# Feeding Piranha Crickets?



## keithdude5 (Nov 30, 2010)

Thoughts on this? I figured it would be a good supplement for the people who enjoy using live feeders and figure they eat bugs in the wild.

By crickets I do not mean the random crickets you find in your yard I mean the kind you would buy at a pet shop and bred by yourself to ensure you know what they are eating.


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## e46markus (Dec 9, 2010)

Always thought about doing this, a buddy of mine has several lizards and was thinking to snag a few crickets off him to see how it goes. Curious if anyone else has tried it.


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## keithdude5 (Nov 30, 2010)

I tried it with my oscar the other day just to test the water and he went crazy for it. It is an oscar after all though.

But I figure with how cheap crickets are (Especially bulk ordered from lllreptile) And you can get 1 inchers it seems like a promising concept.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2011)

I don't know the exact nutritional contents of a cricket so I can't say. I guess it could be OK every now and then for a treat, but not part of a staple diet.


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## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

i tried that once two weeks ago and it was a hassle. the crickets dont sink or swim, they float. so if your Ps dont eat from the top of the water and they dont eat them instantly the crickets swim to the edge of the aquarium and climb it then wait for you to open the lid for them to jump out. it took my about 30 minutes to get the one i threw in out safely so that i didnt get lose in my living room. the funny thing i bought 50 of them. i have them in my garage starving them to death then i am gonna tried to feed them dead. or i might just put some in the freezer then feed them frozen.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

I actually do feed store bred crickets to my rhom, what I do first is gut load them with Hikari carnivore pellets and cichlid gold. I dont suggest as stable diet but you can feed them to your piranhas atleast 2 times a month as a treat. I also feed meal worms to my red bellies. Good luck.


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## Guest (Apr 5, 2011)

How do you load them with pellets?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Traveller said:


> i tried that once two weeks ago and it was a hassle. the crickets dont sink or swim, they float. so if your Ps dont eat from the top of the water and they dont eat them instantly the crickets swim to the edge of the aquarium and climb it then wait for you to open the lid for them to jump out. it took my about 30 minutes to get the one i threw in out safely so that i didnt get lose in my living room. the funny thing i bought 50 of them. i have them in my garage starving them to death then i am gonna tried to feed them dead. or i might just put some in the freezer then feed them frozen.


Freeze them to kill them off. If you just let them die they will not be of very good quality for you to want to feed them to your fish.


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## Guest (Apr 6, 2011)

Cool. I was thinking literally stuff them, minor surgery opening them up and loading them up lol.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> i tried that once two weeks ago and it was a hassle. the crickets dont sink or swim, they float. so if your Ps dont eat from the top of the water and they dont eat them instantly the crickets swim to the edge of the aquarium and climb it then wait for you to open the lid for them to jump out. it took my about 30 minutes to get the one i threw in out safely so that i didnt get lose in my living room. the funny thing i bought 50 of them. i have them in my garage starving them to death then i am gonna tried to feed them dead. or i might just put some in the freezer then feed them frozen.


Freeze them to kill them off. If you just let them die they will not be of very good quality for you to want to feed them to your fish.
[/quote]

I agree with putting them the fridege but dont freeze them. once they have eaten and theres some left, close the container and put it into one section of the fridge. The crickets will hibernate and go into deep sleep, it will take about 3 mins for them to wake back up, this should give your Ps enough time to eat then if they are confortable to go to the surface.


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

I feed crickets to my fish a couple times a week and he loves them, I buy 10 at a time and freeze them.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Well from things Ive read insects are packed with protiens. Lizards live off them so wtf. I'll have to give this a try as my pygos main staple are floating hakari pellets.


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## TheCableGuy (Feb 22, 2005)

I used to feed my FH crickets a few times a month, he went nutts for them. I have started to feed them to my juvie rbp's and they also love em. Gutloading the crickets is an excellent idea, I give my crickets a mix of Hikari pellets and raw carrots.


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## davery08 (Mar 4, 2011)

I know this is about crickets and that sounds cool i'll have to try it too, but what about mice?
My 4 red bellies aren't near big enough to eat one yet but i've seen a video posted on here awhile ago of a guy who fed a mouse to his piranhas, is that safe? good for them? good idea?

sorry for change of topic


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## Guest (Apr 6, 2011)

davery08 said:


> I know this is about crickets and that sounds cool i'll have to try it too, but what about mice?
> My 4 red bellies aren't near big enough to eat one yet but i've seen a video posted on here awhile ago of a guy who fed a mouse to his piranhas, is that safe? good for them? good idea?
> 
> sorry for change of topic


Feeding mammal meat isn't good for P's, there digestive system isn't built for it. You can get away with doing it once a month, but there aren't any benefits of doing so, so it's pretty pointless.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Traveller said:


> Cool. I was thinking literally stuff them, minor surgery opening them up and loading them up lol.


Crickets will eat anything so it is easy to gutload them. Some good things to feed them are:

apple, carrots, potatoe for moisture

I feed my crickets for my lizard a mix of oatmeal, fish food (could do pellets too), dry milk, wheat germ and a few other things. This will make a good basis for their diet in addition to some carrot or somethign for moisture. Some gel cubes or something for water would be good.


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## Piranha-Freak101 (Dec 8, 2010)

TheCableGuy said:


> I used to feed my FH crickets a few times a month, he went nutts for them. I have started to feed them to my juvie rbp's and they also love em. Gutloading the crickets is an excellent idea,* I give my crickets a mix of Hikari pellets and raw carrots.
> *


very interesting ! im might try this out


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## Da' Manster! (Sep 1, 2009)

When I had pygos (both Caribe and Reds at different times) they would eat crickets!..They loved them and as soon as they saw them swimming on the surface they would snatch them up right away..The serra's that I have had over the years, would just ignore them!...







...go figure!...







...But yes, crickets and most other insects (including earthworms and nightcrawlers) have ample protein in them and are good for your piranhas if you can get them to eat them...


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## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

I fed my piranhas and exodons the frozen crickets and they went off on them. My exodons went up to the surface and brought the frozen crickets down then my Ps swam up and took them out the exodons mouths. It all lasted about 15 seconds before 20 crickets disappeared. I now gotta freeze the remain crickets in my garage. Thanks for the advice.


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