes several species of carnivores, as well as a large number of herbivorous species. The most common is the common or, as it is also called, red piranha. It is common in the fresh waters of South America, almost universally found in the Amazon, Orinoco and La Plata basins. It can also be found in the eastern foothills of the Andes and Colombia, throughout the Amazon basin, in Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and northeast Argentina. Insignificant populations of piranhas are also found in the USA and Mexico, in Europe, in Spain and other countries where they came from amateur aquariums.

Young people are more active and gather in flocks more often. They are constantly roaming in search of food. Adult individuals are distinguished by solid behavior: most of the time they stand in their chosen place, sometimes they hide behind snags or in algae, that is, they prefer not to chase prey, but to wait for it from shelter.

Although - a predator and has a reputation as "submarine wolves", these fish are very shy and easily go into shock when frightened. With a sharp movement, the fish turns pale and falls sideways to the bottom, after a while the fish wakes up, starts swimming as usual, and then beware, the piranha will defend and attack.

How piranha fish hunt

In huge flocks they attack any prey, tearing out pieces of meat from the body of the victim, they are able to clean a large animal to the skeleton in a minute. These fish are attracted to water splashes and the smell of blood. Feeding predators are an unpleasant sight. The water literally boils from the fish scurrying back and forth. And the victim, surrounded by these predators, literally disappears before our eyes.

Piranhas also behave like cannibals: they can eat another piranha caught on a hook. Young piranhas can grab a piece of the fin from their neighbor while feeding. That is why it is very difficult to meet not crippled fish - almost all of them are wounded and scarred.

No case is known when a piranha would eat a person. However, every year about 80 people suffer from this predator. The wounds that remain after her teeth are very serious and never fully heal. The best thing is if after meeting with piranhas only a scar remains. There are a lot of cases when, because of these cute fish, a person lost one of his body parts - a finger, or even his entire arm or leg.

Piranhas are river hyenas, very dangerous for all mammals and humans, predatory fish. Hearing the word "piranha", a person immediately imagines the frames of the film, where a huge toothy fish is chasing a person. There is some truth in this notion.

Share - because not all piranhas are predators, and not so huge fish. Its average size is 35–50 cm, but there are specimens up to 80 cm.

What are piranhas

There are piranhas that only eat aquatic plants. These include the species Colossoma bidens. The rest of the representatives are predators. Lives in fresh water South Africa about fifty species, the exact number is unknown.

They choose different habitats - some species live in quiet, slow waters, someone prefers a swift and fast current.

Some of them are bred at home. A flock of quiet, small fish will decorate any aquarium. They are fed with squid, capelin and meat.

In nature, several species are predatory, the most dangerous is the species Pygocentrus nattereri .

The most dangerous piranha– Pygocentrus nattereri

Features of appearance and behavior

Piranhas vary in size, head shape, skin color shades. Basically, the coloration of adult piranhas is silver-olive in color on the back and sides. On the abdomen there is a purple tint or red. The very edge of the tail is bordered by a bright black line.

But its most distinctive feature is its teeth. With its mouth open, its triangular teeth measuring 5 mm look intimidating. Moreover, they are arranged in such a way that when a piranha clenches its jaws, upper teeth densely go between the lower ones, forming a kind of solid sharp razor.

The jaws are driven by very strong muscles, due to which a bite with only the front teeth is sometimes sufficient.

With them, she not only tears out pieces from the victim, but can also bite the bones and veins. There are cases when piranhas easily bit off a human finger or a thick stick.

Piranhas are the only "talking" fish!

Most fish in nature do not make any sounds. Piranhas are an exception to this rule. Surprisingly, they can croak when approaching each other. When fighting, the sound they make is similar to drum roll. When they are taken out of the water, you can hear sounds resembling an angry bark.

All species of these fish have excellent hearing and sense of smell. They can smell and hear the victim at a distance of 7 km. Moreover, literally a drop of blood from the slightest wound on her body is enough for the piranha to immediately rush to feast.

