Hi, I am in need of some good advice here. I manage an animal collection at a college and this week we were asked to take on a tank and 5 piranha. It was an emergency situation as these fish had been abandoned so the whole thing had to be done in 2 days. All the usual rules of fish movement and tank setting up were out of the window. The filter had been left discontected over night and there was no spare tank to house them. These are large fish - around 10-12inches and 4years old. The water was beyond disgusting. The fish themselves have red tumour like growths, general lumps and bumps, some seem to have some bruising and some have cloudy eyes and growths on their eyes. I'm amazed they all survived the move. We were able to house them overnight in a warm terrapin pool while we transported the tank and filled it. We used mature water from the terrapin pool along with around 70% dechlorinated tap water. I'm torn between euthanising them or attempting to treat them. If I post some pictures would anybody be able to give me some advice please. It's a 650l tank with a fluval fx6 filter.
Piranha rescues
- Thread starter Helen Murphy
- Start date
post pics, if they aren't lethargic or laying on the bottom I say give it a shot and treat them. Water quality-borne illnesses and problems can usually be rectified by fixing the water quality in general without much needed in the way of medication. a little salt, clean water and time.
Thanks. I'm prepared to give them a go - I hadn't really seen them properly until today - we couldn't see the. Very well in the pool and I covered it up to keep them as stress free as possible. So far they have refused food but that's not surprising. They seem more relaxed now they are back in the tank and are swimming normally. I was going to use an anti bacteria treatment with salt to support?
judging by those pics I wouldn't use any medication at all. Pristine water conditions and salt and I bet you they all clear right up, in fact only one has cloudy eye from what I can see and its not even that bad.
good looking fish too
good looking fish too
Thank you so much I feel loads better. There are 2 with cloudy eyes. They don't look that bad on the photos really. Fingers crossed they improve with the right care. I've only kept community fish before so these guys are a fascinating change.
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predatorkeeper87
stated not as bad as I expected good parameters and clean water like stated.
Welcome aboard ☺
Welcome aboard ☺
you'd be surprised by piranhas ability to heal from injuries. with proper care these guys will be fine.
Good on you for rescuing these guys. Looks like they somehow survived ok aside from that white fluff on the first one. They have a lot of potential, keep us posted. Maybe you can set them up in a huge tank in one of the student areas at the college!
sure thing, those are some good looking piranha, you don't see them that size often. Good luck with them!
Thank you. We have set them up for students to work with. They will learn loads from this. I wish the tank was a bit bigger but maybe that's something for next year.