Red-bellies live up to their name, with glowing red chin, belly and caudal fin, as if they were swimming over a neon sign. Their sides glitter with flecks of gold and silver amid otherwise gray-brown scales. Adults have red eyes.
Red-bellied piranhas are mainly carnivorous, although some other piranha species feed on fruits and nuts available during the high-water season. Adult red-bellies hunt, either by charge or by ambush, at dawn, in the late afternoon and late at night. They prey on other fishes, insects, crustaceans and worms, and also eat algae. Young red-bellies are active mainly during the day – a good way to avoid being eaten by an adult. The juveniles feed on larval and adult insects as well as the fins and scales of other fishes, which are a good, renewable source of protein. In fact, some of the piranhas in Wild Reef look a little chewed on. This tattered look, however, is only temporary. Their scales are quick to heal.
