RBP's being difficult!!!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
What size tank do you have. I have 15 in a 200 gal and they do that all the time. They get picky but they do eat it if I leave it in there long enough. I go from frozen to live and back. Some times they just get jumpy. How old are they? Have they started to turn black? Mine get real jumpy when they are breeding. If hey don't eat in a week or two then I'd worry. I feed mine about every 5 days. They have been good for 2 years now. I just had 4 more spawnings the other day.

Good luck
 
ssg aldridge;4290161; said:
What size tank do you have. I have 15 in a 200 gal and they do that all the time. They get picky but they do eat it if I leave it in there long enough. I go from frozen to live and back. Some times they just get jumpy. How old are they? Have they started to turn black? Mine get real jumpy when they are breeding. If hey don't eat in a week or two then I'd worry. I feed mine about every 5 days. They have been good for 2 years now. I just had 4 more spawnings the other day.

Good luck
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he said in the first post they're 5 inches so they're most likely nearing a year old. Too early for breeding. How are your fry doing from the original batch? Any new pics? I remember your wife accidently stimulated the dry season while you were gone. lol


I wonder if the OP is just feeding them too often. 5-6 inches they don't need to eat daily.
 
ballinouttacntrol;4290314; said:
I wonder if the OP is just feeding them too often. 5-6 inches they don't need to eat daily.
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Yeah I did have them feeding once a day. I will back off a little and see how that fares. Im getting clashing answers to two seperate problems tho, because i had posted a few days ago somewhere on here (excuse the lack of a reference post, i just got in from closing my bar down and dont have the strength :irked: ) that I had a problem with them nipping and fighting a lot and the answer i got there was to bacically keep them well fed.

I will back off feeding for a few days, do a significant water change, moreso than my regular 10% weekly, and moniter the situation from there.

I greatly appreciate everyone taking the time to respond to my posts.
Joining the MFK forum was probably the best thing I have done since getting into the hobby. you guys rock :headbang2
 
I am just a beginner piranha keeper, but yeah they are skittish at first, but then they start to settle in, now mine are starting to follow me when I walk past the tank. I took everyones advice on here and just spent a lot of time in front of the tank. It also is located in a high traffic area. I'm still trying to find the happy medium on feeding schedule, tryin to mix it up so its not at the same time everyday. They seem more comfy eating in the early morning around 7am, any later and it seems they just ignore the food.....
 
Mailm4n;4291092; said:
Yeah I did have them feeding once a day. I will back off a little and see how that fares. Im getting clashing answers to two seperate problems tho, because i had posted a few days ago somewhere on here (excuse the lack of a reference post, i just got in from closing my bar down and dont have the strength :irked: ) that I had a problem with them nipping and fighting a lot and the answer i got there was to bacically keep them well fed.

I will back off feeding for a few days, do a significant water change, moreso than my regular 10% weekly, and moniter the situation from there.

I greatly appreciate everyone taking the time to respond to my posts.
Joining the MFK forum was probably the best thing I have done since getting into the hobby. you guys rock :headbang2
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Yeah, overfeeding is great when they're small but your's are reaching sub adult size. Many people here can tell you no matter how much you feed, when they decide to take one of their own out, it's gone and it usually has lil to do with food availability or hunger.

Someone once told me that once they reach 6 inches or so you don't have to worry about cannabalism as much. Hopefully that makes you feel a lil bit more comfortable about changing the feeding schedule.

how big of a tank you have them in btw?
 
I would do more than 10% water changes per week. Piranha are messy. I would do 25% water changes per week. Clean fresh water make em grow better also
 
My Big Boys easily chow 2 silverslides daily - the lil' guys half of one, however higher protien contents like raw shrimp fill them up. They won't eat for several days after. I'd imagine chicken might do the same. I'm sure it's been mentioned before but it can take years before Piranha are large enuff to feel 100% comfortable. More often then not they are "feed and forget" fish as juvi's and sub-adults. Even as adults there is a slim chance a shoal will be as interactive and energenic as a tank full of cichlids. Piranha owners who buy them small and raise them to adulthood gotta be in it for the longhaul because there is most definately "the Wait."
 
PayaraMan;4291166; said:
Hearing these stories make me not want a piranha, They just seem to skittish for my likings.
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maybe wild piranha are but not if they were raised in a tank. People on here say they enjoy dim light but I think its how they were raised. Mine are actually afraid of the dark. I turn off the lights and they all go hide. Its only when I turn on the lights that they come out and swim around.

Otherone;4294318; said:
My Big Boys easily chow 2 silverslides daily - the lil' guys half of one, however higher protien contents like raw shrimp fill them up. They won't eat for several days after. I'd imagine chicken might do the same. I'm sure it's been mentioned before but it can take years before Piranha are large enuff to feel 100% comfortable. More often then not they are "feed and forget" fish as juvi's and sub-adults. Even as adults there is a slim chance a shoal will be as interactive and energenic as a tank full of cichlids. Piranha owners who buy them small and raise them to adulthood gotta be in it for the longhaul because there is most definately "the Wait."
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"a few years before they are 100% comfortable?" I really don't think so. I think its how much time you spend in front of the tank! my tank is in the living room with my kids running around in it all the time and my piranhas will swim right up to the glass and I can touch the glass with no fear coming from them. When I put my hands in the tank they barely swim away which sometimes scares me but as long as I know they are comfortable around me its fine just be careful. oh they are only about 5-6 inches. Beautiful fishes that will come out and show off if you take the time to know them.
 
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