# red belly piranha question



## darweezie21 (Sep 24, 2006)

first question: I've had my piranhas for about 7-8 months now, but it seems like they're still scared of people, they bang the glass every time someone walks by or comes near, or even when i approach the tank to feed them. Any solutions?

second question: my piranhas seem to be losing color, their bellies aren't really red for some reason? any solutions or any reasons why this is happening?


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## lo4life (Aug 12, 2008)

As far as the color i would guess diet. What are you feeding them?? Shrimp and Hikari Gold pellets will bring that color back out. Reds are naturally skiddish. With my fish I would just sit there for countless hours till he felt comfortable to swim around with me at his tank. For the feeding time you might want to put some food in there and take a few steps back and gradually move closer over time.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

darweezie21 said:


> first question: I've had my piranhas for about 7-8 months now, but it seems like they're still scared of people, they bang the glass every time someone walks by or comes near, or even when i approach the tank to feed them. Any solutions?
> *Some Piranha are just wussies man. Where is your tank located? If possible get it to a high traffic area and they will slowly adjust *
> second question: my piranhas seem to be losing color, their bellies aren't really red for some reason? any solutions or any reasons why this is happening?
> *Do you leave your tank lights on all day? I left for a while once and forgot to put the lights on a timer. When I came back all the reds had only a very light reddish tinge. But after a small nap and some good carotene filled shrimp they were good. Pellets dont hurt either
> ...


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## khmerboiRED (Jul 15, 2008)

Mines are the same way. Still skittish after about 6-7 months of owning them. Their red coloring shows alot though for my P's cause I mainly feed them Hikari Gold Pellets. Try it out and see how you like it.


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## roccov12345 (Sep 26, 2008)

I know my P's are very light if they've been in the dark for quite some time. Lighting can also play a major part in showing off the vibrant colors. I know as they get older and mature to adulthood, a lot of P's start to lose their bright red.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

The absolute best way of getting your pygos over skittishness from my experience is frequency of feeding.

I feed mine practically every time I walk past the tank. (This could be anywhere from 3-8 times per day.)
Just toss in a little bit.
This way, your fish will be conditioned to relate your presence and approach to the tank with being fed.

(And if you think that this frequent feeding schedule will decrease your fish's appetite or aggressive way in which they hit the food... just the opposite is true. Check out this video for example... this was the 3rd feeding that day.)

My fish ALWAYS attack the pellets with this much vigor.


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## crazy banana (Jan 8, 2009)

^ you have a nice fish tank.


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

To make them less skittish, you can try a few tricks. I recall reading someone on here recommending that you place a helium ballon to float at eye level of the tank. Set up one of those rotating fans and allow that ballon to be swayed back and forth throughout the day. Basically, to get over skittishness, they need to be used to movements around the tank... if they're in a TV room or situated in a location that people walk past regularly, their skittishness would disappear a lot quicker. Everything that Piranha_man said is great advice too - if you can't put your tank in a high traffic area. If you only pass it 3 - 5 times in a day, P_Man's advice is best.

To make them more aggressive, raise your water temp to 82 or so. The warmer the water, the faster their metabolism, the more they eat, the faster they grow and more aggression will ensue. *Warm water is GOOD *(said like Jim Carrey in _Bruce Almighty_. _GOOOD_. Warm water does lend itself to increased algae, so beware of that.

As for color, color can fade for various reasons such as time of day (they fade at night), stress and poor water conditions. In my experience, when mine were lighter than normal on their bellies during the middle of the day, I needed to do a water change. Check your levels to see if that's what's affecting the coloration. If water parameters are good, add shrimp, krill, prawns or pellets to their diet. The carotenes in the shrimp/krill shells is superb for fish color.


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## darweezie21 (Sep 24, 2006)

Rough996 said:


> To make them less skittish, you can try a few tricks. I recall reading someone on here recommending that you place a helium ballon to float at eye level of the tank. Set up one of those rotating fans and allow that ballon to be swayed back and forth throughout the day. Basically, to get over skittishness, they need to be used to movements around the tank... if they're in a TV room or situated in a location that people walk past regularly, their skittishness would disappear a lot quicker. Everything that Piranha_man said is great advice too - if you can't put your tank in a high traffic area. If you only pass it 3 - 5 times in a day, P_Man's advice is best.
> 
> To make them more aggressive, raise your water temp to 82 or so. The warmer the water, the faster their metabolism, the more they eat, the faster they grow and more aggression will ensue. *Warm water is GOOD *(said like Jim Carrey in _Bruce Almighty_. _GOOOD_. Warm water does lend itself to increased algae, so beware of that.
> 
> As for color, color can fade for various reasons such as time of day (they fade at night), stress and poor water conditions. In my experience, when mine were lighter than normal on their bellies during the middle of the day, I needed to do a water change. Check your levels to see if that's what's affecting the coloration. If water parameters are good, add shrimp, krill, prawns or pellets to their diet. The carotenes in the shrimp/krill shells is superb for fish color.


thanks for all the responses guys! much appreciated!


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## ju5tin95 (Nov 25, 2008)

darweezie21 said:


> first question: I've had my piranhas for about 7-8 months now, but it seems like they're still scared of people, they bang the glass every time someone walks by or comes near, or even when i approach the tank to feed them. Any solutions?
> 
> second question: my piranhas seem to be losing color, their bellies aren't really red for some reason? any solutions or any reasons why this is happening?


well ive had mine for about 3 months and they are not that skittish, and I believe its because I have the tank set up right by the front door right along side my couch in the living room. They are in a high traffic area and are use to all the motion... and mine are light in color too, but i didnt feed them for like a day then introduced some Hikari Cichlid Gold and they love that stuff...

but you can also change your substrate to a darker color and they will darken up as well, im planning to do that this sunday =)

so yea put the tank in a high traffic area and they will be less skittish


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

How many Reds do you have? How big is the tank? How often do you feed?
The first two questions correlate with each other. Too many fish in too small a tank will make them stressed out, which means they'll do nothing but float around and hide. 
Feeding is another biggie. At the suggestion of one of the mods (I think it was GG) I started feeding mine every 3-4 days instead of every other day and I saw a huge increase in activity/aggression (not to mention a reduction in tank maintenance).


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