Piranha Tank Advice

[Zander_The_RBP]

whats wrong with feeding them ham?
thats what my LFS told me to feed them

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH omg thanks for the laugh i really needed it today...... oh your being serious... well.....



When 2 people really love each other and 1 of them happens to be money and the other one happens to be ignorance you end up with a corperate petstore.


Basicaly the petstore told you to feed them ham either one for a sales ploy (people think it's cool when they hear a fish can live off of ham) or 2 they really don't know what they are talking about and are just as clueless as you are. (no offense i just get frustrated when we get posts like this about improper piranha care on a daily basis)

 

[Greez]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH omg thanks for the laugh i really needed it today...... oh your being serious... well.....



When 2 people really love each other and 1 of them happens to be money and the other one happens to be ignorance you end up with a corperate petstore.


Basicaly the petstore told you to feed them ham either one for a sales ploy (people think it's cool when they hear a fish can live off of ham) or 2 they really don't know what they are talking about and are just as clueless as you are. (no offense i just get frustrated when we get posts like this about improper piranha care on a daily basis)

At least you still answer, I read, laugh, roll my eyes and move on to the next post

 

[BobberBiker]

then tell me exactly what is wrong with it instead of smart ass comments.
aint learning nothing here other than stupid replies. if its so bad then why?
what is harmful to them in ham? mine lived on it for about 9 months and grew nicely, no problems at all so i cant see how its bad?

 

[fisher12889]

Nine months isn't very long to have a fish... ham is very fatty, and fish need a lean diet.

 

[Zander_The_RBP]

then tell me exactly what is wrong with it instead of smart ass comments.
aint learning nothing here other than stupid replies. if its so bad then why?
what is harmful to them in ham? mine lived on it for about 9 months and grew nicely, no problems at all so i cant see how its bad?

did they only live 9 months ? if so that's whats wrong with it look how long they lived. Do you know the proper lifespan of a piranha (pretty standard among almost all aqaurium fish) 10- 15 YEARS! not 2 weeks, not 6 months, not 9 months, 10 YEARS.



ham is bad because Pigs are mammals, mammals have different protiens and fats in their meat the piranhas relatively primitive digestive system cannot break down these fat's properly so really they don't get much out of the ham they are eating (they basicaly starve). Not to mention the fat's they do somewhat absorb prbably end up clotting up their veins and arteries.


if ham is all you fed them that's even worse. piranhas need a diverse diet i feed mine everything from catfish fillets to chunks of whole mackeral and shrimp and sometimes peices of squid or octopus as well i very often give them carnivorous fish pellets (which really improved their colour since i started feeding them that)


people on this forum (me included) get very frustrated when people cite "the local fish store" as the reason they are doing something wrong becuase we hear it to often. the petstores (most anyway) will say anything to make a sale or sometimes even they don't know what the proper care is.

i overreacted i should have been less harsh on you as we are all here to learn. And on behalf of those who gave you overly sarcastic responses i apologize

 

[boldtogether]

then tell me exactly what is wrong with it instead of smart ass comments.
aint learning nothing here other than stupid replies. if its so bad then why?
what is harmful to them in ham? mine lived on it for about 9 months and grew nicely, no problems at all so i cant see how its bad?

Ham is cured in brine and has very little nutritional value other than protein. You would be better off feeding them the heart of the animal as this is more lean and organ tissue has more nutritional value than muscle tissue. The occasional peice thrown in for fun or whatever is fine as long as they are getting a variety of other things.
My Piranha did excellent on market shrimp, smelt, silver sides and mackrel( yes, it stinks!)
They also ate large earthworms(6"-8"), large grasshoppers and the occasional lizard, pinky and even feeder.
I think most people here get frustrated when the OP asks the question, " any suggestions on decor for my tank?" And what they should be asking is should I keep this fish or not? Or, am I ABLE to keep this fish at this time or not?
Keep your fish and feed your fish at your discretion, but dont be surprised or offended if your fish keeping practices get scrutinized especially on a FISH KEEPING FORUM.

 

[scottswald]

i know that, i only plan to keep 2 baby red bellys.

any other number but two mate...

last time i had a standard tropical filter but it wasnt enough because i was feeding them meat

what is a tropical filter?

whats wrong with feeding them ham?
thats what my LFS told me to feed them

little nutritional value.

 

[scottswald]

Filtration should also be very good as these fish will not take pellet food,.

eh? of course they can, they do in a lot of cases. mine eat pellets too...

 

[CODzilla]

then tell me exactly what is wrong with it instead of smart ass comments.
aint learning nothing here other than stupid replies. if its so bad then why?
what is harmful to them in ham? mine lived on it for about 9 months and grew nicely, no problems at all so i cant see how its bad?

Sorry if we come across as smart arses but we see people asking these questions often and despite several pages of good advice from experienced fish keepers the guy asking the question often convinces himself he is right and goes ahead with something that will not work anyway.

Forget everything that a LFS tells you about keeping fish, it's their job to get you to buy fish and they will tell you what you want to hear in order for you to do so. Take your advice from the people who actually keep these fish or have researched them properly and decided they can't accommodate their needs just yet.

There is already some very good advice in this thread and you could spend some time on the Piranha forum: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=21

Also if you are getting the 6ft tank in 2 months why not just wait until you have it? You could spend that time reading up on them and making sure it will be a success when you get them.

 

[bkbrianbk]

^Well said