Nutrition and Water Parameter

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Confidence

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 10, 2010
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just curious, currently wondering if my diet for my p's is good enough.

Freeze Dried Worms
Shrimp Pellets
Night crawlers
The Occasional Guppie

Also wonder exactly what some one means by using the word Water Parameters? Such as Ammonia and ph and nitrates ect?

Edit: Also when these things get bigger how do you clean the tank got four in a 75g, some ppl say diff wayss others say they wont harm you? jsut curious first p tank
 
Your diet sounds good man. Personally i'd work in some market fish though. Talipia is usually when i find the cheapest fillet. Just cut it into daily portions and place them in baggies to put in the freezer. Morning or night before that you want to feed them fish, take it out, let it thaw and then cut them into bit size pieces and toss in tank. You can also use tank water to help defrost it faster.

The how to clean the tank thing, i feel like we've already gone over this. You're right everyone may say something a lil different but there's basically 2 train of thoughts. Some people respect but don't fear their piranhas and just go in and do things as if they were any other type of fish. Others are more cautious and put a divider up or keep a net in one hand to fend them off.

Keep in mind alot of people have different type of Piranhas so their advice may vary (IE people may be more scared of the solitary species then the shoaling species). Could be why you're getting different answers.

You've got the right idea with water params also
 
ballinouttacntrol;4404517; said:
Your diet sounds good man. Personally i'd work in some market fish though. Talipia is usually when i find the cheapest fillet. Just cut it into daily portions and place them in baggies to put in the freezer. Morning or night before that you want to feed them fish, take it out, let it thaw and then cut them into bit size pieces and toss in tank. You can also use tank water to help defrost it faster.

The how to clean the tank thing, i feel like we've already gone over this. You're right everyone may say something a lil different but there's basically 2 train of thoughts. Some people respect but don't fear their piranhas and just go in and do things as if they were any other type of fish. Others are more cautious and put a divider up or keep a net in one hand to fend them off.

Keep in mind alot of people have different type of Piranhas so their advice may vary (IE people may be more scared of the solitary species then the shoaling species). Could be why you're getting different answers.

You've got the right idea with water params also
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cool thanks for info bro, i know u told me about it just hearing diff things ya know, rather be cautious then a bite in my arm, currently im also adding small portions of raw market chicken, ill start on fish to... but chicken is just about the same right?
 
Yeah your diet seems good you may find that buying shrimp or prawns at your grocery store is cheaper than buying shrimp pellets but i would advise against tiger shrimp as they are known to contain moderate amounts of thiaminase in their tissues. Prawns or "white" shrimp are perfect.

Adding some type of fish to your piranhas diet is good too tilapia as suggested is great another alternative that's usualy very cheap (mostly becuase it's viwed as a garbage fish) is basa catfish my piranhas really enjoy it it's a redder looking meat than tilapia but not oily in any sense of the word.

I prefer to avoid tihngs like chicken and beef heart/liver etc they tend to be high in fat and low in protein and fish may have difficulty digesting them not to mention that fish has them beat in terms of nuitritional value.


Nightcrawlers are also very good for your fish they are high in protein and low in fat and are packed full of lots of nutrients. I prefer superworms (large flower beetle larvae commonly fed to large reptiles) as they are less soft and make less mess.

For whatever reason insects and lower lifeforms have everything else beat on protein(and most other nutrients) per weight, but diversity is key to any diet.


Water parameters are simply anything to do with the chemical makeup of your water. There are lots of different parameters that we can't even test for(an example being total dissolved solids) and numerous ones that don't really make a ounce of difference in a tank environment(Iron levels being one of them unelss your growing plants) Generaly speaking when people ask for your water parameters they are looking for these things (listed in order of importance)

Ammonia (NH3 or NH4+) this should always be at 0

Nitrite (NO2) this should always be at 0

Nitrate (NO3) this can be anywhere between 0-50 depending on how nuts you are about water quality)

pH(Needs to be stable any swings at water change time and you have issues, keep it the same as your tap water)

KH (carbonate hardness, How many dissolved CO3 (carbonate) ions are in your water, basicaly the ability of your water to resist pH swings ) *

GH(general hardness, total dissolved calcium and magnesium)*

* these last 2 barely matter at all and many people don't even ask for them if you can give them all those other levels usualy a person can figure out what's wrong with your tank.


Cleaning the tank is easy My 6 red bellies are between 6-8 inches now and about 2 inches of girth on the largest one and they are still nervous nutjobs what you absolutely DO NOT want to do is back one into a corner THAT is when you WILL get bitten but generaly they will be chilling at the other end of the tank and won't bother you at all.
 
Oh no problem man, maybe you should consider asking specific people in here so you aren't getting the same answers from the same people. You can send them a simple PM and ask about their personal experience. Also, try to weed out the people who aren't or have never kept piranhas. There's alot of misinformation out there. I've heard people say stuff like my cousin wears chain mail gloves, hahaha

PS. I'd kick the chicken also.
 
warlord651;4404882; said:
thanks for you info. my PH varies from time to time, doesnt seem to bother my p's heard they are hardy on ph any way
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Just out of curiosity when exactly does your PH value change - ie; different at night then day, different when the lights on or off, after water changes, just swings from whenever, and do you had PH buffers or Bottled water ?
 
Otherone;4405513; said:
Just out of curiosity when exactly does your PH value change - ie; different at night then day, different when the lights on or off, after water changes, just swings from whenever, and do you had PH buffers or Bottled water ?
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i havent looked at it that close it doesnt change drastically, i do not have ph buffers....
 
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