# New Serrasalmus Maculatus



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

I trade the cariba for a mac and 100 bucks. This was a smart thing beings one of the cariba was very stressed and was the runt of the pack. I plan on giving this mac a few weeks to settle and see how he is, but my real interest lies in shoaling golds. The thing im wondering about is when a person goes about shoaling golds what size do you buy them at? Shark aqaurium sells them at 3" for 29.00 or aquascape sells them at 1.5 for 8.00. I could obviously afford more at the 8.00 price but im not sure whats easier starting them at 3" or 1.5". Any imputs would be welcomed.


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

What tank are you going to put the other ones in when you order them? If you bought this mac to be the start of your mac group, I think you are going to be disappointed, as serras that have been raised on their own rarely accept new tankmates -- if a mac group was your goal, then you should have just sold your cariba for cash and used that to purchase a group of macs to raise together.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

If the fish isnt a finger chaser like the guy says he wasnt ill look to sell him. But im really interested in shoaling the small ones. He is not my start to a shoal. He just came with the hundred bucks. I hope to make a decision soon on keeping him or not because its not fair to the fish to keep moving him.


----------



## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

JoeDizzleMPLS said:


> What tank are you going to put the other ones in when you order them? If you bought this mac to be the start of your mac group, I think you are going to be disappointed, as serras that have been raised on their own rarely accept new tankmates -- if a mac group was your goal, then you should have just sold your cariba for cash and used that to purchase a group of macs to raise together.


^^^Agree


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

So if this fish is a "finger chaser", you are going to keep it solo, but if it's not everything you hoped it would be, you're going to dump it off on someone else and buy a bunch of little macs to keep as a group?


----------



## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> If the fish isnt a finger chaser like the guy says he wasnt ill look to sell him. But im really interested in shoaling the small ones. He is not my start to a shoal. He just came with the hundred bucks. I hope to make a decision soon on keeping him or not because its not fair to the fish to keep moving him.


So you're already thinking about getting rid of him.....oh boy. IMO if you keep him, keep him solo. If you want a group sell him and buy a group. I still don't think that this decision was well thought out. You've been talking for the last few days about wanting a grouping and now you go off and trade for a solo?!?!?!?


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

You got your cariba after telling everyone how cariba were what you really wanted, then you got rid of them before they even had a chance to settle in to trade up for a mac and some cash and within minutes, you are already making plans of what to replace him with??


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

The plan is to see if i like him, if i dont im going to continue on to a gold shoal. Its my decision and im going to do what I want. The cariba were fine but one was a little runt and looked like his time was shortening, what I mean was he was darker than the other 2 and had fin nips. I traded for the gold plus 100 cash and am going to see how it goes. But as of right now i want the shoal. I took him because the guy was the only interested guy regarding my cariba.


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Dolphinswin said:


> Its my decision and im going to do what I want.


If that is your attitude, then why have you been spamming the board asking other people to make your decisions for you? You were SURE you wanted a group of cariba because you didn't want a solo fish, you were SURE you wanted a solo rhom because it would be so much better to connect to one fish instead of a group, then you wanted a solo elong because you heard they are more aggressive than rhoms, now you have another fish that you probably don't want and are already making future plans because you are SURE you want to do a group of macs.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Im not sure ok. Forget the do what i want thing, we will see how it plays out. Im not sure what i want. Also i have heard how many other memebers have swapped fish multiple times till they found what they really wanted. This is my first switch, may be another switch or another switch. We will see in time.


----------



## MPG (Mar 14, 2010)

How big is it? Pic?


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

5-6" pic later.


----------



## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Keep the solo mac, if you dont like a solo mac then you will not like a group of them and they will kill eachother.
They are pretty much in a constant state of stress when together(atleast mine are) and dont really do much but sit on the bottom. My solo 1incher on the other hand is completely relaxed and all over the tank.
Nomatter what happens with my shoal I will def be keeping my lil guy, all I have to do is get him a larger tank.
Also like i've said before you dont have enough filtration for a group.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

most macs are finger chasers, You wouldnt like a mac if it wasnt aggressive or a finger chaser either... Anyways I havent decided on anything but im interested in a mac shoal. I could add another filter if needed, but im not seeing why mine arent sufficient.


