RBP info

[RBP fan]

I have 4 sub adult RBP who are sharing a tank with a medium pleco 1 tiger oscar and 2 convicts......so far the the piranhas dont seem to be interested in the convicts or the oscar but thats because i feed them atleast twice a day.... how many times should i really be feeding them so that its like their from wild rather then them bein captive.

[OnceLoyal]

Kind of a tough question man. Feeding them that many times a day everyday?? I would think your going to have a decent bioload on your hands, so make sure your filtration can handle it. IMO it is a matter of time before your RBs get violent with the other fish. Always seems to be the case. So...sorry I can't really answer your question directly. I would think you would be feeding them 2x er day for the rest of their lives lol, you would have to keep them stuffed every min.

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

how big are they? you said sub adult so i would imagine that they are around the 6 inch mark or larger, in which case you really shouldn't be feeding them that much. i feed all my fish on a random schedule, i talked alot about it the last few days in another thread, i'll find it and post a link for ya.

[RBP fan]

so wat your sayin is that i should feed them less depending on wat it is? i do feed them atleast 1 large mice for the four of them 3-4 maybe longer but i've jus started to feed them that since i realized pinky's jus wasn't bein equally shared because every fish in my tank go for anything in my tank.
38Gal- 4 sub adults RBP
2 convicts
1 medim pleco
1 tiger oscar

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

here's that link about my feeding schedule...
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157248

[RBP fan]

how big are they? you said sub adult so i would imagine that they are around the 6 inch mark or larger, in which case you really shouldn't be feeding them that much. i feed all my fish on a random schedule, i talked alot about it the last few days in another thread, i'll find it and post a link for ya.
thanks joedizzle.....I jus don't want them eating the other fish, although the piranhas and everything else in my tank ate my silver gar within 3 days due to lowering their feeding

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

so wat your sayin is that i should feed them less depending on wat it is? i do feed them atleast 1 large mice for the four of them 3-4 maybe longer but i've jus started to feed them that since i realized pinky's jus wasn't bein equally shared because every fish in my tank go for anything in my tank.
38Gal- 4 sub adults RBP
2 convicts
1 medim pleco
1 tiger oscar
mice are a terrible food choice for piranhas, they are not built to handle a diet containing large amounts of mammalian meat. in the wild, a piranhas diet consists of 97% fish and fish parts, that is the same diet you should be providing for your piranhas.

if you want your fish to look good and live long healthy lives, you should be feeding them things such as shrimp, tilapia, catfish or a high quality pellet as their staple and mammalian meat such as beefheart or live mice should be eliminated completely or fed only once in a while.

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

thanks joedizzle.....I jus don't want them eating the other fish, although the piranhas and everything else in my tank ate my silver gar within 3 days due to lowering their feeding
you really should take the other fish out, keeping your piranhas stuffed with food in an attempt to prevent them from eating their tankmates can create health problems down the road due to overfeeding. besides, no matter how much you feed your piranhas, there is always a good chance of them eating whatever is in the tank with them.

[r3d]

Soon enough your RBPs are going to turn and kill everything in your tank excluding the pleco im sure, feeding them more wont stop it, it might give you more time though, id definitely separate the RBPs from the others

[RBP fan]

mice are a terrible food choice for piranhas, they are not built to handle a diet containing large amounts of mammalian meat. in the wild, a piranhas diet consists of 97% fish and fish parts, that is the same diet you should be providing for your piranhas.

if you want your fish to look good and live long healthy lives, you should be feeding them things such as shrimp, tilapia, catfish or a high quality pellet as their staple and mammalian meat such as beefheart or live mice should be eliminated completely or fed only once in a while.
thanks i'm glad i can actually relate to someone who can tell me a lil bit more about these fish

[RBP fan]

Soon enough your RBPs are going to turn and kill everything in your tank excluding the pleco im sure, feeding them more wont stop it, it might give you more time though, id definitely separate the RBPs from the others
i will be eventually putting the rbp into a 75Gal by them self. so i don't plan on keeping them in there for long.

[r3d]

Should definetly get them out of there soon, how big are the RBPs and the tank mates?

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

thanks i'm glad i can actually relate to someone who can tell me a lil bit more about these fish
no problem man, getting them on a better diet will work wonders, you should even notice a visible difference after you start feeding them shrimp because shrimp contains astaxanthin, which will help your piranhas develop a nice red coloration. hikari bio gold pellets are also great for coloration, you can take a look at the pictures of my natts if you want to see the results.

[RBP fan]

you really should take the other fish out, keeping your piranhas stuffed with food in an attempt to prevent them from eating their tankmates can create health problems down the road due to overfeeding. besides, no matter how much you feed your piranhas, there is always a good chance of them eating whatever is in the tank with them.
i totally understand wat your sayin. but what about the ppl who say that rbp are really as vicious as wat their reputation has made them to be. rbp hunt their preys from behind and well my male convict is about 4 almost 5 inches and he huddles with the rbp as well as the oscar and even joins them for the hunt for live food when i put it in there.... is that thing kinda normal

[RBP fan]

Should definetly get them out of there soon, how big are the RBPs and the tank mates?
1 is 6inch and the other 3 are close to 5 and well the pleco is about 8 inch and the oscar is 3 1/2 inch and the male convict is 4inch and the female is 2 1/2 inch

