Im just looking for some of the more experienced keepers on the board to chime in. people who have kept pygocentrus caribe and pygocentrus piraya together. what are your opinions about mixing fish that wouldnt normally shoal with eachother in the wild. i remember master k posting some videos of a mixed shoal and it was very inspireing. i know there are some secrets do doing it, as well as i know there are alot of risks involved.im looking for people who have shoaled a mix or just piraya. secrets to success are hidden but i know there out there.please share thank you
Mixing Pygos
- Thread starter frontosablkrhom
- Start date
jp80911;3457020; said:
i know having a big tank and lots of water changes are key along with being well well fed, where have the mixed shoal keepers gone? lets hear some experiences........... please
Mac-100;3457189; said:
a 72 gallon tank???thats pretty small please tell me you upgraded?
i am also looking for an experienced piraya keeper ( someone who has had a shoal of piraya for more than a year). please i know there has to be someone out there who has the knowledge i am looking for
frontosablkrhom;3459397; said:a 72 gallon tank???thats pretty small please tell me you upgraded?
i am also looking for an experienced piraya keeper ( someone who has had a shoal of piraya for more than a year). please i know there has to be someone out there who has the knowledge i am looking for
They lasted a while together without attacking eachother I was feeding them shrimp, chicken, feeders, pork... Eventually the piraya got sick and died after over a year. I was working a lot and busy so I gave the reds away and kept the caribe(this was in 2004, I no longer have the caribe either now) The tank worked fine, biggest I had at the time but I definitely wouldnt call it a permanant home for 6 of them.
I have kept species shoals of rbp caribe and piraya. and mixed shoals too. the key is good amount of tank space and cover. sooooo many ppl think that it cannabalism and aggression comes from hunger. this is NOT true. i mean obv if you have a big shoal and don't feed them for weeks then its possible. but usually it has to do with territory. they fight over it and then if one gets tagged real bad the often everyone else joins in. tank space and cover are key. losses can come anytime from when they are young juvis to full adult ps.
I have kept mixed pygo's for about 4 years. From tanks as small as 55Gallons to tanks up to 720 Gallons.
I have had 2 pass during this time...
I find I read a lot of people adding fish to an established tank (ie: I have 12 in a tank, then pick up a great deal in the classifieds and add them to the tank also) it's not going to work out very well.
Another thing I find a lot of people do is stress them out a lot. No hiding spaces, lots of lights, not enough water changes.
I have heard of some people getting rid of a certian fish due to it being "territorial" - never run into that with the pygo's I have kept though.
One of my losses was a large Caribe - he seemed to be moving slugish the few days before his death and had a cloudy eye. My thought therefore is that he was weak, and for whatever reason (not able to defend territory, not able to get out of someone's territory quick enough, was the weakest of the pack - thus they got rid of him.... I have no idea, not smart enough to know) So, maybe would be a good idea to keep a 40 gallon tank around so that if one gets sick, you can stick him in there. Does not need to be set up all the time - if you need it, take 30 gallons of water out of the main tank, put it in the 40 gallon, then place a canister/HOB filter on the 40 Gallon - voila - you have a hospital tank set up quickly.
I think with a bit of observation, you can easily keep a mixed shoal.
I have had 2 pass during this time...
I find I read a lot of people adding fish to an established tank (ie: I have 12 in a tank, then pick up a great deal in the classifieds and add them to the tank also) it's not going to work out very well.
Another thing I find a lot of people do is stress them out a lot. No hiding spaces, lots of lights, not enough water changes.
I have heard of some people getting rid of a certian fish due to it being "territorial" - never run into that with the pygo's I have kept though.
One of my losses was a large Caribe - he seemed to be moving slugish the few days before his death and had a cloudy eye. My thought therefore is that he was weak, and for whatever reason (not able to defend territory, not able to get out of someone's territory quick enough, was the weakest of the pack - thus they got rid of him.... I have no idea, not smart enough to know) So, maybe would be a good idea to keep a 40 gallon tank around so that if one gets sick, you can stick him in there. Does not need to be set up all the time - if you need it, take 30 gallons of water out of the main tank, put it in the 40 gallon, then place a canister/HOB filter on the 40 Gallon - voila - you have a hospital tank set up quickly.
I think with a bit of observation, you can easily keep a mixed shoal.
Mac-100;3459899; said:
Well if you were feeding them pork in an overstoked tank it was quite normal that some of your fish, in this case the piraya, passed away....
Armand;3462641; said:Well if you were feeding them pork in an overstoked tank it was quite normal that some of your fish, in this case the piraya, passed away....
not some...1 and it didnt die from eating pork lol. so not sure where your comment is going. Believe it or not there was no territorial issue in the tank, 6 of them were fine swimming in there for that time, the fish just became sick and passed within a quick time period.