Schools of fish immediately rush to the place where the prey is located. They are not afraid of either a large animal or fish, which can be 10 times larger in size. If one of the piranhas itself receives a wound, then it is likely that the relatives will attack her as well. Even a crocodile can fold in front of a flock of these ferocious predators and tries to quickly swim away, turning over for safety, belly up.

Many stories are connected with the voracity of piranhas. A case is known when a flock gnawed a pig that fell into the water to the bone. Fishermen often become their victims. Piranha meat is edible, reminiscent of perch. Especially tasty when fried. They catch it with a bait, and if the fisherman is careless when removing the fish from the hook, this is where it can cut off his finger. Not in vain from the tongue different peoples the name "piranha" is translated as "toothy devil", "evil fish", "pirate".

But most of these stories are exaggerated. Aggressive piranhas become only at a time when the reservoirs dry up. The fish have nothing to eat, and you have to eat everything that comes across. During the rainy season, when the rivers are full, people both swim and boat quietly next to the swimming piranhas.

Andrey Shalygin: About the fact that in Russia in many reservoirs piranhas have been in charge for a long time and with might and main, we have already written since 2008 on other portals and, discussing climate issues. All sorts of scientists have been trying to assure us for years that these are all fish thrown out of aquariums by negligent owners (yeah, in hundreds of reservoirs throughout Russia, villagers throw the thousandth piranha into local reservoirs). Then the fashion went to assure the population that these are herbivorous piranhas and they do not eat people.

Then jellyfish were already discovered in the Moscow River, not to mention that the rotan goby became the dominant species for the Moscow region. - and this process is typical for the whole planet. And the stupid nature supervision is still trying to tell us tales about aquarium fish.

In the spring of this year in Voronezh, underwater hunters shot piranhas, which successfully overwintered and actively fed in the melt waters.

Piranhas have been spotted in the Moscow region for more than a year. About whether they will survive in the Volga or not - conversations have been going on since 2011. Survived. And people are being attacked. Where did you find so many aquarium fish from villagers all over Russia to let them out all over Russia?

In general, for me personally, the "aquarium version" is already simply equal to the official's self-recognition of his lifelong idiocy. Just imagine - for five years to sit and not see messages from the localities on the Internet (I'm not talking about the complete worthlessness of monitoring local services) with photos and videos, and tell that in the Russian outback, villagers splash piranhas from aquariums into hundreds of reservoirs - can only just a complete cretin.

The Research Institute of Fisheries, where the caught piranhas were handed over for examination, reported that:

In heat-loving piranhas spawning will not occur until the water warms up to 24-28 degrees above zero. At the same time, Deputy Director for scientific work FSUE "Azov Research Institute of Fisheries" Sergey Dudkin admitted: "As far as I know, in our rivers and reservoirs, there is enough good forage base, a lot of fry, a lot of small fish, weedy fish, that is, piranha food items. therefore she finds opportunities for growth there. There is only one surprise: in winter when low temperatures, this tropical fish can still survive"

A deep laceration on his leg ended fishing for a local resident, during which a piranha grabbed his leg, tearing off a piece of meat.

Grigory Kurilkin has been fishing in these areas all his life. And that time he went to habitual place at the Solyony pit. As soon as the fisherman went knee-deep into the water and threw a fishing rod, he immediately felt an inexplicable sharp pain in the foot area.

I looked down and saw a spreading blood trail in the water and a large black fin, - says Grigory. - Since the flashed fish was unknown to me, I suggested that it could not be a fish, but a rat.

After the injury, the man immediately got ashore to examine the wounded leg.

The wound turned out to be very deep, almost to the bone, it bled profusely, says Gregory. - I decided to catch the offender at all costs and threw short nets at the place where she attacked me.

A couple of days later, the fisherman nevertheless caught an exotic guest and immediately turned to the leading ichthyologists of the Don region for help.

