Red-Bellied+Piranhas

 The Red Bellied Piranha has a reputation of being man eating. This is false. The only way this piranha will eat any of you is if you are dumb enough to get close enough to it’s mouth, which is like a hinge. The piranhas jaw acts like a hinge, and can chomp of huge amounts of flesh in one bite. Not to worry, though! This species is just the common food fish in the Amazon Basin, home also to alligators and exotic birds. The Basin is located in the Amazon, obviously, and is always teeming with wild life. These piranhas hang out in schools in the rivers, here! In the Shedd Aquarium, however, you can find this red bellied beauty in the Amazon rising exhibit. The Red Bellied Piranha is carnivorous, so its diet consists mostly of other fish, crustaceans, insects, and surprisingly, algae. They are only hunted as younglings, and are eaten by their own parents or another adult. Life is hard! Even though being a “toddler” of a fish may not be fun, the Red Bellied Piranhas are still predators of the Amazon Basin. media type="custom" key="5526411" width="140" height="140" media type="custom" key="5597787"