Im back and need help

[all_or_nothin]

Okay guys, i haven't been here in probaly a year. I downsized and now have only two tanks and my 55g freshwater tank has 3 shell dwelling cichlids, one sleeper goby, one angelfish, and a crappie.(bad stock i know) I'm going to attempt to fix that but i would like some good advice from you piranha keepers.

I have sand, petrified wood, and some plastic plants. Should i take the sand out before getting piranhas? It should make it easier to clean but hard to get out. How would you suggest getting the sand out? Also they have red bellies and i was thinking about getting those. I could special order some piranhas but i wouldnt have an amazing selection and most likely couldnt get spilos. I have a HOB filter that flows 400gph and i have a in tank filter i used for turtles back in the day. haha but what are your suggestions?

 

[TheAlmostPanda]

I imagine that the sand will be helpful when cleaning up after those messy eaters however I am very new to this and so not very helpful, cheers

 

[jp80911]

sand substrate is pretty easy to clean since all the waste pretty much stays on top. With HOB filter I would suggest you keep the intake further above the substrate and/or add a prefilter to the intake so the sand wont' damage the filter.

 

[wcong2]

STRONGLY suggest to get rid of the sand. they are not only messy eaters, they POO a lot too! you will spend most of your time cleaning their waste.

I kept 10 RBP in a 100G with sands, driftwood, and some plants but eventually, only the driftwood stays. unless you are using UGF, i strongly suggest you to forget about the sands.

 

[MFNRyan]

I prefer the sand over the gravel. Sand keeps the waste up top and you can see it, so you tend to clean it out more which helps keep the water cleaner. Just make sure the intake tube is up higher or has some foam in the lower part to help keep the sand grains out of the filter motor. Also before you add the RBP and after you take the other fish out, I would boost your BB by adding some shrimp or something to the tank and spiking ammonia. Juvy reds can really make a mess of your params in a hurry if not properly cycled and having such a low turn over rate you will need to extra BB to fight the ammonia these guys will produce. I would look into more filtration and would also not get anymore then 3 or maybe 4 reds. good luck and I think you will love them

 

[fishylee]

Looking to not buy and not sell. Looking to find a nice home for a 25 inch Red Bellied Pacu. Let me know