It's really predatory fish piranha family, - comments the leading zoologist Rostov region Victor Minoransky. - This fish is already old, its age is clearly more than five years old: blackened scales, worn teeth and the size that the piranha has reached testify to this. Most likely, she got into the reservoir from the aquarium of an unscrupulous local resident.

***

PIRANHA(piranha) - a family of fish of the cyprinoid order. The body is laterally compressed, high, up to 60 cm long. Powerful jaws bear sharp, wedge-shaped teeth. St. 50 species, in fresh waters Yuzh. America. Mostly flocking predators, attacking fish and other animals, dangerous to humans (a flock of common piranhas can destroy a large animal in a few minutes).

piranhas- small, on average up to 30 cm in length, fish inhabit the rivers of South America. Young piranhas are silver-blue in color, with dark speckles, but darken with age and acquire a black mourning color. Despite their small stature, piranhas are one of the most voracious fish. The razor-sharp teeth of a piranha, when it closes its jaws, adjoin each other like a folded lock of fingers. With his teeth, he can easily bite a stick or a finger.

Shepherds driving herds across rivers where piranhas are found have to give one of the animals. And while the predators are cracking down on the victim, away from this place, the entire herd is safely transported to the other side. Wild animals proved to be no less intelligent than humans. To drink water or cross a river where piranhas are found, they begin to attract the attention of predators with the noise or splash of water. And when the flock of piranhas rush to the noise, the animals along the shore move to a safe place, drink quickly there or cross the river.

The quarrelsome nature of piranhas makes them often quarrel and attack each other. But some amateur aquarists, in spite of everything, run the risk of keeping these fish at home.

Piranhas attack everything. Living being within their reach: big fish living in the river domestic and wild animals, human. Alligator - and he is trying to get out of their way.

Piranhas - caring parents and drive everyone away from their dwelling.

Piranhas in the waters of Russia in 2011

Piranhas appeared in the Bashkir Lake
A fisherman caught a carnivorous piranha in a river in the Urals
Giant piranha caught near Rostov
The piranha was caught in the Salt Lake. Bashkiria
AT Chelyabinsk region piranhas appeared
Piranha caught on the hook of a South Ural fisherman
Piranha caught in the Azov reservoir
A huge piranha was caught in the Volga
Piranhas appeared in the Matyr reservoir (Lipetsk)

Piranha distribution regions in order of piranha discovery dates in 2011.

1. Bashkiria
2. Ural
3. Rostov
4. Chelyabinsk
5. Southern Ural
6. Azov
7. Volga
8. Lipetsk

Two years ago, the message about piranhas in the Rostov region sounded like this (News)

Not far from Rostov-on-Don, a piranha was caught in one of the lakes. This predatory fish, which lives in the rivers of South America, was most likely released from home aquarium.

Stanislav did not let his trophy into his ear, but carefully keeps it in the refrigerator. Neighbors from all over come to see the catch. What is surprising is not the length of the fish - 46 centimeters, and not the weight - 2 kilograms 700 grams, but its grin and the shape of the body. After collecting the opinions of local experts in aquarists, authors of articles on the Internet, the public decided: the angler caught a real piranha.

The toothy fish grabbed the lure. Pike, crucian carp, and perch are found in Lake Solenoe, not far from Rostov. Stanislav Chekunov often fishes there with his sons, but, as he himself admits, that day it was scary to take the prey off the hook. “For her weight, she did not behave aggressively, because the same pike in this weight is pulled out for 10-15 minutes, no less. I spent three or four minutes on her. She behaved aggressively at the last meter before the water's edge,” recalls amateur angler.

It happened that piranhas appeared in reservoirs where they should not have been - in the lower reaches of the Volga, in the Ob, even in the Thames. Most likely, the Amazonian predator was released into the lake from a home aquarium, and this, according to the locals, is real hooliganism. After all, Salt Lake is one of the favorite vacation spots of the townspeople.

