Waiting in the Water Plants: teacher key

Red-Bellied Piranhas, grade 8 edition, written for 8th grade. Red-bellied piranhas mostly ambush fish from among water plants, and they eat a lot more than fish. Find out how they feed, nest and live in groups.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. Where do red-bellied piranhas mostly ambush fish from?
   • Open sand
   • Within the aquatic vegetation (answer)
   • The air
2. What is a piscivore?
   • A fish eater (answer)
   • A plant eater
   • A bird
3. Who guards the eggs and spawn?
   • Dolphins
   • Nobody
   • The male (answer)
4. What does a nest look like, according to its size?
   • A meter wide
   • Around 4 to 5 cm deep and 15 cm across (answer)
   • As large as a room
5. Why might a shoal help a piranha?
   • It gives protection from predators (answer)
   • It makes it taller
   • It lets it breathe air
6. Where are red-bellied piranhas often found?
   • Blackwater streams
   • Mountain snow
   • Whitewater streams (answer)

Words

• ambush: wait and surprise
• vegetation: water plants
• piscivore: fish eater
• spawning: laying eggs
• courtship: a pairing dance