scared serra sanchezi

[rgs38]

Well, I picked up a serra sanchezi 3 days ago, put him in his tank, but hes scared as hell
He always hides behind a plant or woodpiece, and if Iput my hand against the aquarium, he watches it but if i get to close or tap the glass he is firghtened and gets the hell out of there
I fed him a platy, he didnt eat it in front of me, he ate it at night but only its tail...
What can I do to make him lil more aggresive, i want him to be not scared, just protecting his home, everything that wont make him scared...

Can you guys help me?

 

[Nabbig2]

I wouldn't be concerned if he was shy for the first few days. But we need more info man. What size is the tank? Also, tell us if he has any tankmates.

 

[rgs38]

Hes stayin in a temporary 35 gall tank, hes about 7-8 cm long(dont know how much inches that is), he has a tankmate, its a pleco, a small one, wich allready has fin nips.. I hope its enough info...

 

[Puff]

that tank is fine for a sanchezi. at that size all piranhas are at a stage in their life when they want to hide and avoid being found/eaten by predators. sometimes you get one that just doesnt care and will come out, but most of them lay low and hide for a while. it takes some a week or others 6+ months. it's all dependent on that individual piranha.

just give it some more time, it's only 3 days. spend lots of time in front of the tank, but dont annoy the sanchezi with your hand in the tank if it can be avoided, that just brings added stress.

maybe dim the lights a bit if you can, there's various ways to do that.

other than that, all i can say is be patient and give it time. when sanchezis come out of their shells they can be pretty mean little bastards.

 

[The Amazonian]

Try some target fish, maybe Tetra...

 

[Tango374]

Try some target fish, maybe Tetra...

Nah, those will die in a tank with a 2.75'' sanchezi. Targets don't work with young piranha...they're food.

I'll spare you the expense of repeating everything that Puff just said. A piranha becoming more aggressive and less shy could take a few days or a year. And I mean that literally. Give the fish as much cover as you can and spend as much time in front of the tank as possible.
When feeding only give him about 15 minutes to consume what ever you give him, then take it out. After a week take it down to 13 or 12 minutes. Take off a minute or two every one or two weeks. What you are trying to accomplish is getting that fish to associate you with being the dinner bell and you coming to that tank being a good thing. After a while the food won't even touch the bottom...he'll nail it right away. Worked for me a couple times.

good pick up.

 

[salsa]

pics?

 

[rgs38]

Thanks for your reply's guys, ill try all of it, oww yeah i had put the same platy I gave him earlier again (only his tail was eaten) llast night, and when I woke op this morning to go to work, i saw the platy swimmin with his head upside down, when I came closer to the tank, I saw the half of his body gone, but his internal organs werent taken out so he didnt die yet, i went to work came back, and saw the fish, with all his fins gone and one eye gone, dead on de gravel, I am really starting to like this guy

Ill try to post some pics, as soon I found the camera

Thanks!

 

[rgs38]

Ow yeah forgot to ask, how can I make him get used to dead food? he leaves dead fish, doenst eat it, he only attacks live food, and thats a little expensive everytime

Do you guys have a method to let a piranha eat non-live food?

 

[rgs38]

i found a pic, hes like this most of the time, he also hides behind the wood...