The heat is slowly approaching Rostov, and very soon there will be many vacationers on local beaches. It is believed that the water in the Salt Lake is clearer and cleaner than in the Don. Signs "Danger, piranhas" or "No swimming" have not yet been placed there.

It is not yet known how many piranhas are in the lake and whether the fish had time to give birth. In the Research Institute of Fisheries, where Stanislav took his copy for examination, they reassured: heat-loving guests will not spawn until the water warms up to 24-28 degrees above zero. At the same time, Sergei Dudkin, deputy director for research at the FSUE "Azov Research Institute of Fisheries", admitted: "As far as I know, there is a fairly good food base in Lake Solenoe, a lot of fry, a lot of small fish, weed fish, that is, piranha food items. Therefore, it finds opportunities for growth there. The only surprise is that in winter, when temperatures are low, this tropical fish can still survive."

Scientists suggest that Stanislav caught a predatory fish - diamond-shaped piranha. Fans of recreation on the Salt Lake still hope that we are talking about herbivorous piranha, but just in case, they acquire pools. Well, the lucky fisherman himself plans to make a stuffed animal out of the trophy as a keepsake of the amazing event.

Five years ago (feel how much time it takes for incompetent slow-witted officials to still not lift their ass from their chair) it all sounded like in a gramophone record - but will aquarium fish overwinter

For many years, scientists throughout Russia have recorded the appearance of piranhas in Russian water bodies. In places, fishermen have not been afraid of new settlers for a long time, even catching them in quantities sufficient for consumption. A few years ago, scientists first thought that this was the result of someone's carelessness, sinning against the new Russians, who, as unnecessary, released fish from personal aquariums into the water area. But such cases began to appear more and more often everywhere, so there is no smell of history with the aquarium. Some began to talk about biological aggression, but some scientists concluded that aliens, no matter where they come from, simply will not survive in our conditions. And yet they not only survive, but it seems that their numbers are increasing everywhere. Statements were even made that, they say, these specific species are not at all dangerous to humans and have become vegetarians in our conditions. Be that as it may, there are piranhas in Russia, and there are many of them. Here is another example.

in the Belovskoye reservoir Kemerovo region- one of the popular holiday destinations in the region - fishermen caught two large piranhas. Scientists of the Faculty of Biology of Kemerovo State University intend to organize an expedition to study data on the habitation of fish in this reservoir. Piranhas will be caught with a net. This was announced on Monday by the Deputy Governor for natural resources and ecology Vladimir Kovalev.

He clarified that "scientists have not yet seen piranhas in the Belovo Sea, they learned about the capture of two such fish from local fishermen." Note that this species of fish lives in fresh waters of South America. It has powerful jaws and sharp teeth. Predatory representatives of these fish are distinguished by the fact that they attack prey in huge flocks and eat it, tearing pieces of meat from the body of the victim. Thus, piranhas are able to clean a large animal to the skeleton in one minute.

The Deputy Governor specified that scientists learned about piranhas from a fisherman who sent several photographs of two fish to the university, claiming that he had caught them with friends in the Belovskoe Sea. At first, scientists decided that these photographs were April fool's joke, but still, decided to meet with the fisherman.

He confirmed that the photographs were real, and also said that he had caught fish in warm water near the state district power station. In addition, the fisherman said that he had already cooked and eaten with his comrades two piranhas caught weighing two and four kilograms, respectively. Their meat turned out to be edible, but there were too many bones in it.

According to RIA Novosti, biologists have come to the conclusion that the fish could have survived in the Belovskoe Sea after they were released by aquarists. Theoretically, in the warm waters of the state district power station, whose temperature in winter is plus 20 degrees, piranhas could survive even Siberian frosts. The scientists also came to the conclusion that the specimens of fish presented in the photographs belong to herbivorous piranha species that are not dangerous to humans. Piranhas could eat algae and crustaceans.

