Sweet Progress

[Violetpiranha]

I finally managed to get my rbps to start eating pellets and really did not have to starve them, have been giving them a mixture of fish fellet and shrimp then tonight decided to put pellets instead of the others and they went for it nps will feed them that and as treats the fish fellet so they can get used to the pellets.

 

[jp80911]

oh nice. good to hear. so far I have no luck with my caribes yet. they won't touch anything on the surface, but they are only about 2" so I'm gonna give them more time.

 

[Polyptasaurus]

WOW, you are a lucky man, my friend has 4 different piranha tanks and STILL hasnt gotten any of them to eat pellets. he usually just feeds them frozen cocktail shrimp (thawed obviously).

 

[mkman]

lucky guy! good luck with them!

 

[jp80911]

WOW, you are a lucky man, my friend has 4 different piranha tanks and STILL hasnt gotten any of them to eat pellets. he usually just feeds them frozen cocktail shrimp (thawed obviously).

by cocktail shrimp, did you mean the cooked one? if so you need to let your friend know that the should be feeding raw shrimp instead.

 

[mfgl]

no worries of breaking a tooth on a hard pellet? thats the only reason i never tried it yet. I have a rhom. But still worried he would break a tooth.

 

[Violetpiranha]

no worries of breaking a tooth on a hard pellet? thats the only reason i never tried it yet. I have a rhom. But still worried he would break a tooth.

The pellets i have are these round ones and when i put them in the tank within a few minutes they become soft and mushy and they are pretty brittle as well so with the sharp teeth should break it with no probs imo, why dont you try to make your pellets a little soft with water and then put them in the tank?

 

[Diogenes]

piranhas teeth are in rows, it's normal for them to lose them in pieces which are about 25% of their teeth at a time. They regrow.

OPEFE:
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/piraparts.html

When a piranha loses a single tooth, it is replaced quickly as a whole set. This piranha is ready to lose its set of teeth. The new teeth are already formed in the gum area and do not drop down until the replacement is needed. Microscopic slides made at OPEFE do show the "ready teeth" on the standby position. Some of the individual species teeth are as variable as the species itself. Some are very broad while other are very narrow, and most are small for a species considered deadly. The largest tooth I have examined and measured based on a 23.5 cm SL specimen is only 8 mm (a bit larger than 1/4 inch long). The teeth are serrated which allows nice, clean slices. The piranha also have additional smaller teeth-like structures called "ectopterygoid teeth" (approximately 2-3 mm long). The ectopterygoid itself is a bone (palatine) is like an elongated plate that forms on the roof of the mouth with these small teeth.

 

[Violetpiranha]

piranhas teeth are in rows, it's normal for them to lose them in pieces which are about 25% of their teeth at a time. They regrow.

OPEFE:
http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/piraparts.html

When a piranha loses a single tooth, it is replaced quickly as a whole set. This piranha is ready to lose its set of teeth. The new teeth are already formed in the gum area and do not drop down until the replacement is needed. Microscopic slides made at OPEFE do show the "ready teeth" on the standby position. Some of the individual species teeth are as variable as the species itself. Some are very broad while other are very narrow, and most are small for a species considered deadly. The largest tooth I have examined and measured based on a 23.5 cm SL specimen is only 8 mm (a bit larger than 1/4 inch long). The teeth are serrated which allows nice, clean slices. The piranha also have additional smaller teeth-like structures called "ectopterygoid teeth" (approximately 2-3 mm long). The ectopterygoid itself is a bone (palatine) is like an elongated plate that forms on the roof of the mouth with these small teeth.

Thanks for that link Dio that information is well interesting, going to have a read through

 

[Diogenes]

Thanks for that link Dio that information is well interesting, going to have a read through

no prob...


I especially like this paragraph:

"The best mechanical imitation of piranha teeth and jaws, and a very good imitation indeed, is a bear-trap, but one with teeth so sharpened on the edges, and the spring so strong, that they would clip off the bear's foot instead of merely holding it." No measurement of the biting power of a piranha has ever been made. It is my opinion the bite power is probably in the approximate range of 120-300 lbs sq. inch depending on size of fish. These estimates should not be considered as fact. Myers (1949) reported that "the power of the jaw muscles is such that there is scarcely living substance save the hardest ironwood that will not be clipped off."