# redz on steroids



## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

My reds are growing almost 1/2" a week its like they are on steroids! my water temp has been 84 degrees/I got tons of filtration/unreal airation/I feed 3x a day (varied diet of shrimp/krill/plancton/aquadine disk's/hikari gold pelets)I have had them for 7 weeks and they are aproaching 3.5" ths is nuts! I got a 180 comming next week I am so psyched!


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## BASSFISHERMAN (Feb 22, 2004)

what is the setup they are in now?


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

45g corner aquarium with fluval 404, ac802 with quick filter,2 air pumps and 2 bubble walls


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## BASSFISHERMAN (Feb 22, 2004)

holy crap that's alot of flow in a 45g!


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## mylesc99 (Sep 5, 2005)

Keep us posted!!!


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## JuN_SpeK (Oct 6, 2005)

so do you guys think that hiw flow/oxygen is helping with growth? I have 8 reds and its been like 3 weeks and they wer dime sized and now they are like 2-2.5 inches . they grow pretty quick I only have 2 emp 330 for filtration on my 100 with no airpump.


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## Oheye8one2 (Nov 8, 2005)

i've got the same thing going on with one of my reds, i got him and 4 others at the same time on the 7th of nov and 3 were about an inch and 2 almost 1.5 inches. 
well one of the P's was eaten by the others and of the two larger P's one is just over 2.5 almost 2 and 3/4 an inch long, the smaller of the big two is just under 2.5 and of the 2 remaining smaller ones both have passed the 2 inch mark.
my setup is extremely modest compared to most of what the other members have on the site and i'm looking for a much bigger tank hopefully within the next couple weeks.

P.S. anyone with red's in the same size group up for a race to 8 inches?


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## rocker (Aug 12, 2005)

awsome got any pics?


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

here is a pic of cujo
View attachment 84799


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

still growin great but at the point now i got to do a 10% water change a day.to keep nitrates under 25.here is Mertle 2nd biggest pygo at 4 inches.Its belly is gonna be red soon!









View attachment 85311


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## ESPMike (Mar 23, 2005)

Nice lookin Juvy Reds. Keep us posted with pics of them growing up!


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

very nice reds. mine are still under 2 inches. not even red coloration yet. keep us posted for sure


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

Cujo nov 29
View attachment 85436


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

mertle dec 10
View attachment 86591


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## Oheye8one2 (Nov 8, 2005)

lil fishy said:


> mertle dec 10
> View attachment 86591


 your P's are looking great! mine i dont think have yet hit 3.5 inches yet, i'm thinking about adding a extra filter though to move things along a bit, u using all plastic plants or some real ones too?


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

your P's are looking great! mine i dont think have yet hit 3.5 inches yet, i'm thinking about adding a extra filter though to move things along a bit, u using all plastic plants or some real ones too?
[/quote]
i got some real ones in there too


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## booozi (Nov 4, 2005)

like the names


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## paOol (Dec 4, 2005)

this guy's name is petey









i win?


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## ineedabox (Apr 20, 2004)

hahaha


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

paOol said:


> this guy's name is petey
> 
> 
> 
> ...


hook that little dude up on some roids.lol cute name!


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## booozi (Nov 4, 2005)

lol Petey. ahahha
What a cute little fella


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## -={Nexus}=- (Nov 23, 2004)

paOol said:


> this guy's name is petey
> 
> 
> 
> ...


HAHAHA< holy f*ck that made me laugh!


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## paOol (Dec 4, 2005)

-={Nexus}=- said:


> this guy's name is petey
> 
> 
> 
> ...


HAHAHA< holy f*ck that made me laugh!
[/quote]

>_<, he's my only piranha atm, was supposed to get my other shipment yesterday, but now i have to wait until tues. i'll be getting about 12 more of those babies. but just you wait!! i'll do water changes so often that they'll all grow 12 inches in 1 month!!! muahaha


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## divinelawyer625 (Dec 12, 2005)

aww cute little red.... u win


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## ~Silly~Spy (Mar 12, 2005)

good stuff man! your red bellies are looking great!