An unusual catch caught in the net to a Samara fisherman.
Olga PRIKHODKO ("KP" - Samara). — 22.08.2009
“Among the pikes and breams, I saw a strange fish,” Vladimir Safronov, a fisherman of the Volzhskoye collective farm, told KP. - Obviously not local, purple, with iridescent scales and large teeth. The partner gasped: “Yes, it’s a piranha!” I looked it up and it looks like it.

The fisherman put on a glove on his hand and put his finger to the mouth of the fish. She immediately nibbled him, biting through the glove!

Toothy prey nipped the catcher's finger.

The monster was delivered to Samara scientists. Experts have established that this is a red pack - a fish that belongs to the family of South American piranhas. However, among them there are predators and harmless herbivores. So - the red pack is harmless to people. These fish feed on plankton, worms, insect larvae and plants. The only mystery is: how could a heat-loving southerner get into the Volga?

Most likely, - says ichthyologist Margarita Krivolapova, - the fish got into our river thanks to one of the aquarists. Apparently, at the beginning of summer she was released, hot days warmed the water to her usual temperature, so she survived. But it will die in the winter. Volga water is too cold for her.

And yesterday, local fishermen caught two more such fish. Either the collector released a whole flock from the aquarium, or the red pack liked it so much in the Volga water that they mutated and bred. The fishermen ate one "American". They say it's delicious. The second fish weighing eight hundred grams was sent for research.

Considering the weight of the fish, it is impossible to grow like this over the summer, the fishermen said. - If next year the Amazons get into our nets, it means that the fish have taken root with us.

Piranhas are dangerous and very voracious fish. Their existence is fanned by a lot of all sorts of frightening myths and legends, they even act as heroes of horror films. It is believed that even crocodiles bypass these bloodthirsty monsters. Piranha belongs to the genus Characinidae.

This is rather strange, since “peaceful” tetras, neons, minors also belong to it. They are similar to our cyprinids. However, piranhas have more than 50 species and most of them are not at all aggressive and feed on algae. The size of the fish depends on their diet. So, herbivores grow up to a meter in length and weigh decently, carnivores usually do not exceed 30 cm.

They are found in the fresh waters of South America, as a rule, this is the mouth of such rivers as the Amazon, Orinoco, La Plata. Can be seen in other bodies of water near Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia. Small colonies can be observed in the territory Mexico, USA, Europe.

Young fish are very aggressive, they go in search of prey in flocks. Adult individuals prefer loneliness, hunt while standing at their “post”, waiting for a gaping fish. The rest of the time they hide in a shelter.

Piranhas have the nickname "submarine wolves" because it is river orderlies. Both camps are beneficial - herbivores clean the rivers of excess vegetation, trees that have fallen into the reservoir, carnivores clean up all the carrion. Where there are piranhas, the water does not contain pollution and decomposition.

Appearance of the fish

The body of a piranha is flat, rounded, laterally compressed. The dorsal and anal fins are elongated, the tail is wide, eyes are bulging and large. Coloring depends on what species it belongs to, as well as on nutrition. Olive-gray-green and dark blue colors predominate more often in the upper part, light piranha on the side With silver-gray tint.

The lower fins and abdomen are mostly reddish. The tip of the tail is edged with a black line. Young growth from adult fish can be distinguished by dark spots on the sides which disappear over time.

Home hallmark are her jaws. They are not found in nature anywhere else.

1. The length of triangular teeth reaches 5 mm. They are lamellar, slightly bent inward, incredibly sharp. Therefore, they easily cope with the victim, tearing it apart or cutting off pieces of flesh from it. In the teeth, even small sticks and bones.
2. The jaw is unique. When it is compressed, the upper and lower teeth go into the sinuses, creating great pressure. Its action can be compared to a trap.
3. The grip strength is measured at 320 newtons, which has no analogues in the animal kingdom. The pressure created by the closed jaws exceeds its weight by 30 times.
4. An adult can easily deprive a person of a finger. locals, living near piranha ponds, have adapted to use their jaws with teeth like scissors, and they shave their teeth.

