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Red-Breasted Piranha

Red-Breasted Piranha line art illustration (click image to enlarge)

Red-Breasted Piranha full color illustration (click image to enlarge)

Artist's notes:

The Red-Breasted Piranha was completed on 12.28.2011. Many years ago, I owned two of these fish in an aquarium. Unfortunately, one grew large and the other didn't. Eventually the smaller fish one day was gone. These fish were so interesting to watch, especially when feeding. Since then I have been interested in these fearsome fish. When it came time to draw another tropical fish I chose a very traditional side pose. I tried very hard to make sure the coloration was correct. The drawing is based on a photo by Ron DeCloux.

Information about the Red-Breasted Piranha:

The Red-Breasted or Red-Bellied Piranha is native to the rivers, streams and lakes of the Amazon River Basin. These fish with razor sharp teeth grow to a length of about 13 inches (33 centimeters) and a weigh roughly 7.5 pounds (3.5 kilograms) .They are best knows for their ferocious and aggressive behavior in the manner of feeding. While their reputation for being dangerous to humans and other large mammals is more than a little overblown, they can strip bare other fish, reptiles and small mammals of their flesh in mere minutes. These fish do well in captivity and are often kept as pets in aquariums. Although they cannot be kept with other fish as they will devour them.