I have a 125 gal tank...with 5 5-6 inch red belly piranha...they are a little more than a year old, maybe 2. I feed them goldfish, beefhearts, skirt steaks, chicken livers and any other random meat I find cheap an sale. Anyway I am noticing recently that their red bellies are white...why is this.??..
Red Bellys...now White Bellys
- Thread starter miyu1975
- Start date
It could be poor water quality, dirty substrate or filter, or stress. It could also be diet related. You feed them a variety of red meats and fish are not really designed to digest red meat. You should be feeding more fish based foods, (ie: fish, prawn, squid, mussels, etc) and less mammal meat. A small amount of cow, or chicken once a week isn't an issue but if most of their diet consists of the wrong meat, they might be suffering from malnutrition. This could also explain the small size of the fish considering their age.
Their size however, could come down to how much and how often they eat. But realistically red belly piranha should reach maturity (about 8inches) within 12 months.
Check the water, make sure the gravel and filter is clean. And offer more variety in their diet.
Their size however, could come down to how much and how often they eat. But realistically red belly piranha should reach maturity (about 8inches) within 12 months.
Check the water, make sure the gravel and filter is clean. And offer more variety in their diet.
OK..I will start feeding them differently. I have an XP filter for 220gal and I chg the filters and do 10% 20% water changes every other week. I don't think I feed them often enough which is why they may be smaller than they should be.
I would increase the water changes. Meat foods make the water go bad really quickly and you could have really high nitrate levels. Try doing 30-50% water changes and gravel cleans each day for a couple of weeks. Then do 30-50% each week after that.
When you say change the filters, do you actually change the filter material or just wash it out?
Most filter media will last for years and only needs to be replaced when it starts to fall apart. If you have carbon (black granulated substance) in the filter it should be replaced about once a month. The rest of the filter media should be washed out in a bucket of tank water and then put back in the filter. The filter case and motor can be washed out under tap water.
When you say change the filters, do you actually change the filter material or just wash it out?
Most filter media will last for years and only needs to be replaced when it starts to fall apart. If you have carbon (black granulated substance) in the filter it should be replaced about once a month. The rest of the filter media should be washed out in a bucket of tank water and then put back in the filter. The filter case and motor can be washed out under tap water.
I have the Rena XP4 canister. It has the 4 buckets for filtration. I normally change the filters once a month...which is getting expensive, but will start washing them. I also have a bucket with ceramic rings, and nitra zorb. anyway advice taken...I will do some aggressive water changes and only wash the filters until they are falling apart...and lay off the red meat.
/picasaweb.google.com/miyuwedding/Pi...feat=directlinkCeramic rings can be washed out in a bucket of tank water and then put back in the filter. They will last 20 + years, probably longer.
Sponges can be washed out in a bucket of tank water and put back in the filter.
Filter wool/ floss can be washed out in a bucket of tank water, rinsed under the tap, or thrown out and replaced when it's really dirty.
The only things that really need replacing on a regular basis are the chemical or granule based media, ie: nitra zorb, carbon, ammogon, etc. And most of these things don't really need to be used anyway. Most people use them as an emergency measure, ie: if they have a sudden ammonia spike they might put Ammogon in the filter for a few days. Alternatively if they have used medications in the tank, they might put carbon in the filter after treatment has finished, and the carbon will remove most of the remaining medication.
According to the web, Nitra-Zorb is an ion-exchange resin that is used to absorb ammonia, nitrite and nitrate from freshwater. Basically it will be absorbing the ammonia that is produced by the fish food & waste breaking down in the water. Once it is full it should be recharged or replaced. However, a healthy established biological filter will break down ammonia and nitrite and convert that to nitrate. Then you do regular water changes to remove the nitrates from the tank.
Nitra-Zorb contains Zeolite (also known as Ammogon). This stuff absorbs ammonia from fresh water and prevents the filter bacteria from developing. This means as long as the Nitra-Zorb is still capable of absorbing ammonia, you will never have a nitrite or nitrate reading. Thus giving you perfect water quality. However, if the Nitra-Zorb becomes full, it will no longer remove the ammonia from the water and you start to get an ammonia reading, which can stress the fish. Unless you monitor the ammonia levels closely, you could get an ammonia reading between filter cleans. This fluctuating cycle does a bit of damage to the fish. They have clean water for a bit, then the Nitra-Zorb becomes full and the ammonia levels start to go up. When you replace the filter media, the Nitra-Zorb absorbs the ammonia and they get clean water again. Then the ammonia levels start to go back up once the Nitra-Zorb is full again.
Ammogon/ Zeolite can be recharged in saltwater. Therefore Nitra-Zorb might also be able to be recharged in saltwater.