Now you have an idea what the appearance of a piranha is. This fish breeds by laying eggs. This period lasts from March to August. For spawning, the female lays thousands of eggs, then they are guarded by the male.

Features of piranhas

This fish, in addition to the amazing structure of the jaws, also differs ability to make sounds. For example, once on land, she barks like a dog, during lunch she can demonstrate “playing the drum”, in order to scare away her own, she uses “croaking”, and approaching another individual, the fish croaks.

Scientists have found that she gets all the variety of sounds thanks to the swim bladder, which she contracts with muscles. The sound produced depends on the speed of their compression.

At the piranha excellent hearing and sense of smell. The victim, being at a distance of more than 6 km, will no longer be saved, since she was smelled by a drop of blood.

Piranha Enemies

it small fish are not able to scare either individuals exceeding it in size, nor big predators who, however, themselves became their victims. But these fish still have enemies:

In the waters of European countries and Russia, piranhas are increasingly common. This is not a joke of nature, but the fault of inexperienced aquarists who, having failed to cope with the care of the fish, decide to release it into the wild.

Europeans and Russians have nothing to fear, because fish does not live in cold waters when winter comes, they will all die. The temperature comfortable for their stay is the range from 24 to 27 degrees.

Piranha is a fish that can easily adapt to new living conditions. In the aquarium, she feels great, which is why many try to breed her. At the same time, do not forget about taste preferences, since the fish are predatory.

She needs properly feed, the diet is dominated by small fish, such as sprat, capelin. Don't forget about safety.

Is this predatory fish edible?

This fish is very voracious. There are many stories that characterize this feature. For example, there is a case with a pig that fell into the water, when the pack gnawed it to the bone in a matter of minutes. Often the victims themselves are the fishermen who want to feast on piranhas.

They get caught because edible fish meat, resembles a perch. They are often used fried. Fishing takes place with a bait, but the fisherman must be very careful, because the fish can snip off his finger.

So, we can conclude that piranha is necessary for a favorable ecological state nature is an animal whose extermination lead to imbalance when there is a great chance of outbreaks of epidemics and the occurrence of infections in water bodies.

Piranhas - monsters from horror films and scary stories, small but bloodthirsty inhabitants of the waters of the Amazon and other rivers in South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina). And what do we know about them? Perhaps nothing. After all, all knowledge is limited to only one type - common piranha and who earned himself a bad reputation.

The Piranha family has a little over 60 species of fish. And, oddly enough, most of them are herbivores, they practically do not eat animal food. The size of piranhas depends on the species, carnivorous mostly reach 30 cm, and their vegetarian relatives can gain significant mass and grow more than one meter in length. The coloration also depends on the species, but is mostly silver-gray, becoming darker with age. The shape of the body is diamond-shaped and high, laterally compressed. The main food for predators is a variety of piranhas that can eat animals or even birds that they meet on the way. For herbivorous species, the Amazon and its tributaries are replete with various vegetation; these fish do not disdain nuts and seeds that fall into the water.

The structure of the jaw

Piranhas are characterized by an amazing structure of the jaw apparatus, which, perhaps, has no analogues in nature. It has everything down to the finest details. The teeth, triangular in shape and measuring 4-5 mm, are lamellar and sharp, like a razor blade, slightly curved inwards. This allows them to easily cut through the flesh of the victim, tearing off pieces of meat. In addition, the upper and lower teeth fit perfectly into the sinuses when the jaw is closed, creating strong pressure. This feature allows piranhas to bite through bones. When closing, the jaws close like a trap. According to latest research scientists, the bite force is 320 newtons and has no analogues in the animal kingdom. The jaws of a piranha exert pressure when bitten by about 30 times its weight.

Where do piranhas live?

These are the inhabitants of freshwater reservoirs in South America. The Amazon basin contains a fifth of all fresh water, this river is full of a variety of fish. Piranhas live along the entire length of the river and are the subject of many legends and stories of local residents. occupies vast areas most of belongs to Brazil, but also to Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. Piranhas feel great in other rivers, their habitat on the territory of the South American mainland is very large.

