Piranha Diet

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Ok so iv had my 4 red belly piranhas around 3 months in total, i started off feeding them frozen bloodworm cubes, krill, prawns and frozen fish (smelt) but iv now tried to introduce frozen mice to thier diet (as they are gettin bigger i thought it would be best to feed them a bit more). The mice are very small (just started getting fur), I put 1 in the tank around 8 hours ago but they havnt touched it. Is there anything else i could try them on?

 

[communitytank75]

they love beef heart from petco/petsmart...and Do not overfeed them..if they dont eat anything after like 5 minute..thats it..and pirahans are hunters..they wont show much interest in dead ..and if you do want to train them to eat dead mice..try to give it to them at night time..and as they get bigger..dont need to feed them everyday neither.

 

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I never feed them every day. I normally feed every 4 days or so. Frozen fish is gone within seconds of hitting the water lol same with frozen prawns. This is why i thought it would be best to start feeding them bigger things. They normally get fed at night with today being an exception as i bought the mice earlier so wanted to see if they would go for it. I tried live feeder fish but they were not at all bothered with it.

 

[communitytank75]

live feeder fish were not bothered?..that's weird...soon as i put like 6inch koi fish in..and within an hour..it will be GONE..

you have to realize that RBPs are very fast swimmers..but only for short period of time..so they usually try to do a sudden attack hunting style in a group..usually the weakest piranha in the group will give it a shot at first then rest of pack will go..thats how usually they hunt as a shoal...

It is amazing to see them work in a group to hunt live feeders..and you said you had em for 4 months?..if you bought it as babies..they should be anywhere from 4 to 6 inches range..

you can also give em white/red meat from safeways..but the rule is, don buy the meat if you wont eat it..fresh the better it is for fishes...

and also dimming the light or putting in " black extract " could help them be more active..but not 100% workable..

RBPs are not deadly as people think they are..they are only super territorial when they are in " mating mode ".. but of course they are still territorial by the nature and wonderful to have ...

you should post some pictures, mate!!!

 

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Yes the biggest one is around 4 or 5 inches while i have 2 smaller 1s around 2 or maybe 3 inch. I purchased them at different times but they get along and shoal together all the time. I did have 2 white tube lights but i changed 1 for a moonlight blue so it wasn't as bright. Do u think i should change the remaining white 1 to a moonlight blue as iv noticed they still freak our when I put the tank light on. Maybe its still to bright? Yea il try and put some pics on.

 

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There you go. It's not much i know but its all i can afford at the moment. It's a 55 gal tank

 

[communitytank75]

Very nice mate..although you will DEF want to get more hiding spaces..usually amazon swords work out great with them..and probably one moonlight would be okay, i wouldnt replace other white one to moonlight ( which will run you extra ), just use moonlight, and only reason why they freak out by the light is..in their nature, its murky water they live in, which not much lights are reflected through the murky water..thats the reason...

and by putting more hiding spaces it will break out the tension..and you def need to think of getting a bigger tank, as they will probably grow out of it in a few months..or few will be gone

they will grow about an inch to inch and half depends on diet/water quality untill they reach 6inch, where they are considered as young adult, and will grow about half inch every month or so...

 

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Ok so leave the lights as they are. I can get plants for hiding places that's not a problem. Although a bigger tank would be at the moment and i do realise they need around 20 gallons per fish. Sayin that though iv got a job interview on Wednesday so fingers crossed and if i get it then a bigger tank could well be on the cards if not then i could have problems as tanks are not at all cheap in the uk.