[RBP fan]

no problem man, getting them on a better diet will work wonders, you should even notice a visible difference after you start feeding them shrimp because shrimp contains astaxanthin, which will help your piranhas develop a nice red coloration. hikari bio gold pellets are also great for coloration, you can take a look at the pictures of my natts if you want to see the results.
i was feeding them shrimp and it kept them like super red for awhile but then my convicts started to spawn and well convicts in my tank tend to spawn very often would it be a bad thing to let them hunt the youngs of the convicts...i mean does that make me a bad person or would u consider that jus bein apart of the food chain and minimizing the ratio of convicts

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

i totally understand wat your sayin. but what about the ppl who say that rbp are really as vicious as wat their reputation has made them to be. rbp hunt their preys from behind and well my male convict is about 4 almost 5 inches and he huddles with the rbp as well as the oscar and even joins them for the hunt for live food when i put it in there.... is that thing kinda normal
piranhas definitely aren't as bloodthirsty as their reputation would suggest, but i've owned them long enough to know that they will kill tankmates without warning. it's not unheard of for other fish to survive in the tank with them for a short time, but eventually one of them will go after one of the other fish, and when that happens, all the others will join in and that'll be the end of that fish

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

i was feeding them shrimp and it kept them like super red for awhile but then my convicts started to spawn and well convicts in my tank tend to spawn very often would it be a bad thing to let them hunt the youngs of the convicts...i mean does that make me a bad person or would u consider that jus bein apart of the food chain and minimizing the ratio of convicts
letting them eat the convicts shouldn't be a problem as long as you know that they are disease and parasite free, but i would let the convicts breed in a separate tank rather than letting them stay in the tank with your natts.

[RBP fan]

letting them eat the convicts shouldn't be a problem as long as you know that they are disease and parasite free, but i would let the convicts breed in a separate tank rather than letting them stay in the tank with your natts.
thanks but right now i also feed the fish feeders which i have in a 20gal tank so until i get another tank it would be a bad idea because i've seen wat they can do to a feeder fish and since they normally dont eat the complete pellets i give them on a regular basis they perfer to have feeder fish now.

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

you really shouldn't be feeding them feeder fish from the store either, they contain high levels of thiaminase, which is a growth inhibiting hormone, there is also a very high risk of introducing disease and parasites... it really is best to feed them frozen shrimp or fish fillets

[RBP fan]

you really shouldn't be feeding them feeder fish from the store either, they contain high levels of thiaminase, which is a growth inhibiting hormone, there is also a very high risk of introducing disease and parasites... it really is best to feed them frozen shrimp or fish fillets
i will start feeding them shrimp i've tried the pellets and they don't really seem to be attracted to it as much as the other fish in the tank. they seem to hunger for live foods. i heard that given them earthworms are generally ok from the bait stores because they don't contain parasites or anything harmful towards the piranhas

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

it can be difficult to get piranhas on pellets, but if you're persistent, they will start eating them, and it is well worth the effort. for now tho, i would just focus on eliminating the unhealthy and potentially harmful aspects of their diet and replacing them with the foods i mentioned.

[RBP fan]

i also have another question about rbp's is there a list of fruit or vegatables that made be consider in giving my rbp's jus curious to know.....

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

i know that some people have been able to get theirs to eat peas and other veggies, but they should be able to get everything they need from the foods i listed

[RBP fan]

i know that some people have been able to get theirs to eat peas and other veggies, but they should be able to get everything they need from the foods i listed
thanks jus tryin to get all the info on rbp's is there anything else i should be aware about rbp's?

[JoeDizzleMPLS]

there's plenty more to know, but you'll learn as you go. i would suggest checking out www.opefe.com (http://www.opefe.com), that site definitely contains the most accurate piranha information on the web, you can learn a ton by going there and reading up on things during your down time. otherwise, just read through the other threads here and ask questions if you have em.

[RBP fan]

there's plenty more to know, but you'll learn as you go. i would suggest checking out www.opefe.com (http://www.opefe.com), that site definitely contains the most accurate piranha information on the web, you can learn a ton by going there and reading up on things during your down time. otherwise, just read through the other threads here and ask questions if you have em.
thanks for the info

[razorback182]

if you care for the convicts, move them. when i was new (well, i still am) i mixed in 2 sajicas with my 2 2-inchers.



They are dearly missed.

[Negrodamus]

What is your water change schedule like?what is the filtration like on the tank as well? that tank seems on the small side, hormones released by these fish may inhibit their growth if not properly flushed out via water changes. i would suspect that feeding schedule, and that bioload, you should be changing water once every 2-3 days. but i agree with everyone above, get rid of the non-piranhas, or just come to terms with the fact that one day they will be gone. i have 4 reds in a 75 gallon, and i feed them once a week sometimes, and sometimes i feed them every day. keeping them stuffed is not a good plan to protect other fish. i have had reds turn on each other even after eating a huge meal. its just the nature of the beast.

[RBP fan]

yes i see your point in this topic about the rbp's their back on their regular diets and have been doin good right now.... as for the convicts i'm not bein rude but either way in the food chain i know they wont stay in the tank long there fore i have move them into a feeder tank seperate from the feeders for the oscars and rbp's and convicts

[CichlaRyan]

at 10in my RBP is alone i wont dare add any other tank mates except maybe a tetra but thats it. i mean you have to respect the RBP.