Feeding Behavior Has Changed ):

[RedBellyRhen]

When I first got my RBP when I dropped their food in they would just rip their food to shreds, but I have noticed that lately they just take a few nibbles of their food. Perhaps it's because I had switched from shrimp to beef? However, when I first started feeding them beef they went crazy for it. I'm going to try and get them onto pellets, but would the change in feeding behavior be due to the change in what i am feeding them?

 

[Zander_The_RBP]

why are you feeding beef ? as stated (mostly by me) numerous times in the piranha nutrition thread they so rarely feed on beef naturaly (or any mammal for that matter) and it's very unhealthy for them they probably don't like the taste as much as the shrimp (they naturaly feed on crustaceans in the wild so it makes sense that they enjoy it much more)


stick with shrimp, fish fillet and octopus/squid and you won't be disapointed with their feeding response


when you started feeding them beef they were probably so acustomed to getting good food that they went for it right away and it took them a few feedings to realise they were being fed sometihng that (to them) tastes nasty

 

[RedBellyRhen]

why are you feeding beef ? as stated (mostly by me) numerous times in the piranha nutrition thread they so rarely feed on beef naturaly (or any mammal for that matter) and it's very unhealthy for them they probably don't like the taste as much as the shrimp (they naturaly feed on crustaceans in the wild so it makes sense that they enjoy it much more)


stick with shrimp, fish fillet and octopus/squid and you won't be disapointed with their feeding response


when you started feeding them beef they were probably so acustomed to getting good food that they went for it right away and it took them a few feedings to realise they were being fed sometihng that (to them) tastes nasty

Well i started feeding them beef before i found this wonderful forum, and occasionally i let lose a handful of live ghost shrimp (from my friend's personal collony she uses to feed her fishies so i know they are in good condition and safe to feed my piranhas) and they love chasing them around, alright umm what type of fish should i feed them? I know to stay away from Salmon and other really oily fish.

 

[Zander_The_RBP]

imo really oily fish shouldn't be fed consistently but that dosen't mean you can't use it but the main part of their diet should be white fleshed fish (tilapia and catfish are great choices) and then a crustacean of some sort (shrimp or something like that) and then maybe a type of mollusk (squid cuttlefish, or octopus)


i feed mine catfish,mackeral (once a week only becuase it's oily be sure to do a water change soon after to remove any oils in the water), shrimp, octopus and hikari massivore pellets


oily fish can be part of a piranhas diet but really shouldn't make up more than 15-20% of it and you may want to do more water changes if your feeding them sometihng really oily i feed mine mackeral becuase i can get it whole (organs and all) so it's more nuitritious to the piranhas than fillets and it's dirt cheap ($3 for 8, 10"-14" fish)

maybe give the piranhas beef heart or chicken heart as a treat once or twice a month

 

[RedBellyRhen]

imo really oily fish shouldn't be fed consistently but that dosen't mean you can't use it but the main part of their diet should be white fleshed fish (tilapia and catfish are great choices) and then a crustacean of some sort (shrimp or something like that) and then maybe a type of mollusk (squid cuttlefish, or octopus)


i feed mine catfish,mackeral (once a week only becuase it's oily be sure to do a water change soon after to remove any oils in the water), shrimp, octopus and hikari massivore pellets


oily fish can be part of a piranhas diet but really shouldn't make up more than 15-20% of it and you may want to do more water changes if your feeding them sometihng really oily i feed mine mackeral becuase i can get it whole (organs and all) so it's more nuitritious to the piranhas than fillets and it's dirt cheap ($3 for 8, 10"-14" fish)

maybe give the piranhas beef heart or chicken heart as a treat once or twice a month

alright thank you very much!!!!!!