go for it i say m8, u can only try it and learn for yourself eh, what harm will it do if they arnt the fish for you.
Planning RBP Tank
- Thread starter austrian_predator
- Start date
austrian_predator;2632049; said:so i could actually easily keep 5-6 rbp's in a 150g tank?
wow, i didn't expect that because the redbellies at my zoo were really huge...maybe they were pirayas after all? i'll get 6 if that's true, after all one or two casualties are to be expected during the first year, right? cannibalism and stuff
and if all 6 survive, well no problem, the tank can hold them
as for the filter, i read that a filter fit for double the tank size would be ok, e.g. a 300g/hour for a 150g tank, but i'll go ahead and believe you that a 4-5x the rate is better
but wouldn't a 600g/hour filter be pretty costly? and also loud? not to mention that i might have a hard time finding such a huge filter in any local shop...
according to several piranha-specific forums, not all piranhas are skittish, and the ones i saw at the zoo yesterday were certainly not skittish
maybe a tad bit boring and not very active, yes, but not skittish
i'm prepared that piranhas might not be the most exciting fish at first but i'm sure it will be very rewarding in the long term
ps: thanks for the link, very helpful site
I've never set a tank that size up for RBP's but I have heard of people using multiple big volume hang on back filters. Yeah it is quite costly. RBP's rip food into pieces and those pieces rot and foul the water. Also because they eat large amounts of meaty foods they excrete a lot of waste. They're a dirty fish and need lots of filtration. Speaking of feeding, wait until you start feeding a hungry shoal of picky, probably wild caught, carnivorous piranhas. That's certainly not exactly cheap. Although I've heard of people feeding piranhas pellets, I wouldn't count on a whole shoal of RBP's being weaned onto commercial food. Frozen shrimp seems to be the most popular staple food. Also any kind of whitefish really, the fresher the better. Avoid barbs, goldfish, and other cyprinids. These are the standard feeders found in nearly every fish store, but they are really bad for fish. If you feed live fish then feed tetras and cichlids. Cyprinids contain high levels of a b vitamin inhibiting hormone which stunts the fishes growth, and can lead to disease like hole in the head. Also they're usually full of parasites.
I had 10 reds in a 125g and yes the left over food does rot away if you dont get it out of the tank, just make sure you have ample filtertion to compensate as they are very messy fish to keep, They would eat anything i put in their apart from pellets, that was 1 thing that they would not touch.
ok i didn't consider multiple filters, that's probably the best option...of course i'll move all scraps out of the aquarium immediately after feeding timeDiogenes;2643351; said:
i will try to get captive bred rbps, because they seem to be less aggressive and if i get them small, i can probably get them to eat pellets/shrimp
also, they're probably cheaper, right?
as for live food, i'll try to avoid it because i'm not really a fan of animals suffering, even if it's for the wellbeing of of other animals
at least, i'll avoid bigger feeders that will suffer, i'll only feed them stuff that dies by the first 2 bites
i've already heard of the parasites and growth stunting hormons in goldfish and relatives, i'll keep those at least 120m from my rbp tank
i guess mollys/guppies are ok as feeders?
because i might try to establish a population in the tank as the rbps become bigger
not really meant as feeders but rather as eye candy for me, and the occasional snack for the piranhas
as for normal food, i considered breeding some insects in a small terrarium to reduce feeding costs
would something like crickets be ok?
of course only as a feeding supplement, the main diet would consist of frozen shrimp/fish
being an avid fisherman, i guess i could also catch some of the food for my piranhas...what can i do to be sure that there are no parasites in the fish? would it be ok for the piranhas to eat it if i cooked it (without spice or salt, obviously)?
thanks for your advice!
ps:are there special quarantine tanks which are divided into several small tanks?
because i'd like to quarantine my fish individually...the piranhas at least
also, how long should quarantine last?
@ bigcols: isn't 125g a bit small for 10 rbps? or were they small, juvenile ones?
if your adding all the pygos at once and thats all thats going to be in there apart from the livebearers then i would say quarantine is unnecessary.
I don't see why livebearers would be incompatile with the pygos, aside from the fact that the pygos will eat them, especially when they grow up. I would cycle with some livebearers, leave em in, maybe get some more, and then introduce my pygos to the tank. A that point maybe they will have setup a little breeding colony and the piranhas won't wipe them out quite as quickly.
I don't see why livebearers would be incompatile with the pygos, aside from the fact that the pygos will eat them, especially when they grow up. I would cycle with some livebearers, leave em in, maybe get some more, and then introduce my pygos to the tank. A that point maybe they will have setup a little breeding colony and the piranhas won't wipe them out quite as quickly.
if your adding all the pygos at once and thats all thats going to be in there apart from the livebearers then i would say quarantine is unnecessary.
I don't see why livebearers would be incompatile with the pygos, aside from the fact that the pygos will eat them, especially when they grow up. I would cycle with some livebearers, leave em in, maybe get some more, and then introduce my pygos to the tank. A that point maybe they will have setup a little breeding colony and the piranhas won't wipe them out quite as quickly.
I don't see why livebearers would be incompatile with the pygos, aside from the fact that the pygos will eat them, especially when they grow up. I would cycle with some livebearers, leave em in, maybe get some more, and then introduce my pygos to the tank. A that point maybe they will have setup a little breeding colony and the piranhas won't wipe them out quite as quickly.
woah thats a sweet profile pic. You keep crayfish with your pygos?cjs4873;2644140; said:And i have them now, and they are living nicely with my Reds.
