Piranhas Fact and Fiction

Like all books, this book also contains its pros and cons. Lets start with the pros.This book gives first-time piranha keepers a general idea on what piranha keeping is like. Its topics range from introducing what a piranha is and highlighting the untruths of the this fish to the code of conduct of keeping this fish. The description on the species are accompanied by vivid photographs. There is also a section on advising readers on tank setup procedure. Other topics include the breeding, handling and feeding of the piranhas. I find topics such as the suitability of tank mates for piranhas and how to choose a piranha extremely useful.However, although this book covers a wide range of topics, it is not written in detail. It does not even state what is the suitable tank environment for this fish. The classification is also outdated. For eg. Serrasalmus Nattereri has been reclassified to Pygocentrus Nattereri in the eighties, but it is still being referred to as Serrasalmus Nattereri in this book; and Serrasalmus Niger is still being reflected as "the black piranha", which in actual fact should be Serrasalmus Rhombeus.In summary, I would say this is a great book with lots of colourful photographs for beginners, but not for people who have been keeping this fish for sometime.