You have two choices. Either continue using the Nitra-Zorb, or stop using it and let the filter develop a colony of good bacteria. If you stop using Nitra-Zorb it will take about a month for the filter to develop a fully functional group of bacteria that will convert the ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate. During that time you should cut feeding right back and do frequent water changes to dilute any ammonia that is in the water. Unfortunately piranha need regular feeding otherwise they become a bit agro and chomp each other. So you might have to continue feeding them once a day and do 50% water changes each day as well. Basically feed them in the morning and water change them in the afternoon/ evening, or vice versa.
Once the filter has developed, then that will keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low (usually at 0ppm) but you will get nitrates. These can be removed with weekly partial (30-50%) water changes, or a specific nitrate removing substance. Nitrate removers will only remove nitrates and not affect filter bacteria, nor will they absorb ammonia or nitrite. You can also get nitrate removing filters that are very effective.
From then on you simply clean the filter materials out in a bucket of tank water each month, wash the filter case and motor under tap water, then re-assemble the unit and get it going again.
You could put a picture on the back of the tank and add some plants. This would help the fish feel more secure and they might show better colour.
Sponges can be washed out in a bucket of tank water and put back in the filter.
Filter wool/ floss can be washed out in a bucket of tank water, rinsed under the tap, or thrown out and replaced when it's really dirty.
The only things that really need replacing on a regular basis are the chemical or granule based media, ie: nitra zorb, carbon, ammogon, etc. And most of these things don't really need to be used anyway. Most people use them as an emergency measure, ie: if they have a sudden ammonia spike they might put Ammogon in the filter for a few days. Alternatively if they have used medications in the tank, they might put carbon in the filter after treatment has finished, and the carbon will remove most of the remaining medication.
According to the web, Nitra-Zorb is an ion-exchange resin that is used to absorb ammonia, nitrite and nitrate from freshwater. Basically it will be absorbing the ammonia that is produced by the fish food & waste breaking down in the water. Once it is full it should be recharged or replaced. However, a healthy established biological filter will break down ammonia and nitrite and convert that to nitrate. Then you do regular water changes to remove the nitrates from the tank.
Nitra-Zorb contains Zeolite (also known as Ammogon). This stuff absorbs ammonia from fresh water and prevents the filter bacteria from developing. This means as long as the Nitra-Zorb is still capable of absorbing ammonia, you will never have a nitrite or nitrate reading. Thus giving you perfect water quality. However, if the Nitra-Zorb becomes full, it will no longer remove the ammonia from the water and you start to get an ammonia reading, which can stress the fish. Unless you monitor the ammonia levels closely, you could get an ammonia reading between filter cleans. This fluctuating cycle does a bit of damage to the fish. They have clean water for a bit, then the Nitra-Zorb becomes full and the ammonia levels start to go up. When you replace the filter media, the Nitra-Zorb absorbs the ammonia and they get clean water again. Then the ammonia levels start to go back up once the Nitra-Zorb is full again.
Ammogon/ Zeolite can be recharged in saltwater. Therefore Nitra-Zorb might also be able to be recharged in saltwater.
You have two choices. Either continue using the Nitra-Zorb, or stop using it and let the filter develop a colony of good bacteria. If you stop using Nitra-Zorb it will take about a month for the filter to develop a fully functional group of bacteria that will convert the ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate. During that time you should cut feeding right back and do frequent water changes to dilute any ammonia that is in the water. Unfortunately piranha need regular feeding otherwise they become a bit agro and chomp each other. So you might have to continue feeding them once a day and do 50% water changes each day as well. Basically feed them in the morning and water change them in the afternoon/ evening, or vice versa.
Once the filter has developed, then that will keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low (usually at 0ppm) but you will get nitrates. These can be removed with weekly partial (30-50%) water changes, or a specific nitrate removing substance. Nitrate removers will only remove nitrates and not affect filter bacteria, nor will they absorb ammonia or nitrite. You can also get nitrate removing filters that are very effective.
From then on you simply clean the filter materials out in a bucket of tank water each month, wash the filter case and motor under tap water, then re-assemble the unit and get it going again.
You could put a picture on the back of the tank and add some plants. This would help the fish feel more secure and they might show better colour.
tyler123456780
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2009
- Messages
- 18
- Reaction score
- 0
did they loose all the color because mine turned white and lost color then eggs were on some rocks then the goldfish ate them i shouldn't have done a live feed that day.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
332 -
171 -
153 -
149 -
146 -
128 -
94 -
91 -
84 -
81 -
70 -
70 -
63 -
58 -
47