AT recent times in home maintenance and breeding has become very popular this fish. Piranha in the aquarium will grow smaller than the size that is typical for her in vivo, and loses some of its aggressiveness. Surprisingly, with such a threatening appearance, they become shy in confined spaces and often hide in artificial shelters.

All piranha fish are united in one family and are divided, according to the zoological classification, into three subfamilies.

Myelin subfamily

Myelins are the most numerous group, it unites seven genera and 32 species. These are herbivorous and absolutely harmless piranhas (photo). Fish eat plant foods. The coloration is quite varied, depending on the species. The body shape is characteristic, laterally compressed and high. In juveniles, the coloration is silver-steel, with varying degrees mottling, which darkens to chocolate gray as it grows. Sizes vary from 10 to 20 centimeters. Many representatives of this subfamily are bred in aquariums. They need a large amount of water and enough space to hide, as this is enough shy fish. aquarium piranha from the myelin subfamily will do well in water temperatures of 23-28 degrees, and the daily diet should include lettuce, cabbage, spinach, peas and other vegetables. Some species in natural conditions even feed on nuts, easily splitting their powerful jaw strong shell.

Black pacu is the brightest representative of myelin

The black pacu (or Amazonian broadbody) is the most famous representative subfamilies of myelin. In addition, it is also the largest: its dimensions range from 30 centimeters to one meter or more, and for all that, it is not a predator. The color of adults is rather modest, brown-brown, but the young have a silvery color with large quantity spots all over the body and bright fins. Black pacu meat has good palatability and used by the locals. These are commercial piranhas. Aquarium conditions they are also quite suitable, but the size of the fish will be somewhat smaller than in nature, on average about 30 centimeters, life expectancy - within 10 years or a little more. The content of this species requires a large aquarium (from 200 liters) and good care.

Subfamily Catoprionins

This fish, similar to the common piranha and being its closest relative, in its main diet (60%) has vegetable food, and only 40% are small fish. But you still need to keep it separately from other fish, otherwise very small ones will be eaten, and large ones risk being left with damaged fins and partially without scales. As animal food, you can use small shrimp or fish, earthworms, and vegetable food - spinach leaves, lettuce, nettles and other greens.

Subfamily Serrasalmina

These are the very ruthless predators, the subfamily is represented by only one genus and 25 species. They all eat animal food: fish, animals, birds. The size of piranhas of the Serrasalmina subfamily can reach up to 80 cm in size, reaching a weight of up to 1 kg. This is a real threat to animals (not to mention fish), which can exceed them several times in size, but this does not stop piranha. The appearance of small predators is really formidable: it protrudes significantly forward and is slightly bent upwards, the eyes are bulging, a rounded flat body shape is characteristic. In reservoirs, they prefer to stay in flocks, but when attacking a prey, they act independently of each other, so it cannot be said that these are close-knit group fish. Piranhas react to movement in the water, this attracts their attention. When one of them finds a victim, the rest immediately flock to the place. Moreover, there is an opinion of zoologists that piranhas are able to make sounds, thereby transmitting information to each other. A flock of piranhas can leave only bones from an animal in a few minutes.

The information that they are able to feel blood at a decent distance from the victim is true. Piranha fish live in muddy waters Amazons, and it is natural that they had to adapt to conditions of poor visibility, as a result - well developed sense of smell. Piranhas are really attracted to blood, this is a signal of the appearance of the victim.

In addition, they do not disdain carrion and even their sick or weakened brethren. For animals and humans real danger represent only a few species.

common piranha

The most famous representative, around which the conversations do not cease, is the Common piranha. The length of an individual of this species can reach up to 30 centimeters, but mostly they are the size of a human palm. Common piranhas (photo of the fish below) are greenish-silver in color with many dark spots all over the body, and the scales on the abdomen have a characteristic pinkish tint. They live in packs of about a hundred individuals.

