# when and how to feed?



## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

Okay so a few days ago i bought 2 red bellied piranhas. (they are about the size of a quarter) They are doing great but one quick question about feeding....

I was told to feed them black worms to keep them aggressive. I bought a portion of black worms and I'm not sure whether I am supposed to leave them in the cage to feast upon at all times, or if I'm supposed to remove them for night/day or what?

Thanks guys!


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

chasem1991 said:


> Okay so a few days ago i bought 2 red bellied piranhas. (they are about the size of a quarter) They are doing great but one quick question about feeding....
> 
> I was told to feed them black worms to keep them aggressive. I bought a portion of black worms and I'm not sure whether I am supposed to leave them in the cage to feast upon at all times, or if I'm supposed to remove them for night/day or what?
> 
> Thanks guys!


I don't really understand your question.

What you should be doing is trying to get your p's on small or micro pellets, I use the sinking type Cichlid Gold.

Also as along with the pellets you should feed white fish like Tilapia, you can also feed shrimp, squid, mussells, along with your pellets as part of a good diet. Worms are fine too but IMO your are to small for them yet, you could also try bloodworms and krill they usually love it.

Also p's are not the savage beasts that most people think they are, they are actually quite shy and skittish especially when in small groups.

What size is your tank?, two is usually not a good number for p's because they can fight till there is only one left, If your tank is big enough I would recomend adding at least one more to help spread the aggression.

Best of luck with your fish and dont be afraid to ask lots of questions.
This is the #1 site site for P's and there is always someone ready to help and share with you to ensure your p's are well taken care of.

Welcome to the site and best of luck with your new fish


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Also at that age they should be eating at least twice a day


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## No0dles (Dec 16, 2003)

yeah i would do 3-4 times a day if at all possible if you cant do that cause of work or school etc. at least twice is good just dont over feed them you can usually tell when their stomachs look like their about to explode! as FEEFA stated above are all good suggestions just cut the portions up into small pieces dont throw a jump shrimp in there. also, clean up all left over food if they dont eat it within 5minutes and keep an eye on their stomachs as you dont want to over feed them.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

No0dles said:


> yeah i would do 3-4 times a day if at all possible if you cant do that cause of work or school etc. at least twice is good just dont over feed them you can usually tell when their stomachs look like their about to explode! as FEEFA stated above are all good suggestions just cut the portions up into small pieces dont throw a jump shrimp in there. also, clean up all left over food if they dont eat it within 5minutes and keep an eye on their stomachs as you dont want to over feed them.


 i dont think 3-4 times per day is totally nessisary, i have just done 1-2 times per day according to their stomach size.


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## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

No0dles said:


> yeah i would do 3-4 times a day if at all possible if you cant do that cause of work or school etc. at least twice is good just dont over feed them you can usually tell when their stomachs look like their about to explode! as FEEFA stated above are all good suggestions just cut the portions up into small pieces dont throw a jump shrimp in there. also, clean up all left over food if they dont eat it within 5minutes and keep an eye on their stomachs as you dont want to over feed them.


okay, turns out what i was feeding is blood worms. what i was asking, was if what the petstore told me was correct. they said that i should be taking a small bowl and put blood worms into it and make sure there are some in it at all times. Thanks for all the information.

The owner of the pet store had bred these piranhas, since you all say i need atleast one more, i get paid on wednesday, so ill drop by the petstore and get one. i also need to go and find some of the pellets that you speak of.

so please help me absorb as much info as i can by wednesday


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

chasem1991 said:


> yeah i would do 3-4 times a day if at all possible if you cant do that cause of work or school etc. at least twice is good just dont over feed them you can usually tell when their stomachs look like their about to explode! as FEEFA stated above are all good suggestions just cut the portions up into small pieces dont throw a jump shrimp in there. also, clean up all left over food if they dont eat it within 5minutes and keep an eye on their stomachs as you dont want to over feed them.


okay, turns out what i was feeding is blood worms. what i was asking, was if what the petstore told me was correct. they said that i should be taking a small bowl and put blood worms into it and make sure there are some in it at all times. Thanks for all the information.

The owner of the pet store had bred these piranhas, since you all say i need atleast one more, i get paid on wednesday, so ill drop by the petstore and get one. i also need to go and find some of the pellets that you speak of.

so please help me absorb as much info as i can by wednesday








[/quote]
Blood worms you can just thaw in a small bowl then drop them in. Some fish eat out of cones, but im not sure if p`s would so i would just thaw them and dump the portion size in. Its also easy to cut frozen cubes in pieces so you dont need to feed the entire cube at one sitting.


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## No0dles (Dec 16, 2003)

sean-820 said:


> yeah i would do 3-4 times a day if at all possible if you cant do that cause of work or school etc. at least twice is good just dont over feed them you can usually tell when their stomachs look like their about to explode! as FEEFA stated above are all good suggestions just cut the portions up into small pieces dont throw a jump shrimp in there. also, clean up all left over food if they dont eat it within 5minutes and keep an eye on their stomachs as you dont want to over feed them.


 i dont think 3-4 times per day is totally nessisary, i have just done 1-2 times per day according to their stomach size.
[/quote]

your correct, it's not necessary just how i like to do it though. i fed my baby reds 4 very small portions a day until they got to be around 3-4" then i fed them once a day then again i didnt have a job or anything else to do haha now my rhoms when they where juvi's i only fed them twice a day cause i had to work. either way you do it just make sure you dont over feed them!


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

What size is your tank? for three p's you need a good sized tank as they will grow pretty quickly to the 6in mark


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## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

Feefa said:


> What size is your tank? for three p's you need a good sized tank as they will grow pretty quickly to the 6in mark


I have a 30 gallon tank, and the blood worms are alive??? they arent frozen, i keep them in a butter container in the fridge...


