# Is Chicken Ok?



## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

Like the topic suggests, I'm curious as to wheather it's ok to give them chicken as an occasional treat.
I was cutting up some raw chicken for stir fry the other night, and put a piece in my tank just to see what the Reds would do to it. Call me stupid, but I always kind of dangle whatever I'm feeding them in the water and wiggle it just to see if they'll take it out of my hand. Amazingly, my biggest guy actually came up, ripped it out of my fingers, and took off with it! Then rest of the shoal joined in on one of the most vicious feeding frenzies I've ever seen!








I'm not sure if they were just hungry, or if they really liked chicken. Either way, is it Ok for them to eat? I made sure to trim any skin and fat off it first, and I washed it really good in hot water to remove as much grease as I could.
As usual, thanks for any and all comments/advice.


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

As a "treat" every once in awhile-------

You should be fine-I would not make a habit of feeding this to them though....


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## TobiasRieper (Mar 14, 2008)

Id put chicken up there with ground beef, not something that will kill them but its not something that you should feed them often.


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## 77gp454 (Feb 18, 2007)

Avoid poultry, I would not consider it to be a treat for them.


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## -NBKK- (Jun 22, 2007)

I don't get what falls under the subject of a " treat" for a piranha. Does mammalian meat taste the the best to them ? or as in a treat like give it something fatty and that it cant digest as good.


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## Hater (Apr 21, 2006)

-NBKK- said:


> I don't get what falls under the subject of a " treat" for a piranha. Does mammalian meat taste the the best to them ? or as in a treat like give it something fatty and that it cant digest as good.


That is what I was thinking. However, I can't see any harm in feeding poultry if you do it maybe once in 6 months or something like that.

I stay away from poultry or red meat myself but that is just me. Never felt the need to treat my Piranhas to anything like that, and the best part of it is, I don't think they care.

Hater


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

By saying the term/word "treat" we just mean that it should only be fed every great once in awhile.....


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## Piranha Dan (Nov 11, 2007)

-NBKK- said:


> I don't get what falls under the subject of a " treat" for a piranha. Does mammalian meat taste the the best to them ? or as in a treat like give it something fatty and that it cant digest as good.


I just used the word "treat" because it's something I'd only feed occaionally, and it's something they went nuts for (kind of like the way a dog gets all excited and does tricks and crap when you offer it a biscuit). I was mostly just amazed at the fact that it made one of them bold enough to take it out of my hand.
Also, doesn't occasionally feeding them mammalian/avian meat mimick their diet in the wild? I think we've all seen that National Geogaphic video where the baby Stork gets eaten after if falls out of the nest, and a large shoal of Reds feed off a dead Capibara. I sort of thought that was the point of feeding them things like Beef Heart and/or Chicken and things like that.


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## fishguy1313 (Feb 19, 2007)

chicken


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## viralmouser (Apr 28, 2007)




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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

I have fed my pygos over the last 2 years chicken maybe 4 times. Each time it was a skinless drumstick and they loved it right down to the bone.


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## TobiasRieper (Mar 14, 2008)

perhaps some fat is good for them


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## -NBKK- (Jun 22, 2007)

AKSkirmish said:


> By saying the term/word "treat" we just mean that it should only be fed every great once in awhile.....


ohh, ok i see your point with the term. I wouldn't feed chicken or steak or anything, these animals have been pumped full of chemicals for growth and god knows what. just my opinion though. Could be wrong


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## kfreeman (Feb 14, 2008)

A mouse or a small rat is a TREAT. A treat is something that they like yet is no harm to them.


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## base935 (Oct 25, 2007)

The guy brings up a good point. I've always been a huge fish/scuba/animal/pet/etc lover all my life. I got my first RBP when I was ~19. Three little babies. They grew super quick in my undergrad mind where I was always going to Petsmart/Petco on the way home from class/work, and buying ridiculous amounts of feeder goldfish, exclusively. I had to go daily, or every other day. Sold the two smaller ones to the strip mall petstore that I got them from, and they were the smallest of the giants. All fed goldfish. Always. Wouldn't have occured to me 12 years ago, admittedly with a 7 year break since these new guys, but I never would have been the master of frozen cubes of my own prepared/thawed cycles of food.

I actually have a extra complete 29g tank that, with what I have relearned, am getting interested in trying a pair of RBPs, raised on nothing but rosies and little/big feeder goldfish. Not from a chain, but a local, sharp fish store.

I saw a piece on National Geographic when I was a little kid of Piranhas eating cattle, baby birds falling into the river, and dead carcasses. Mine are instinctively programmed killers, even if they are scared of the vac or my hand. They rotate through about 8 meats. Feed them before I go to sleep, since they will not eat under the Home Depot/going out of town timer light 12h/12h. 55gal, one light unplugged, and they appreciate the darkest side, on the dark side.

Who started the rumor that chicken, beef, or carcasses were bad for Piranhas? I know for a fact that mine don't like Scallops. Stay tuned for updates...


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

According to a Brian Scott (TFH Contributor) write up, mammalian meat/poultry should not be more than 2-3% of the piranha's diet. BS can be considered an expert. No one has to agree with him but he does warrant respect when it comes to the field of tropical fish keeping.


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## freebird21 (Dec 3, 2004)

no!!! bad idea!


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## fishloaf666 (Feb 26, 2008)

what about chicken livers?


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## john1634 (Mar 22, 2005)

chicken liver isnt good its very high in iron


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

You can't beet the pellets in nutrition but after Thanks Giving you can use the piranhas as a garbage disposal for the leftover turkey after it's been in the fridge too long.


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## xplosivelikec4 (May 10, 2004)

they eat dead birds in the wild...why not?


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## john1634 (Mar 22, 2005)

why not what? chicken liver? anyone can feed their p's whatever they want i strictly stated that its not good for them. dead birds is different. different parts of meat. im not saying you cant use it as a rare treat but there are other great foods that would benefit their p's. like coloration or health.


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## xplosivelikec4 (May 10, 2004)

john1634 said:


> why not what? chicken liver? anyone can feed their p's whatever they want i strictly stated that its not good for them. dead birds is different. different parts of meat. im not saying you cant use it as a rare treat but there are other great foods that would benefit their p's. like coloration or health.


you've mis read my post, i was addressing the original poster, that it is ok to feed chicked as an occasional treat. They eat dead bird, animals, etc. so why not feed chicken on occasion?


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