Another one bites the dust............

[rickyricardo]

Man, this upsets me! When I first brought my Piranha home there were 7. They were small, maybe 1-2 inches. Next day there were 6. Never found any sign of the missing one. Within a week another one completely disappeared. Now I kinda expected this. My take on it is they were just weeding out the "Weakest Link!" But at 5 they all started getting along. There was one however that was a little smaller than the rest. He was a one eye. I really thought that he would be next to go, but he hung in there. My fish eat very well. I feed 2-3 times a day with a varied diet. They are now close to 4 inches and looking good. Today I came home from work and only saw 4 of them, sure enough they took another one out. This time I found his head.
Two things bother me about this. One is that they didnt get the smaller one eyed one. The one they killed was equally as big and strong.
Secondly, I have had feeders, from tank cycle in the tank the whole time. They have not once gone for one of them. Why kill one of thier own when there is easier prey in the tank?
I expected to lose one or two in the begining, but it is going to suck to lose any more at this stage of the game.
Any ideas, tips, thoughts....................................

 

[dudey]

what size tank are they in?

 

[bumpylemon]

man thats crazy. i started with 1 piranha and 3 pacu...(sold as piranhas) so i brought t he pacu back....got 4 more piranhas.. they only chased eachother. i never lost one...so thats weird that they attacked them like that...i also made a hug mistake and caught baby native fish and through about 50 in the tank. as soon as they hit the water all 5 started chasing and eating...well i ended up taking out all the bluegill except 3 that i couldnt catch...and low and behold they became friends with the piranhas...they dont go after them....well they did eat one...so now its 2. but i dont know what it is about just a fish here and there. maybe they just like to chase and not kill them lol. keeping there instincts alive...who knows. i plan on adding a caribe around the same size. so i hope all still goes well. maybe the fish they killed had a weakness unseen to humans. you never know.

 

[rickyricardo]

what size tank are they in?

They are in a 110 High.

It turns out that the last one they executed was the one eyed one. I thought for sure he was still in the tank but I was mistaken. So they did get the weak one.

Another interesting thing that I have noticed is their behavior. When I brought them home I remember reading posts about peoples fish being skittish. I used to say to myself "glad that isnt the way my fish act." Mine in the beginnig were the furthest thing from being skittish. They swam around in front of me, bravely swam to the top of the tank to eat. No problems.

Now, their behavior is changing. They are becoming more and more skittish. Take their time going to the top of the tank now as if they dont want to take any chances. It must be something that comes as they get older. Now mind you mine are only a month older than they were when I brought them home but they really have changed. Even their appearance is becoming more apparent. (bellies are turning red, getting thicker and bigger).

Interesting fish.