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When we remember of piranhas , we often conjure up an image of fearsome vulture that can pillage an brute to its skeleton in the cupboard in seconds . Their bad reputation stems , in part , from President Theodore Roosevelt , who , after a trip to the Amazon , write that they were the " most ferocious fish in the world . "
" They will photograph a finger’s breadth off a deal carelessly trailed in the water ; they murder swimmer — in every river town in Paraguay there are men who have been thus mutilate ; they will rend and pig alive any wounded man or beast ; for pedigree in the water excite them to madness,“he wrotein his book " Through the Brazilian Wilderness . "
Red bellied piranhas are most often associated with attacks on humans, but their deadly reputation is largely undeserved.
But while these freshwater fish have razor - sharp tooth , are they really as grievous as we think ? And how fast can they really use up their prey ?
Many metal money of predator are omnivore , said Kristine Grzenda , conservator of behavior and welfare atAudubon Aquariumin New Orleans . For example , red - bellied pirana ( Pygocentrus nattereri ) — which are often associate with attacks onhumans — tend tofeedon fish , crustacean , insects , plants , fruits , ball and seeds , but some individuals in this metal money have also been found with composition of hiss , snakes and small mammals in their stomachs .
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Piranhas travel in shoals for protection, rather than hunting.
" It ’s the carnivorous piranhas that have a report for eating the flesh of minor and large mammals , " she told Live Science . flushed - belly out piranhas ( Pygocentrus nattereri ) are omnivorous , while other species such as tambaqui ( Colossoma macropomum ) , a close relative of the piranha , are herbivores . " While they are very nutrient motivated Pisces that are able to use up large quantities of nutrient , their staple diet items are smaller nutrient item . "
Piranhas can be found in group of anything from below10 to 100fish , Grzenda say , but this is for protection rather than hunting . " They have their place in the solid food chain as both marauder and prey , " she said . " Like other animate being , though , piranhas may become more aggressive if their food supply is low . " marauder have natural predators , admit the black cayman ( Melanosuchus niger ) .
Allison Waltz - Hill , senior aquarist at theNew England Aquarium ’s Temperate Gallery , told Live Science that a individual piranha can move and consume prey chop-chop .
" get ’s say that the average adult reddened - belly piranha matter 541 grams [ 19 ounces ] , " she said . " We regularly fee our piranhas about 12 grams [ 0.4 oz ] each in one feed , which maybe survive for 30 seconds . But , let ’s be generous and say that these piranha are really hungry and could eat 1/8th of their body weight in a provender ( which is demeanor that has been find in the fish tank ) — which would be 68 grams [ 2.4 oz ] per fish .
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" So , if we had a 50 - lbf. [ 22.7 kilograms ] dog — and subtracted 10 pound [ 4.5 kg ] to account for pearl and fur — it would take around 267 adult pirana about 3 minute to eat up it , " Waltz - Hill said . However , this depends on many variables , including how hungry the caribe are and their size , she added .
vulture areopportunisticfeeders , and the chance to eat a frank does n’t come along very often . They ’re more likely to go for easier , more accessible food like low Pisces or yield . Grzenda noted that their needlelike tooth are also ready to hand for eating harder food like shellfish .
" Despite their appearance , vulture ' reputation is largely unearned and accounts of their eating habits are often exaggerated , " Waltz - Hill said . " piranha are only potential to attack a much larger fauna if it is gravely injured or already bushed . When not scavenging , piranhas mostly prey on other Pisces by taking bites out of larger fishes or fully consuming small fish . "
