to all piraya keepers

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

I am having increasing trouble with my pack, and I am starting to think that these guys may not be as suitable for long-term captivity as other fish... at least in my care/water chemistry. Here's the summary:

April 2009: I got a shoal of 6 juveniles (~2''), lost one that summer to cannibalism - no surprise.
August 2011: Noticing HITH, 4-5 treatment regimens w/ Metro+ since then, with no lasting success. Also adding Kent Zoecon & Zoe (oils, minerals, vitamins) to diet
April 2012: Two fish hiding. First fish developing open sores, second fish suffering severe HITH and heater burn.
June 2012: First fish dies, second fish in bad shape (isolated in solo tank). Three left in main tank, two with low degree HITH.
this week: One of the remaining three healthy fish starting to show behavior like others in April - hiding in plants without aggression by others (like first fish that died)



Everything went well for 2 1/2 years, then fish started to get increasingly ill and die after 3 years in captivity. Nothing was changed until symptoms occurred. Then of course HITH treatment & food additives.

Please share your experiences with growing out pirayas for a few years. Tell us success stories!
Problems may or may not occur when you start out with adults?!

Anyone with long-term (3+ years) success in piraya care, please share
Thanks,
HarleyK

 

[jp80911]

Sorry to hear man...would love to share some experience but I just got my piraya this April so there's not much I can offer.
I do know there are hobbyists that kept piraya from baby to adult with long-term success and didn't have the same issue, some of them are in Europe, some in US but I don't think they frequent MFK.
best of luck with your remaining stock and I'm keeping my fingers crossed with mine.

 

[F1 VET]

Same as jp, maybe one is just overly aggressive and he stresses the rest out, maybe a bigger tank!


Go S. Vettel #1 rb8

 

[piranhafanclub]

Sorry to hear all the troubles and losses you've been having HarleyK , i know your set up is as close to state of the art as you can be. I've only had Piraya for 4 years and they were'nt babies when i got them , i have noticed that out of all the species of piranha i have kept over the years that the Piraya are the most sensitive . As for the HITH have you tried Tetras "Parasite Guard" ? It has two ingredients that i think have been proven to cure it , Praziquantel and Metrondazole , it's worked for me . Hope things turn around for your Pirayas !!!

 

[HarleyK]

Thanks, guys. I'll keep y'all posted!

have you tried Tetras "Parasite Guard" ? It has two ingredients that i think have been proven to cure it , Praziquantel and Metrondazole , it's worked for me

One of the ingredients is the active component of Metro+ (metronidazole). It works, but only for a couple of months.

Where did you hear that praziquantel cures it?

Did you use the Tetra product, or generics with these active ingredients, and did you use it on your pirayas, or other species?

Thanks,
HarleyK

 

[piranhafanclub]

Thanks, guys. I'll keep y'all posted!



One of the ingredients is the active component of Metro+ (metronidazole). It works, but only for a couple of months.

Where did you hear that praziquantel cures it?

Did you use the Tetra product, or generics with these active ingredients, and did you use it on your pirayas, or other species?

Thanks,
HarleyK

Hey HarleyK , I did'nt use any generics or substitutes but have tried other products for HITH and it seemed like Tetras "Parasite Guard" worked the best. I may have mispoken on the Praziquantel but i dont think so , i researched the active ingredients awhile ago in the Parasite Guard and found that two of the ingredients were active ingredients in other products used to treat HITH . The active ingredients in Parasite Guard are as follows Praziquantel ; Diflubenzuron ; Metronidazole ;Acriflavine . I did use this on my Piraya and Caribe about a year ago and havent seen it since , also tring to do a stricter maintance schedual . I hope this is helpful to you, good luck , keep us posted !

 

[HarleyK]

Thanks a lot.

I'll get a dose for my 75 gal quarantine tank, where the one piraya is isolated in poor condition, and he happens to have a big HITH. That'll be the best test for the remedy. I cannot treat my big tank because the diflubenzuron and also acriflavin would wipe out all of my crustaceans colonies in the big tank. If it works in the q-tank, I may temporarily transfer all of the pirayas thyere ...

Thanks again for your words of experience!

 

[jp80911]

Best of luck with the new med, keep us updated.

 

[piranhafanclub]

Thanks a lot.

I'll get a dose for my 75 gal quarantine tank, where the one piraya is isolated in poor condition, and he happens to have a big HITH. That'll be the best test for the remedy. I cannot treat my big tank because the diflubenzuron and also acriflavin would wipe out all of my crustaceans colonies in the big tank. If it works in the q-tank, I may temporarily transfer all of the pirayas thyere ...

Thanks again for your words of experience!

Not a problem HarleyK , It's still all trial and error , i just stick with what works ! Good luck i hope your Piraya recover well !!!

 

[piranhafanclub]

Just rereading the post ... What kind of crustaceans ? And is there any corrilation in time line with the onset of HITH ? Just a thought , some species do host parasites to complete a life cycle in another host . Again just a thought ...