Red-bellied piranha Facts for Kids

Red-bellied piranhas have a red belly and sharp teeth. They live in rivers in South America. They eat insects, fish and seeds, and they are shy.

A piranha's teeth are sharp and shaped like little triangles that fit together. The scary stories about piranhas are mostly made up. Most of the time they eat insects, small fish and seeds, and they swim in groups, which keeps each fish safer.

Red-bellied piranhas eat a mix of foods: fish, insects, seeds and fruit that fall into the water, and the leftovers of dead animals, which helps keep rivers clean. Scientists who study them say they are shy and far less dangerous than the stories claim. Piranhas talk to each other with barks, grunts and croaks, and they replace their teeth one whole side of the jaw at a time. They live in warm rivers and flooded forests in South America, where the water rises every rainy season.