PIRANAHA

OUR TROPICAL ZONE HAS STINGRAYS, CICHLIDS AND RED-BELLIED PIRANHAS

PIRANHAS ARE NATIVE TO THE AMAZON BASIN IN SOUTH AMERICA. THEY PREY ON AQUATIC AND LAND ANIMALS AND HAVE RAZOR-SHARP TEETH THAT CUT INTO THEIR PREY WITH EASE.

A Piranha holding its place in the ocean tank.

TROPICAL ZONE

A Piranha holding its place in the ocean tank.

Red-Bellied Piranha / Piorána
Pygocentrus nattereri

Piranhas are carnivores. Despite their fearsome reputation, they are mainly scavengers. Only attacking live prey when they are starving and have no other option. The infamous ‘feeding frenzy’ is often misunderstood, it is created by a large shoal of Piranha all competing to get a bite at the same time.

A Giraffe Cichlid in a dark exhibit.

Giraffe cichlid
Nimbochromus ventus

The Cichlids in the Aquarium are from Lake Malawi in Africa. Their preferred diet is invertebrates and small fish. Cichlids are mouth brooders, which means they carry their eggs and young in their mouths to help protect them from predators.

mortoro STINGRAY

Ocellate River Stingray
Potamotrygon motoro

This species is found in a range of locations throughout the Amazon. It inhabits a variety of environments, these include sand banks, the shallows of major rivers, and slow-moving tributaries with substrates of mud or sand. It feeds on invertebrates and small fish. Stingray gets their name from the venomous barb in its tail.

did you know?
CONSERVATION AND EDUCATION ARE AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO, AND OUR PROGRAMMES HAVE DEVELOPED IN LOCAL, NATIONAL AND GLOBAL REACH.
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