red belly piranhas
- Thread starter RBP fan
- Start date
Oh dear.
I think its your water params hun.
You really need to get this stuff checked out before you own fish!
Anyway I suggest you keep all lights off for about a week. Do gentle water changes (20%) every night for a week. By gentle I mean, take the water out without much splashing around, and put new water in without to much splashing around. Make sure the water has been condition to get rid of heavy metals and chlorine. Make sure it is the same temperature as the water in your tank.
DO NOT remove these fish for these water changes, it will most likely kill them if you have lost 2 already. When doing larger water changes, I put them in a bucker (I wait for them to swim into a jug which gently goes in very large bucket) and never had problems, but then again I test my water very often, so they aren't stressed.
I suspect your ammonia levels are sky high, and this is toxic to fish. I think the cause is the tiny tank and not to mention an oscar being in there.
You need too get a 75 gallon tank (if these survive) at least, get internal, and external filteration, a sump would be even better. Filter the tank as if it was a 125 g and do regular gentle water changes. Don't overfeed.
Good luck dude I hope all goes well, and we all have to learn by our mistakes sometime, so don't think I'm flaming you.
I think its your water params hun.
You really need to get this stuff checked out before you own fish!
Anyway I suggest you keep all lights off for about a week. Do gentle water changes (20%) every night for a week. By gentle I mean, take the water out without much splashing around, and put new water in without to much splashing around. Make sure the water has been condition to get rid of heavy metals and chlorine. Make sure it is the same temperature as the water in your tank.
DO NOT remove these fish for these water changes, it will most likely kill them if you have lost 2 already. When doing larger water changes, I put them in a bucker (I wait for them to swim into a jug which gently goes in very large bucket) and never had problems, but then again I test my water very often, so they aren't stressed.
I suspect your ammonia levels are sky high, and this is toxic to fish. I think the cause is the tiny tank and not to mention an oscar being in there.
You need too get a 75 gallon tank (if these survive) at least, get internal, and external filteration, a sump would be even better. Filter the tank as if it was a 125 g and do regular gentle water changes. Don't overfeed.
Good luck dude I hope all goes well, and we all have to learn by our mistakes sometime, so don't think I'm flaming you.
hey jessica i think if he were to do a 20% percent water change daily it might actually might be counter productive, unless he plans on doing it everyday for the rest of the time he has the tank. It will never cycle if he keeps changing out so much water.
I do know some discus breeders who never cycle their tanks and replace between 20% and 50% of their tank water daily, but that is an extreme commitment beyond what most hobbyists are willing to do. They are also equipped with R/O units and make enough money with their discus to justify the water bill.
The bottom line is that the tank is too small for the number of fish he has, and ammonia will always be a constant threat until he gets a larger tank
I do know some discus breeders who never cycle their tanks and replace between 20% and 50% of their tank water daily, but that is an extreme commitment beyond what most hobbyists are willing to do. They are also equipped with R/O units and make enough money with their discus to justify the water bill.
The bottom line is that the tank is too small for the number of fish he has, and ammonia will always be a constant threat until he gets a larger tank
ok i do use a ph water test kit for my tank and actually its quite clean. i know now that removing these fish or ne other fish for that matter can cause an unbalance behaviour in the tank. i also use water conditioner aswell. i have fed them chicken a few times but i really think it might have been a bad idea to jus feed them chicken and cooked ground beef or it might be for the fact that i do give them feeders every so often. but now i have switch to feeders in awhile and now they get frozen cleaned smelt fish with the heads off. i know this is a bigger approvement but i can't stop to think why everything else in the fish tank including the convicts. occasionally i give my oscar and convicts meal worms which the piranhas never have the chance to get seeing as they tend to dwell in the bottom area of the tank or in a hiding spot of theirs most of the time. thank u everyone for your support and knowledge that i have taken in and now i'm more aware about how to go about these things