----------



## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Dolphinswin said:


> most macs are finger chasers, You wouldnt like a mac if it wasnt aggressive or a finger chaser either... Anyways I havent decided on anything but im interested in a mac shoal. I could add another filter if needed, but im not seeing why mine arent sufficient.


I've got 4 right now that are not fingerchasers and I like them just fine.

Just because you dont see why yours arent sufficient doesnt mean their good enough.
Again, why did your cariba get a disease that is brought on by poor water quality? Obviously your lacking and now your talking about breeding???
Good luck kid


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

I asked you if you were going to try to breed them... What filter is necessary? How do you even clean a filter? All i know is i dont have "bio media" in the back of my HOBs. theres no slot or space for it, all that comes with it is 2 trays that go in a spot behind the filter cartrige which i used carbo or whatever in side there... What stuff should i be using in my HOBS and whats another good filter for the price.


----------



## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Learn the basics, you need to learn the nitrification process to understand what you need filtration wise.


----------



## MPG (Mar 14, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> I asked you if you were going to try to breed them... What filter is necessary? How do you even clean a filter? All i know is i dont have "bio media" in the back of my HOBs. theres no slot or space for it, all that comes with it is 2 trays that go in a spot behind the filter cartrige which i used carbo or whatever in side there... What stuff should i be using in my HOBS and whats another good filter for the price.


Cmon...Really?

You shouldn't be asking filter questions at the stage you suppose you are at. Use the search function/google to figure that kind of stuff out..cmon.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

I shouldnt be asking filter ?'s? Well i am because i was informed that my emperror and peguin are not enough... So i am asking what else i need. sheesh.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

MPG any suggestions?


----------



## shaneb (May 4, 2010)

Dolphin you know I dont like you and I assume the feeling is mutual but I will be quite honest with you. IN your 75 with just them 2 HOB's it wont support a shoal of golds very good. Could you get away with it for awhile? Probably but I dont think the risk is something worth taking. You lost a cariba due to a water quality disease which if you had a cannister along with your HOB'S it may not have happened. I would personally suggest getting a cannister filter of some sort (I said it like that because i dont know your budget and its none of my business honestly)

If you get the cheap little macs you are defiantly going to lose some. Its a forgone conclusion and is the nature of the beast when dealing with these guys. I learned this first hand. If you were serious about shoaling macs I would suggest getting them bigger because "Supposedly" they are not as cannibalistic after they reach 4-5 inches. If you went this route I would also say you are going to have to get a bigger tank. Shoaling a few Macs that are bigger then 5 inches in a 75 gallon is probably left to guys with a lot more experience then me you and a cpl others combined have..lol

On the other hand I love my Solo Mac

I am almost thinking about keeping my 4.5 incher and saying screw the shoal. He is just too cool to get rid of. I know this might sound weird but "Play" with your fish everyday and he will start responding to your presence. Once you get to the point where he rushes to the front of the tank when you walk in the room it will all be worth it.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks for you input shaneb. I talked with wisco and he might be down grading sometime later on and i could take his shoal of golds of his hands. We will have to see. I only planned on having 5 or so in the tank.


----------



## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

seems like your througing around alot of money on fish ur not even sure ur gunna keep...and if thats ok with u then then the only thing that is affected is all the fish in the prosses


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

any specific cannisters for a reasonable price? Im on a budget so the least expensive the better. Remember im going to keep runing my HOBs also. On a side note what should i have in my HOBS like i said im running carbon in the trays it came with... I heard i need "bio media" ... do i just dump whatever that is in there? If its the ring things it def will not fit in the tray they give you.


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Get an Eheim 2217, comes with media for around $130 if you shop around.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

piranha r ppl 2 said:


> seems like your througing around alot of money on fish ur not even sure ur gunna keep...and if thats ok with u then then the only thing that is affected is all the fish in the prosses


I have not thrown any money around... The fish came with the cash, I got the 100 bucks cash which i will need to start a gold shoal. Please dont tell me what im doing wrong when i had to tell you what to feed your reds. Sorry if im coming off as an ass hole but i dont need you telling me what im doing wrong.

Thanks joe.


----------



## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Here's a thought, you should put that money towards a canister.