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## Steve-Fox (Nov 28, 2005)

paOol said:


> this guy's name is petey
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thats a mad cute little one wat kind of set up dp u hav


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## xneon (Sep 18, 2005)

4 months old
View attachment 88622


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## paOol (Dec 4, 2005)

Steve-Fox said:


> this guy's name is petey
> 
> 
> 
> ...


thats a mad cute little one wat kind of set up dp u hav
[/quote]

i have 4 rbp juvys in a 55 gallon. petey is my biggest one now. i think he's almost 2 inches? i dont know how to measure him, but i'll put an updated pic.

the other 3 were freakin fry sized when i got them. (was supposed to be 1 inch, but i got ripped off).
but now they are a little bigger than 1 inch.
i have a penguin 350 filter, a 200wattheater (i think), 1 air stone, 1 bubble wall, a divider, and i ordered a powerhead that supports up to 70 gallons.


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

about 6 months old now









View attachment 94956

View attachment 94957


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## SpeCiaLisT (Aug 12, 2005)

wow..those guys grew very fast. excellent job on raising your rbps.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

lil fishy said:


> about 6 months old now
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's been almost 2 months since you last posted pictures. Let's see what they look like today!


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

taylorhedrich said:


> about 6 months old now
> 
> 
> 
> ...


It's been almost 2 months since you last posted pictures. Let's see what they look like today!








[/quote]
Those last pics were taken today they are about 6" they only grew about an inch in the past couple of months but they are really starting to "beef-up". starting to feed 1x a day now mostly prawns but i still drip in aquadine disc food in there for them and the raph.still have not gotten my 180 set up yet but I hope it wont be too long.They are out growing this corner tank fast.
View attachment 94956

View attachment 94957


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

its most likely the FLOW in the tank thats making them grow a bit faster


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## ESPMike (Mar 23, 2005)

Great job. They grow up so fast dont they! They look great, keep up the good work!


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Well done my son, looks like you look after them well.


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## black_piranha (Jan 12, 2006)

shittt, ur p's are on some steriods. u better start lookin for a bigger home for em.


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## Wussola (Jan 25, 2006)

Incredible growth rate! Awesome job man ... very nice look'n P's. Keep the pic's coming!


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

Beautiful Ps... mine are about a month old now and the biggest is gettin close to 3"... I cant wait for three more months to go by so I can see them with full red bellies... I have lots of flow in my tank and I know when im not around they swim all around the tank and gets lots of exercise (I spy on them from my bedroom door







)


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## SidewalkStalker (Oct 26, 2005)

how does the flow of the tank make them grow faster?


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

DHtcqb7 said:


> how does the flow of the tank make them grow faster?


They burn food a lot faster and then get hungry again when there is a powerhead in the tank, verses just sitting in the tank and barely moving to burn the food off. The more food they burn, the more food they need to replace=the more they eat.
~Taylor~


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## C0Rey (Jan 7, 2006)

seems like your doing a great job.


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## KILLERLEXUS (Feb 3, 2003)

sort of like an athlete, that eat right and run everyday. a FIT and healthy fish. mine grew like crazy too the first month. they went from dime size to bigger then half dollar kennedy coin in a month, but there are a few much smaller runts too among my crew. they get left overs so they are kind of slow growing.


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

Thanks for the comments guys.I do try my best to take care of them right.they should be in a 180 soon.got the tank just need to set it up.


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## NexTech84 (Jan 19, 2006)

Yeah, it seems like sometimes Reds grow by the day! It was interesting to see thier progress... They're looking great, keep up the good work!!


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

Well guys 7months now and I have them moved over to the 180.they are happy as a pig in shat :laugh: never would have belived how much their personality would change with the big tank.they are less skittish and they wont stop cruising the tank.I bought an extra 404 and split the boimedia from the old filter. added 2x jager 250 watt heaters and guards,no more fake plants for me 1 of them is eating them.other then that its all good.for me and for them!
View attachment 100907


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## C0Rey (Jan 7, 2006)

they look awesome. how about some closeups!


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

sweet thread, really shows just how quickly reds grow..


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## bobme (Feb 17, 2003)

Nice looking P's - and i am glad you got your 180 gallon tank for them as i am sure they are as well.


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## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

awesome progress!!!!!!!

nice new big tank for em too


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

this thread should be re titled reds on roids..


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

Here is a pic i just took.lol he's not that fat was just turning as i snapped the pic.
View attachment 101004


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## stevepedersen (Mar 13, 2006)

nice lookin fish wish mine grew that fast


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## cory (Jan 31, 2006)

My Pirayas were purchased on feb 15th and they have gone from 2" to 4" already. I feed them 2ce a day and have them in a 38gal tank with a 1140 powerhead and also have an air pump installed in it as well. I also do 1/3 water changes once a week.


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## RedBelly Dom (Mar 22, 2005)

Nice reds. They must be lovin that new 180 gallon, they got so much space.


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## markcus (Mar 16, 2006)

whats ur p's diet lil_fishy???!


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

lil fishy said:


> My reds are growing almost 1/2" a week its like they are on steroids! my water temp has been 84 degrees/I got tons of filtration/unreal airation/I feed 3x a day (varied diet of shrimp/krill/plancton/aquadine disk's/hikari gold pelets)


^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^starting diet now its 
krill/talapia/tiger prawns/aquadine disks/occasional beef heart.


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## DigiDee (Mar 28, 2006)

Well, it seems like alot of people will agree that the flow is what helps the fish grow faster. The most logical explaination is this though: we all know that fish excrete ammonia. Ammonia is a chemical that will stunt the growth of fish. SO, if you have a huge amount of flow and filtration, there will be less ammonia and the fish will grow. Does that make sense or should I try and reword it?


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

DigiDee said:


> Well, it seems like alot of people will agree that the flow is what helps the fish grow faster. The most logical explaination is this though: we all know that fish excrete ammonia. Ammonia is a chemical that will stunt the growth of fish. SO, if you have a huge amount of flow and filtration, there will be less ammonia and the fish will grow. Does that make sense or should I try and reword it?


There should be no amonia (0) in any fish tank.If there is you have a cycling problem,you just put extra load on the bacteria colony by adding new fish oryour tank is over stocked for the filtration you have.
nitrates are what you want to keep low by doing waterchanges but i do beleive there are more to growth rates then water. varried diet/high quality water conditions/and current in the tank all play key roles in optimum growth rates.btw about an hour ago i found a listing for a free red I picked him up .owner said he was over 1 1/2 years old and he is the same size as my biggest 7month old red.hopefully I can get him healthy he looks a bit malnurished and a tad pale.he was doing some sort of twitching when he swimms around from time to time so he will be named Twitch.I will post pics of the new member later....If he survives the warm welcome from Cujo and Mertle.


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## NexTech84 (Jan 19, 2006)

Hey lil fishy, nice pics! Glad to see they are still doing alright. Thanks for sharing!



DigiDee said:


> Well, it seems like alot of people will agree that the flow is what helps the fish grow faster. The most logical explaination is this though: we all know that fish excrete ammonia. Ammonia is a chemical that will stunt the growth of fish. SO, if you have a huge amount of flow and filtration, there will be less ammonia and the fish will grow. *Does that make sense or should I try and reword it?*


It makes sense, but should still be reworded. Adequate filtration, along with a healthy diet and plenty of tank space, is the only way to get optimal growth in my opinion. If you are lacking even one of those, then surely the growth rate is being restricted in some way. Adequate filtration and pristine water conditions play a very important role in the growth of Piranhas, however without a good diet and a large enough tank, it won't get you anywhere.

By the way, I like your avatar.


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## humpy_3 (Feb 28, 2006)

lil fishy said:


> l: never would have belived how much their personality would change with the big tank.
> View attachment 100907


 mine act completely diff too after i upgraded they were never really skittish but now they cruise right up to the glass and look at you reminds me of the oscar i used to have kinda cool


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## DigiDee (Mar 28, 2006)

NexTech84 said:


> Well, it seems like alot of people will agree that the flow is what helps the fish grow faster. The most logical explaination is this though: we all know that fish excrete ammonia. Ammonia is a chemical that will stunt the growth of fish. SO, if you have a huge amount of flow and filtration, there will be less ammonia and the fish will grow. *Does that make sense or should I try and reword it?*


It makes sense, but should still be reworded. Adequate filtration, along with a healthy diet and plenty of tank space, is the only way to get optimal growth in my opinion. If you are lacking even one of those, then surely the growth rate is being restricted in some way. Adequate filtration and pristine water conditions play a very important role in the growth of Piranhas, however without a good diet and a large enough tank, it won't get you anywhere.

By the way, I like your avatar.















[/quote]

Well, yes. I agree that all of those factors contribute to good growth. All I was elaborating on was how the flow can effect growth.

PS: Yeah, I love that car. Hope to get one at the begining of next year.


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## NexTech84 (Jan 19, 2006)

DigiDee said:


> Well, yes. I agree that all of those factors contribute to good growth. All I was elaborating on was how the flow can effect growth.
> 
> PS: Yeah, I love that car. Hope to get one at the begining of next year.


I gotcha, and you are absolutely correct.









And yes, the STI is just bad ass


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

well I made a canopy for the tank I bought 3 4' lighting fixtures and I bought 6 40 plant and aquarium bulbs from canadian tire.240w total.the fish dont like them much but I hope they get used to it soon.Twitch is doin good and behaving himself also here is a pic of him.
View attachment 101660


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## fliptasciouz (Jul 4, 2004)

Great job







on your reds. I myself had 1600 gph of flow in my 40 gallon tank before on my 6-7" Manni, obviously with a variety of foods, adequate filtration and no constraint spaces then they will benefit from it and grow at a faster pace and it turn out based on the pics i posted before my manni is at least 8-9"


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

here is a close up of cujo I took today.
View attachment 103615

EDIT:
so this is what my pleco see's?damn I'd hide all day 2 if I were him!!


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## Badrad1532 (Apr 15, 2006)

Reds grow quickly to about 4" then they tend to slow down a bit


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## grounded jay (Jan 9, 2006)

lil fishy said:


> here is a close up of cujo I took today.
> View attachment 103615
> 
> EDIT:
> so this is what my pleco see's?damn I'd hide all day 2 if I were him!!


 nice pic mean looking red


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## Ender (Oct 5, 2005)

Hm...he is looking REALLY dark. Notice any spawning behavior?


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

IMO growth rate depends on many many factors: genes (the individual), water conditions (filtration + water changes, no nitrates), feeding (varied diet), exercise (tank current), water temp (related to fish metabolism), tank space, general health (no illness, parasites...)...







!


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

Ender said:


> IMO growth rate depends on many many factors: genes (the individual), water conditions (filtration + water changes, no nitrates), feeding (varied diet), exercise (tank current), water temp (related to fish metabolism), tank space, general health (no illness, parasites...)...:nod: !










exactly


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

Well they are now spawning...or trying to anyway.they been at it for about 4 hrs now.Cujo=male +twitch (the new addition)=female.Cujo is hard at work making a nest and keeping the 2 other reds away.
View attachment 105991


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## booozi (Nov 4, 2005)

Nice. now lets hope they lay.


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## C0Rey (Jan 7, 2006)

mean looking p. good luck with the spawning!


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## nswhite (Mar 23, 2005)

Great job on raising your reds it's always good to see somebody who knows how to take care of P's the right way. keep up the good work.


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