Red-bellied Piranha Question

[mdwags]

I have a Red-bellied Piranha that I have had for about 3 months now. Recently, I have started feeding him red minnows instead of the typical "feeder comets" from the pet store. In the past three days, he has eaten 10 of the minnows where in the past, he would eat 1 comet every week to 2 weeks. Is he going through a grown spurt? He ate 2 minnows on Tuesday, 2 on Wednesday and 6 of them between last night and this morning. The minnows were about 1 -1.5 inches long and thin. The comets he ate in the past were about the same length but fatter.

 

[cane76]

do i smell a troll

 

[-*-MicHAeL-*-]

I dont think hes a troll.i think hes genuine but doesnt know any better.

 

[Dany]

in other words a compleat Tw*t

 

[mdwags]

I'm no troll... I'm just a douche that doesn't know any better. This is my first piranha and I'm a little confused.

 

[cane76]

what are you confused about?
i find your 1st post confusing what are you asking?

 

[adgo]

you shouldnt feed your piranhas feeders consistently anyway because of the risk of disease. buy him some fish fillets or raw shrimp. itll fill him up for longer as well as help with his health (shrimp are good for color_)

 

[steve_m]

whats a troll

 

[n3ont3tra]

what are you confused about?
i find your 1st post confusing what are you asking?

There was an obvious question in his first post...

Is he going through a grown spurt?

I don't know enough to answer.... all I know is Gatorbait knows a lot about piranhas. Try PMing him. But stay on this topic too, 'cause there's a lot of other people that know about piranhas as well.

And people.... please don't turn this into another feeder debate .

 

[adgo]

how big is he?

 

[Gatorbait]

in other words a compleat Tw*t

A complete tw*t because he's not all knowing? I don't know all there is to know about fish so I guess I'm a tw*t also. I think you're more of a complete tw*t for knowing better but still cutting a new member down that's asking for help.


mdwags,

Don't worry about these guys. This is a great forum and these "experts" in here are a minority. I do hope you stick around and get all of your questions answered.

You're right, he could be going through a growth spurt. Sometimes piranhas will be insatiable and others they will go days without eating. it's normal in nature so they may be mimicking that.

From what you've stated there is nothing to be alarmed about. This is perfectly normal.

You can also try to give him some raw shrimp from the store. (It will look grey, not pink and this will make his colors really stand out. You will probably have to take the "skin" off but try it without first)

Other things that piranhas love are earthworms, any type of whitefish fillets, catfish nuggets, octopi, krill etc.

Please post back and let us know how it's going for you.

 

[mdwags]

Thanks guys.

I'll try to answer as many of the response questions that I read here.

He is about 3 - 4 inches long now. I recently moved him from a 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon tank so that he has more room to move around. It is since this move that his appetite has seemed to grow tremendously.

I will definitely try the shrimp and other foods to give him some variety.

Basically, I was originally confused with how much he should be eating and how often.

Finally, I do have a question. A friend of mine said that he used to have 2 piranhas and an oscar in the same tank and that the piranhas would not mess with the oscar. Has anyone ever heard of this? I was under the assumption that if you had a piranha in the tank, that is what was in the tank since it would most likely eat everything else.

I have had tropical fish for years, but this is my first piranha, so I'm new to this.

Thanks for the help.

 

[adgo]

its possible, but eventually most tank mates for piranhas turn into food. its just a matter of time

 

[The Fish Importer]

Thanks guys.

I'll try to answer as many of the response questions that I read here.

He is about 3 - 4 inches long now. I recently moved him from a 10 gallon tank to a 20 gallon tank so that he has more room to move around. It is since this move that his appetite has seemed to grow tremendously.

I will definitely try the shrimp and other foods to give him some variety.

Basically, I was originally confused with how much he should be eating and how often.

Finally, I do have a question. A friend of mine said that he used to have 2 piranhas and an oscar in the same tank and that the piranhas would not mess with the oscar. Has anyone ever heard of this? I was under the assumption that if you had a piranha in the tank, that is what was in the tank since it would most likely eat everything else.

I have had tropical fish for years, but this is my first piranha, so I'm new to this.

Thanks for the help.

If you have small number 1 maybe up to 3, you will not see the true behaviour of the RBP as they are of course shoaling fish. They get their confidence in large numbers, so if you have 1 or 2 in with similar sized - larger fish with a bit of a aggressive nature you find the piranhas tend to stay clear. Up the number of RBPs and youll see completly different behaviour as the RBPs feel safe so there fore not scared of the larger fish due to their own large numbers. Catch me drift
Hope you enjoy keeping the reds, they are awesome fish.
Dan

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

what is a troll?