In recent years, ordinary piranhas have been very popular in home keeping. Aquarium conditions contribute to the weakening of aggressiveness. But the aquarium still needs a separate one.

black piranha

This is another species from the Serrasalmina subfamily, very common in nature and popular in home breeding. Habitat - and Orinoco. The shape of the body is diamond-shaped, and the color is dark, black and silver. In young fish, the abdomen has a yellow tint. Black piranha - omnivorous predator, everything is suitable for the diet: fish, arthropods, birds or animals that accidentally fell into the water. Such promiscuity in food led to their fairly high numbers in the waters of the Amazon. Although in terms of aggressiveness, the species is inferior to the same ordinary piranha. An aquarium for such fish needs a large one, more than 300 liters. The complexity of breeding lies in the aggressiveness of piranhas in relation to each other. Reproduction is possible if the aquarium members of the family eat properly, with an abundance of animal food, they become obese, which can be a significant obstacle to the appearance of offspring. Pictured is a black piranha.

Myth one: piranhas attack humans

It is difficult to judge this unequivocally, since the data are very contradictory. Many scientists and zoologists who have spent more than one year on the Amazon have never witnessed an attack, in addition, they themselves, endangering themselves for the sake of the experiment, swam in the muddy waters of the river, where piranhas were caught a few minutes before, but there were no attacks. followed.

For a long time, there was a story about a bus with local residents that drove into one of the tributaries of the Amazon, and all the passengers were literally eaten by piranhas. The story really took place in the 70s of the last century, 39 passengers died, but one managed to escape. According to eyewitnesses, the bodies of the victims were indeed badly damaged by piranhas. But it is not possible to judge whether this was an attack and whether it is the cause of death.

There are reliable sources of bites on the beaches of Argentina, when the fish were the first to attack. But these were isolated cases. Zoologists explain this by the fact that piranhas, whose spawning just begins in the midst of beach season, build nests in shallow water. Therefore, this behavior of fish is quite natural: they protected their offspring.

In addition, piranhas are most dangerous to humans and animals during a period of drought, when the water level in the rivers reaches its minimum, which affects their diet: there is less food. Local residents know about this and do not enter the river at this time. The safest is the rainy season, when the rivers flood.

Myth two: piranhas attack in packs

stories about terrible attacks a whole flock of many, all this is fueled by numerous feature films. In fact, large individuals do not prowl in search of prey in the river, they stand in one place, as a rule, in shallow water. The fish is waiting for its prey, and as soon as this victim appears, the piranha heads to Right place. Attracted by the noise and the smell of blood, the others rush there as well. Piranhas gather in flocks not to hunt for prey, but to defend themselves from the enemy - many scientists believe so. It would seem, who can harm them? However, even such a predatory fish has enemies. Piranha, gathering in flocks, defends itself from river dolphins that feed on them, and for people they are harmless and quite friendly. In addition, among natural enemies piranhas - arapaima and caimans. The first one is giant fish, which is considered practically a living fossil. With amazing, super-strong scales, she represents real threat for the piranha. Fish, found singly, instantly become a victim of arapaima. Caimans are small representatives of the Crocodiles order. Zoologists have noticed that as soon as the number of these caimans decreases, the number of piranhas in the river immediately increases.

Myth three: piranhas appear in the reservoirs of Russia

Incidents have indeed taken place, but this is the result of either the behavior of sloppy aquarium fish lovers, or deliberate launching into a pond. In any case, worry is in vain. Although piranhas adapt perfectly to any conditions, the main factor in their successful existence remains the same - warm climate and water (within 24-27 degrees), which is impossible in our country.

Of course, these Piranhas are dangerous and very voracious, but nevertheless, stories about them are often too embellished and far-fetched. The indigenous population of South America has learned to coexist next to piranhas and even made them an object of fishing. Nature has not created anything useless: if wolves are piranhas, they perform a similar function in water bodies.