Feeding Pygocentrus

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I got half a dozen pirayas two months ago. The little guys have almost doubled in size and are now around 4''. They feast on tilapia, catfish, shrimp, and the occasional batch of redworms (~weekly). For the first 6 weeks I fed them 3x/day. Recently, I reduced feedings to 2x/day. It seems like I am doing things right, judging by the fact that a) they're all still alive and not even damaged each other, and b) they have had a nice growth rate. However, I am seeking input from others who have grown out piranhas to get an idea of what's next:

1) They feed immediately, and I remove leftovers after 3 min. If I leave leftovers in, the Ps don't touch them for another 20 min and then only attack them sporadically.

• How long do you all leave the food in your tank?

2) The transition from three to two feedings was easy: They started to ignore food at the third feeding, so I simply stopped offering a third serving. Now they are slowing down regarding how much they each at each of the two daily feedings. However, they always eat.

• When is it time to reduce feedings to 1x/day?

3) As the pirayas' growth slows down, I expect their appetite to slow down as well.

• When can I start skipping a day?
• Fellow Pygo owners, what's your feeding schedule? [I am specifically asking Pygo owners, because a solo P can starve and won't eat itself. Different story when a shoal gets hungry ...]

As always, much obliged!
HarleyK

 

[jp80911]

when I had my reds, I don't really have a set feeding schedule and I never had problem with them. if you have a fixed time to feed them then I believe eventually they'll only get used to eat at those times. with a random schedule they'll eat whenever there's food available because they'll never know when will the next feeding be.

 

[Ohio Entusiast]

Unfortunately I didn't get my Piraya until they were about 4''-5'' long. At that point they ate 4-5 times a day and basically the same diet as yours. At 6''-7'' they would only eat about 3 times a day. At about 8''-9'' they'd eat only once every day and sometimes every other day but would eat more such as whole fillets.

Now they're about 12''-14'' long and will eat about once every 2 days and sometimes longer. They're primary diet is live Black Crappie and I leave one or two in the tank at all times. They ate nightcrawlers yesterday which was the first meal in about 3 days and just got one of the Crappies tonight.

I don't have a set feeding regimen, I basically judge by their actions when they're hungry and offer food when I think they'll take it. Sometimes they'll go 3-4 days without eating.

I'm unsure if any of this is at all helpful but that's my feeding schedule for my Piraya.

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

jp80911

That makes good sense. I am somewhat inflexible with my feeding times because of work. I feed before I leave home, and I feed at night. I used to split that last feeding into 2 (right after I got home and right before the lights went out). But in general, that sounds like a good approach I'd do it if I could.

Ohio Entusiast,

Yes, that is great info. Seems like yours spread their appetite more over the course of a day than mine.
I'd be most curious about your set-up (tank size, how many pirayas). How long did it take them to reach their current 12-14''? While you're at it, feel free to post a few pics

Thanks all, and if there is anyone else out there who grew out Pygos - bring it on

HarleyK

 

[pdsmith]

Howdy,

I got half a dozen pirayas two months ago. The little guys have almost doubled in size and are now around 4''. They feast on tilapia, catfish, shrimp, and the occasional batch of redworms (~weekly). For the first 6 weeks I fed them 3x/day. Recently, I reduced feedings to 2x/day. It seems like I am doing things right, judging by the fact that a) they're all still alive and not even damaged each other, and b) they have had a nice growth rate. However, I am seeking input from others who have grown out piranhas to get an idea of what's next:

1) They feed immediately, and I remove leftovers after 3 min. If I leave leftovers in, the Ps don't touch them for another 20 min and then only attack them sporadically.

• How long do you all leave the food in your tank?

2) The transition from three to two feedings was easy: They started to ignore food at the third feeding, so I simply stopped offering a third serving. Now they are slowing down regarding how much they each at each of the two daily feedings. However, they always eat.

• When is it time to reduce feedings to 1x/day?

3) As the pirayas' growth slows down, I expect their appetite to slow down as well.

• When can I start skipping a day?
• Fellow Pygo owners, what's your feeding schedule? [I am specifically asking Pygo owners, because a solo P can starve and won't eat itself. Different story when a shoal gets hungry ...]

As always, much obliged!
HarleyK

first off nice pick up of Ps.

normally i cut all my fish up before i freeze it into portions so its easier to guage the amount you are feeding. to my solo piraya i give a chunk thats about a half inch cube or a half inch slice of squid tube or a smilar size piece of shrimp, i drop it in and he eats all or most of it. then i go feed my other fish. i feed the caribe untill they are just about to stop eating. after a while you can just tell how much they will eat. i also feed acording to how they react when i approach the tank with food. most of the them are banging off the lid begging like dogs, but some times they arent as interested so i skip the feeding and wait a day then the next day if i skip they are scary to feed they charge the surface as they see your hand. after i feed them i go take out what ever is left so its probably not more than 5-10 min that the food is in the tank.

one thing i want to make clear is that aggression in the tank does NOT i repeat NOT a product of hunger. usually its a territory thing. right now i have a shoal of caribe 7-9 inches and a solo piraya that i am growing out to add to the shoal. i purchased a piraya about 3 moths ago and have fed it once a day everyday since i got it and he is about 4.5 inches right now he was just shy of two inches when i got him. i mix it up with what i feed mainly squid catfish trubot shrimp and other white meat fish. also you can skip a day now if you want. they will pick on the weakest naturally. and they all can turn on one fish no matter if its the weakest or the strongest. canabalism is a reality of the P world and there is not much you can do about it except provide appropriate space. canabalism can happen any time to. when they are 3 inches or when they are 13 inches. most of the time i death is a result of a territorial fight where one gets wounded badly and the others join in.

 

[JON MAYER]

Hey try feeding them floating HIKARI ciclid gold pellets in the red bag. Mine love these things. Plus these pellets have color enhancing additives. It realy brings out the red bellies. Its also cool hearing them bloop the top of the water when they race to the top to grab some.