The Piranha Nutrition Thread

[Nemesis4200]

I have been hesitent to feed them live fish this early. is it a good idea to start feedind them live fish this early. they love bloodworms also.

personally I wouldn't hesitate to feed them live even when they are small. In fact i think that's the time they put on the best show as larger p's just finish feeders off in a bite or two. As long as your feeders are healthy and are not a type of fish that can fight back i cannot forsee any problems. When I had red bellies I fed them live (as well as many other non live items for a varied diet) from the time they where the size of a quarter to maturity. Others may have a different view but in my experience they are very capable predators.

 

[CTankDixon]

I will try feeding feeders to them this week. They only seem to like only blood worms,and the frozen krill pieces and salmon. 3 are half dollar size and one a lill bigger tan a quarter. how often do you feed them live fish?

 

[Nemesis4200]

I will try feeding feeders to them this week. They only seem to like only blood worms,and the frozen krill pieces and salmon. 3 are half dollar size and one a lill bigger tan a quarter. how often do you feed them live fish?

Usually I will offer live food items once or twice a week. If you are offering them harmless fish such a guppies or whatever it's fine to leave them in there even if your p's don't show any initial interest. My take on it is it provides extra stimulus and allows aggression to be dispersed on the feeders instead of your other p's. Chasing feeders is also a great form of exercise and helps development of muscle to keep them growing fast. Along those lines I also recommend having a WaveMaker (current fan) in your aquarium as they are river fish who do very well in moving water, as long as there are dead spots they can rest in, it will encourage their appetite due to burning extra calories. Also if they refuse to hunt initially you can cut back on other foods for a while until they go after them. In the wild a well fed piranha can go at least a month or more without any food due to thier fat stores, they live off those fat stores during the dry season and thats how you get the voracious packs that devour large animals in minutes. Hope that helps.

 

[CTankDixon]

I did not know this info! Thanks. Ill check into the wave maker this week as well. I do have this question. Why do they chase each other before eating and after. They do it a good bit. Are there any foods that make there red color brighter. They have a really good color now but can you inhance it.

 

[Nemesis4200]

I did not know this info! Thanks. Ill check into the wave maker this week as well. I do have this question. Why do they chase each other before eating and after. They do it a good bit. Are there any foods that make there red color brighter. They have a really good color now but can you inhance it.

piranha will cannibalize weaker members in times when food is scarce. This leads to a lot of trust issues in the hierarchy of the pack. They are a very nervous fish because of this. That is another reason for the live food as it helps keep aggression towards each other down because they have an outlet for said aggression. As for colors and good diet will bring out colors as well as your substrate, dark substrate seems to show the colors better. Also the mood of your fish plays a big role. Frightened p's go very pale while happy and or angry p's will be dark and sometimes almost black. I wouldn't worry about the color so much right now as juveniles will naturally be lighter and they will get their full colors as they mature.

 

[CTankDixon]

That is some awesome information and Thank you. I will keep you posted later this week.

 

[A&A]

Just got back into the hobby last month. Years back I always struggled to get my Ps to accept pellets. Currently have my 180 stocked with 10 baby RBP. I was shocked to see them go nuts for TetraColor tropical flakes. They attack the surface every single time i drop a pinch into the water. I bought some TetraPro tropical color crisps hoping they will have the same enthusiasm for those when they grow a bit more.

 

[A&A]

Update..... Reds are 2 + inches now. They still go nuts for tropical flakes. However there is one that ignores them completely. Eats everything else I throw in there but refuses to go after the flakes. I am curious as to how one out of the group of ten can be so defiant when it comes to eating the flakes?

 

[tlindsey]

Update..... Reds are 2 + inches now. They still go nuts for tropical flakes. However there is one that ignores them completely. Eats everything else I throw in there but refuses to go after the flakes. I am curious as to how one out of the group of ten can be so defiant when it comes to eating the flakes?

It's a individual thing lol. The flakes may taste bad to that one.

 

[A&A]

It's a individual thing lol. The flakes may taste bad to that one.

They have hit 3 or so inches and basically ignore the flakes now. Oh well…. When they are big enough to eat larger pieces of food I guess I will have to just stuff the shrimp and silversides with pellets and crisps. Shrimp is definitely their food of choice now.