Starting a tank

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Joe5688

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 7, 2005
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Well right now i got i think a 15g tank but i'm not sure. I have some starter fish in there to get the water ready. I plan on getting some p's and i had some questions.

1. What should the temp be. Right now i'm at about 76-78 degrees.
2. How sucessful would i be with 2 piranha's?
3. Anything else i should know :)

Thanks. any help is appreciated
 
Joe, First let me Welcome you to MFK! :grinyes: Your Idea of starting off with two piranha's in a 15 gallon tank may be a none-win-situation as these fish mature to larger and more aggressive fish. I would not recommend Two in a 15 gallon. I would stay with one, about 2 1/2 inches (a Baby) for a tank that size. Then you can start getting ready to get a larger tank for your Fish-Eater as it matures. Your temp. is right on the money and your PH should be between 6.7 and 7.5. Piranha's are cool fish to have and very active to watch when feeding. White Spot and Cloud Eye are some of the major illnesses that they get and constant water changes and good filtration will lessen the chances of these disease occurring. By the way, If you wanted too, You could put two very young Piranhas in the tank, but you would have to give them a larger tank when they get at least 3 inches. Good Luck and I hope this helps. Rock-On! :headbang2
 
yeah, the ones i'm getting are really tiny! they are like 1" lol thanks for the info
 
also, when should my light turn on and off? Just turn it on when it starts gettin dark and off when i go to bed?

one more thing. i just measured the just glass of my tank. It came out to be about 10"W x 11 1/2" H x 20 1/2" L

Estimate how many gallons is in my tank lol?
 
I turn the lights on in the morning and of at night, about 12hrs light per day, I have had lights on dimmers but they are hard to find, room lights, then tank lights a few minutes later seems to work. Gallon size is HxWxL in inchs divided by 231, (11 1/2x 10x 20 1/2 = 2357.5) divided by 231 = approx 10.2g but that is the out side measurements, very close to 10G.
 
guppy said:
I turn the lights on in the morning and of at night, about 12hrs light per day, I have had lights on dimmers but they are hard to find, room lights, then tank lights a few minutes later seems to work. Gallon size is HxWxL in inchs divided by 231, (11 1/2x 10x 20 1/2 = 2357.5) divided by 231 = approx 10.2g but that is the out side measurements, very close to 10G.
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u have them on all day? What if u have light from the day in your room?
 
I don't think piranhas need any artificial light if there is going to be normal daylight. In the nature they live in a rather darker environments (choose a darker substrat). Lights are needed for YOU to be able to enjoy them. That's if you won't be having any live plants.

Rbp don't like to be alone, 2 would fight for dominance so 3+ should be oks. 20 gal a fish is the minimum.

I am new to this myself, this is the sum of my research so far - any corrections will help me out too.

Regards
 
I like heavily planted tanks and I make sure they don't get direct sunlight.
 
you could start with a very small serra in there since they grow slow....but red belly piranhas which are the most common piranhas in lfs grow rapidly to 6"....one 6" piranha in a 10g isnt a good idea......if u have some cash go grab a 20g long.....which would be ok for any piranha for a good amount of time as long as they are babies when u buy them....the idea of trying to keep three in a 10g is going to end up bad....piranhas in their juvenile stage are very hungry all the time and are also very cannibalistic.....also piranhas are strictly bottom swimmers.....so the height of the tank you buy in the future doesnt really matter they are more comfortable and interested in the length of the tank....i recommend a 55g if u have the money to start out 3 rbps that way they have plenty of room to grow and could live for years in it.....
 
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