----------



## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

****** said:


> Here's a thought, you should put that money towards a canister.


x2 plus if your going to see how this gold turns out and end up not liking him bc he is not a finger chaser then why get a group of them?????? Imo u should switch to a bunch of oscars they are finer chasers


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

I Can Mate said:


> Here's a thought, you should put that money towards a canister.


x2 plus if your going to see how this gold turns out and end up not liking him bc he is not a finger chaser then why get a group of them?????? Imo u should switch to a bunch of oscars they are finer chasers
[/quote]
mac groups are cool. Why did you get rid of your elong? i believe he was a finger chaser. Why did you get rid of your compressus... Why were you offering up your rhom for cariba? Please Please please dont call me out sister since you have already traded more than me. Don't come to a gun fight win paintball guns. Sorry but I dont agree with you trying to tell me Im doing wrong.


----------



## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

First off you shouldnt ask for help if you truely dont want it, Second before you even get a pet you need to be able to provide adequate care, fish are no exclusion, this includes Swimming space, filtration, heating, food, and care. Your post signify you still have alot of growing up to do.


----------



## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> Here's a thought, you should put that money towards a canister.


x2 plus if your going to see how this gold turns out and end up not liking him bc he is not a finger chaser then why get a group of them?????? Imo u should switch to a bunch of oscars they are finer chasers
[/quote]
mac groups are cool. Why did you get rid of your elong? i believe he was a finger chaser. Why did you get rid of your compressus... Why were you offering up your rhom for cariba? Please Please please dont call me out sister since you have already traded more than me. Don't come to a gun fight win paintball guns. Sorry but I dont agree with you trying to tell me Im doing wrong.
[/quote]
Look at mr know a lot bout me. First of all I never had a comp. And I sold my elong bc I had to move to a smaller apt where there's only room for 1 tank. Plus I only offer u bc I know I can take care of your fish better and won't be bored of them. Oh yeah. I never got bored of any my fish and wasn't looking for traits like finger chasing and if they didn't I didn't go around trading. Mine like yours. Look who is fighting with paintballs kid.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> I trade the cariba for a mac and 100 bucks. This was a smart thing beings one of the cariba was very stressed and was the runt of the pack. I plan on giving this mac a few weeks to settle and see how he is, but my real interest lies in shoaling golds. The thing im wondering about is when a person goes about shoaling golds what size do you buy them at? Shark aqaurium sells them at 3" for 29.00 or aquascape sells them at 1.5 for 8.00. I could obviously afford more at the 8.00 price but im not sure whats easier starting them at 3" or 1.5". Any imputs would be welcomed.


Thats asking for help. Read the last line. Im no expert but I know alot about the Fish its the tank and equipment that im not so sure on. Read the last post on how I got immediately shot down after they heard i traded my cariba and was considering selling the mac i got so i could shoal. I took the fish as he needed it gone, I was more after the 100 bucks so i could attemt a shoal. Why am i attacked when i trade fish but other are not? I went off on I Can Mate as she's trying to tell me how piranhas aren't for me and how i should change?!? She had a elong who was really cool and finger chaser. She then traded and got a compressus which wasnt what she wanted i guess. Then she gets a rhom, and offers to trade that for my cariba come on. But again thats how it works, some members get attacked for doing stuff while others do the same thing and nothing happens to them.

What about the rhom? he would of died since im incapable of keeping fish. Thanks.


----------



## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

I refuse to take sides, But im saying your water quality isnt the best due to the lack of filtration. This could lead to stress in return is why your fish arent as aggressive as they could be.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> Im not sure ok. Forget the do what i want thing, we will see how it plays out. Im not sure what i want. Also i have heard how many other memebers have swapped fish multiple times till they found what they really wanted. This is my first switch, may be another switch or another switch. We will see in time.


