Potential piranha problem

[jb_1290]

Hi guys. Been reading threads from this forum for a while now, thought I’d post my first thread. I’ve recently got a baby red belly piranha from a friend who had an over stocked tank. The baby is in a 75 gallon tank. After the first week of owning, I’ve noticed he’s started to scratch his body against the bog wood in the tank, swimming up to it, angling himself and swimming against it with speed. I consider my water quality to be good. My PH is a consistent 6.4, nitrites and ammonia at 0. Admittedly I have had a nitrate issue on going for the last week, a reading of 20pmm to 40ppm which I’m hoping will reduce with water changes. Is the scratching and thrashing something I should be concerned about? I’ve read it can be a sign of poor water quality so I’m a little worried he isn’t doing as well as I think.. I’m feeding blood worm, white fish fillet and bribe shrimp. All frozen. I also have live plants in the tank, a sand substrate and some Galapagos rock. I remove any left over food immediately after feeding and keep up with gravel vaccing.

Any information is greatly appreciated!

Thanks guys.

 

[kno4te]

Could be from poor water quality, skin irritation and change in gH with water changes. Would watch and keep the nitrates down. Remove sharp decor. Should get used to the new water parameters. Would watch for any sign of skin porblems(ich etc).

 

[jb_1290]

Thanks for your reply. Any advice on improving water quality?

 

[kno4te]

Thanks for your reply. Any advice on improving water quality?

Short of adding live plants, reducing feeding schedule to every other day, algae scrubber and water changes. Not much else.

 

[tlindsey]

Everything kno4te stated but suggest be consistent with water changes. 50% or more weekly and keep filters free of waste.

 

[kno4te]

Everything kno4te stated but suggest be consistent with water changes. 50% or more weekly and keep filters free of waste.

Yes. Forgot about how much. Can also ridx to help keep filters clean.

 

[Matteus]

Are you noticing any white spots on its fins at all? Sometimes fish will flash like that when they are about to break out with ich.

 

[Drstrangelove]

Agreed. I'd ask your friend if he's seeing any flashing in his tank. If some of those fish have the same symptoms, I'd toss ich into the mix as a potential issue, especially if he just added any new specimens to his tank.

 

[Galantspeedz]

Am I missing something?

Ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate 20-40ppm consider as bad water?

 

[kno4te]

Am I missing something?

Ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate 20-40ppm consider as bad water?

No. That’s good. The lower the better.