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## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

chasem1991 said:


> What size is your tank? for three p's you need a good sized tank as they will grow pretty quickly to the 6in mark


I have a 30 gallon tank, and the blood worms are alive??? they arent frozen, i keep them in a butter container in the fridge...
[/quote]

what would be the recommended way to feed them at this young age?

The guy at the pet store also fed his adults live rats  they devoured them in seconds!!! it was pretty gruesome my gf was freaking out when she saw it.... lol


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

chasem1991 said:


> What size is your tank? for three p's you need a good sized tank as they will grow pretty quickly to the 6in mark


I have a 30 gallon tank, and the blood worms are alive??? they arent frozen, i keep them in a butter container in the fridge...
[/quote]

A 30gal is ok for now but you will have to upgrade to a 75gal as soon as possible.
That tank is really only good for a single piranha. What do you have for filtration?


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## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

Feefa said:


> What size is your tank? for three p's you need a good sized tank as they will grow pretty quickly to the 6in mark


I have a 30 gallon tank, and the blood worms are alive??? they arent frozen, i keep them in a butter container in the fridge...
[/quote]

A 30gal is ok for now but you will have to upgrade to a 75gal as soon as possible.
That tank is really only good for a single piranha. What do you have for filtration?
[/quote]

I'm not at home right now, but i believe it is an aquaclear 30 or 40


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## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

chasem1991 said:


> What size is your tank? for three p's you need a good sized tank as they will grow pretty quickly to the 6in mark


I have a 30 gallon tank, and the blood worms are alive??? they arent frozen, i keep them in a butter container in the fridge...
[/quote]

A 30gal is ok for now but you will have to upgrade to a 75gal as soon as possible.
That tank is really only good for a single piranha. What do you have for filtration?
[/quote]

I'm not at home right now, but i believe it is an aquaclear 30 or 40
[/quote]

It is an AquaClear 30, and how do i go about feeding the pellets to the piranhas? they are like strictly on worms right now...


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## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Pellets is just hit or miss-
Gonna have get the use to comming to top for food.
Myself-I tend to like a RAW seafood diet for my Piranha's-And white fillets

Filtration-you will eventually need more-Either HOB's or cannister(recommended)


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## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

AKSkirmish said:


> Pellets is just hit or miss-
> Gonna have get the use to comming to top for food.
> Myself-I tend to like a RAW seafood diet for my Piranha's-And white fillets
> 
> Filtration-you will eventually need more-Either HOB's or cannister(recommended)


Well they tend to overlook the pellets, because they are used to having moving food.

I also have the sinking pellets that someone recommended.


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

The sinking pellets are what I use, just drop a few at a time and when they're hungry they'll go for em


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## chasem1991 (Jul 10, 2009)

Feefa said:


> The sinking pellets are what I use, just drop a few at a time and when they're hungry they'll go for em


Will the food being in there not cloud up the tank and make it unhealthy for them?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

chasem1991 said:


> The sinking pellets are what I use, just drop a few at a time and when they're hungry they'll go for em


Will the food being in there not cloud up the tank and make it unhealthy for them?
[/quote]
If there is excess, yes. Feed what they will eat without wasting. You may want to beef up your filtration and keep up with water changes when using some pellets and any little bit will decompose. To answer your original topic basically, we cant really say when to feed only guidelines. You have to feed based on how big or small their stomaches are. If they look bloated no need to feed again that day, but if they are thin or getting there you need a decent feeding. If they are normal size, mayby feed a bit, but not much. Their metabolism will dictate how much food they should have so just feed accordingly.


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## Magzinator (Jul 27, 2009)

I cant understand my P's feeding patterns... Before reading this site i mistakenly put in a goldfish, they didnt eat it right away but disappeared when i checked it at night. I starved them for three days coz i wanted to see them feed and i put in 2 live baby tilapias, but they still didnt eat them. When i woke up the next morning one of the Tilapias were gone. I havent fed them for almost a week and i put in another baby tilapia but they still didtn eat it...

Whats wrong?


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Magzinator said:


> I cant understand my P's feeding patterns... Before reading this site i mistakenly put in a goldfish, they didnt eat it right away but disappeared when i checked it at night. I starved them for three days coz i wanted to see them feed and i put in 2 live baby tilapias, but they still didnt eat them. When i woke up the next morning one of the Tilapias were gone. I havent fed them for almost a week and i put in another baby tilapia but they still didtn eat it...
> 
> Whats wrong?


That doesnt really mean they werent hungry, feeding live is different than fresh or frozen or pellets. With live depending on the age and how comfortable they are in their tank it's about the hunt and the best time to get them is at night when its dark and the feeders are possilly trying to get some rest.


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## THE BLACK PIRANHA (Dec 8, 2003)

What is the temp of your water, if its to cold they will not eat as often. Try to keep your water between 78 to 82, try not to feed live foods as it will be harder to get them to feed on pellets and frozen foods. Try to get a bigger tank asap at least a 75 with an Aqua Clear 110. Good Luck


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## Magzinator (Jul 27, 2009)

Good news guys!! my RBPs are eating very well... Lat night i transferred them in my new 80G tank... This morning, i put in a tilapia and they immediately started chasing after it, so i decided to cut out the tail of the next one and they devoured the poor fish in seconds, i did the same thing again with 2 swordtails(i hope its ok to feed them swordtails). The tonight when i came home i put in 5 live crickets and they immediately went for them, but i didnt feel content, so i put in about a teaspoon of Super Redsin... (its a flower horn pellet for reddening; its made in china) They ate it all up in just seconds... but wat concerns me now is if im feeding them enough or too little, i tried checking their stomachs if they look like their about to explode put it looked kinda normal. I thought that the 5 crickets were already enough


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