The piranha species Serrasalmus gibbus comes from the catchment of the Rio Tocantins, it was described from the Rio Araguaia. The animals that we currently have in stock were delivered with the location Guama. The Rio Guama is a 160 km long tributary of the Tocantins in the state of Pará, Brazil.
The species is quite elongated and, like S. rhombeus, which it looks very similar to, has a black caudal fin margin. A humeral spot is missing in younger specimens, but becomes more prominent with increasing age and is very large and prominent in adult specimens (from about 15 cm in length). The main differences to S. rhombeus are the rather small and round humeral spot in S. rhombeus (large and highly oval in S. gibbus) and the crystal red eye of S. rhombeus (dirty dark red in S. gibbus). The reduced dot pattern of adult animals is characteristic of the species, the back appears greenish (although this also depends on the incidence of light). The body shape of S. gibbus is also characteristic of the species. In adults, the greatest height of the body is at the end of the occiput, after which the dorsal line drops continuously. The species name “gibbus” (= humpbacked) is aptly chosen.
In the trade, S. gibbus is often referred to as the “Peruvian piranha”, which is very misleading, as the species does not occur in Peru at all, but is endemic to the Tocantins catchment. At 20-25 cm in length, S. gibbus is fully grown. As is usual with Serrasalmus, it is a fin-biter that usually has to be kept individually. You should not be misled by the fact that we like to have two animals in the photo tank for dramaturgical reasons. This only ever happens for a very short time and under constant supervision.
For our customers: this very rarely offered piranha has code 292003 (7-9 cm) on our stock list. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer