# So What Can Piranha's Eat that Won't Kill them??



## azynsouljah (Feb 21, 2007)

What living things can they eat without killing them (fish, bugs, amphibians, worms, etc).

I know they eat anything in the wild, but what have you guys tried that actually work?

(and no I am not one of those guys who like watching other things die....I want to vary my fishes diets and nutrients)


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

well good question for the best growth start off with shrimp as a 75% food filler.. but if you want to get a little more natural you could try some earth worms, crickets, grass hoppers, giant meal worms,or once and a wile to see how fast a piranha can be you could get some danios or some sort of tropical fish that si cheep,, but rember never use gold fish or minnows they can stunt piranhas growth by a lot..any more questions i got all day ha um boried as hell


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## Guest (May 27, 2008)

A few people have fed mice and rats to their piranha, but that's not an actual reccomended food. 
Red meat has too much fat in it to be a part of their regular diet.
That was just for their personal entertainment.


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

First off, don't feed them anything you catch in the wild. Frogs and bugs have a bad habit of absorbing all sorts of bad things from their environment and having it build up in their bodies (pesticides, heavy metals, etc).
Second, no goldfish, minnows,Koi, etc. They contain certain hormones that will inhibit the growth of your fish.
As far as what you can feed them, they'll generally try taking a chunk out of anything you throw in the tank. I've given mine Mollies, crayfish, those little white albino frogs, feeder crickets and meal worms. 
That being said, I only give mine something live to chase once a week (keeps the fin nipping to a minimum). Good staples are Tilapia, raw shrimp (shell on) and carnivorous fish pellets.


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

I would contraindicate poison arrow frogs.


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## cueball (May 24, 2005)

why poison arrow frogs?


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

azynsouljah said:


> What living things can they eat without killing them (fish, bugs, amphibians, worms, etc).
> 
> I know they eat anything in the wild, but what have you guys tried that actually work?
> 
> (and no I am not one of those guys who like watching other things die....I want to vary my fishes diets and nutrients)


pellets. white fish fillet. shrimp. krill, etc. dont feed them anything you get in the wild (unless you quaranteen it for a while and make sure it doesnt have any diseases), because the one thing that will kill or nearly kill your fish is parasites, which can be abundant on wild animals. people have fed a lot of different things that wont kill the piranha, but will be very unhealthy for them and lead to problems down the road, like goldfish. goldies have a growth inhibiting hormone that will stunt your fish' growth. and mammalian meat, it isnt meant for fish, it will just cause them to get fat.
basically im just seconding what Piranha Dan said. only i dont feed live food anymore because i dont have the patience to quaranteen them first.


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## Guest (May 28, 2008)

Piranha Dan said:


> First off, don't feed them anything you catch in the wild. Frogs and bugs have a bad habit of absorbing all sorts of bad things from their environment and having it build up in their bodies (pesticides, heavy metals, etc).


Well, I feed a ton of wild-caught worms and insects to my fish and reptiles.

I live in New Jersey, so there probably are chemicals and heavy metals in the bugs, but not a lethal dose. 
I sure there are heavy metals and chemicals in me from eating fish, too.

Even store-bought fish and fish food has some level of contamination. In fact, farm raised salmon is higher in PCB's and dioxin than wild-stock salmon.
It's just a fact of life living in the modern world.

As far as parasites go, generally you don't transfer parasites when you feed terrestrial animals to aquatic ones. The risk of parasites is much higher when you feed aquatic animals like fish and snails to aquatic fish.


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

cueball said:


> First off, don't feed them anything you catch in the wild. Frogs and bugs have a bad habit of absorbing all sorts of bad things from their environment and having it build up in their bodies (pesticides, heavy metals, etc).


Well, I feed a ton of wild-caught worms and insects to my fish and reptiles.

I live in New Jersey, so there probably are chemicals and heavy metals in the bugs, but not a lethal dose. 
I sure there are heavy metals and chemicals in me from eating fish, too.

Even store-bought fish and fish food has some level of contamination. In fact, farm raised salmon is higher in PCB's and dioxin than wild-stock salmon.
It's just a fact of life living in the modern world.

As far as parasites go, generally you don't transfer parasites when you feed terrestrial animals to aquatic ones. The risk of parasites is much higher when you feed aquatic animals like fish and snails to aquatic fish.
[/quote]

You must be talking about Hudson salmon that got contaminated from leaking capacitors and transformers.


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## Dorkhedeos (May 8, 2007)

Ive tried pincher bugs, moths, mosquitoes, worms, caterpillars, and grasshoppers from outside. My p is still fine


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