The differnce is they don't speak like they know everything and act so sure about everything only to change their mind soon after.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

No, I had to dish the cariba off before the smallest one gets it trouble. He was very stressed. I was more interested in the 100 bucks than the mac. I took him as the guy desperately wanted him gone so he could start a shoal of pygos. I told him Ill take him for now but Im thinking about shoaling golds and i may sell him. He was fine with that. So Cluster, My plan is to keep him for a while and see how he is, he could be the most outgoing piranha you never know. If after a while i decide to give up ill try to get something for him and ill try my luck with the mac shoal. I have already talked to the most experience mac shoalers and have a few tips and ideas what to do. Im reasearching on ways to increase your chances of achieving the shoal. I also talked to wisco who maybe looking to downsize his collection. He has an already established shoal. The reason is started this thread was to ask about what i should start with if i started 1.5" or 3", and again like all post it gets blown way out of porportion. There gonna be people that doubt me on my way to starting a gold shoal. I may fail, as others have, but Im seriously considering to try. I even considered how cool it would be to try to breed them, which in itself is a very hard thing, which would mean its damn near impossible for a inexperience piranha keeper like my self to do it. But you never know. Thats where im at right now.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> Thats asking for help. Read the last line. Im no expert but I know alot about the Fish its the tank and equipment that im not so sure on. Read the last post on how I got immediately shot down after they heard i traded my cariba and was considering selling the mac i got so i could shoal. What about the rhom? he would of died since im incapable of keeping fish. Thanks.


 The equipment is the heart of any sucsessful tank.


----------



## Guest (Nov 2, 2010)

I am afraid you havent learned anything from you previous experience. Dropsy is not common in piranhas. The water conditions must have been pretty bad for this to happen. You also seem to be more focused on having the baddest assed piranha that wants to kill anything it see's, then having a healthy one.

You are young and unwilling to listen. IMO you are in this hobby for all the wrong reasons and you will having nothing but problem after problem because you are not willing to listen. It took my Geryi almost a year to come out of his shell. He just sat in the corner of his 75G and did very little. Now, after quite a bit of patience he is quite the character. He finger chases and attacks my dogs when they come near. This hobby is about being patient.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> any specific cannisters for a reasonable price? Im on a budget so the least expensive the better. Remember im going to keep runing my HOBs also. On a side note what should i have in my HOBS like i said im running carbon in the trays it came with... I heard i need "bio media" ... do i just dump whatever that is in there? If its the ring things it def will not fit in the tray they give you.


 bio media is any filter media that is ment to culture bacteria. Ceramic rings, or ceramic pellets (matrix, eheim substrat pro..) are some examples. For sumps bio balls is a bio media. Once again you should really read up on stuff like this ad bio filtration is the most important type of filtration


----------



## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

woah kid u must not have been reading or your reading up on the wrong person bc I never traded my elong and never had a compressus


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

you sold an elong, and you had something else before that rhom.


----------



## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

Nopeonly had that rhom and I had him before my elong. One advice for u is less is more. What I mean is instead of giving all the details on what u did and bad reasons to do it more instead just say u got a mac and he is doing good in his new home


----------



## roidrage03 (Aug 15, 2010)

I bought that elong and it was effin beast! I sold it before I got to know it. When I purchased it had a chinois and fin rot. I drove 2hours, didn't know he was sick and still bought him. I housed him in a 40B and committed to healing him. After two weeks everything was healed except for the fin rot. I then sold him and got the cash and the guy couldnt house him toll two weeks later. In those two weeks, this fish became 100% and was completely brutal. Smashed anything in the water. Nearly bit my hand when I dropped my contact in the tank and just attacked the glass when I said hi. I made the worst decsion by selling him before even knowing him. Dont make the same mistake man.







goodlyck


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks roid. Thing is im not sure if I even want a solo mac. I just didn't want to see something happen to the small cariba. My money is a bit short and Im not able to buy all these expensive things. So I sold them for the cash and mac. (thinking id use the cash to try a gold shoal) Whatever it doesn't matter whatever i do will always be looked down upon. Thanks for the story on I Can Mate, makes me think what i would have got out of that rhom. Thats brutal having the guts to have someone drive to pick up a fish not knowing its sick? Cold. I told the guy up front one of my cariba is a runt and is getting picked on, he understood and still wanted them.

But before you come flying in her Mate, I forgive you for telling me off on the bad things I have done, and you can critisize me all you want but dont act like your the little angel that didnt do anything wrong.


----------



## roidrage03 (Aug 15, 2010)

Haha you won't be looked down upon for anything you do. Just stay confident and believe in your fish. Sounds cheesy but it's true







I think you'll like that mac anyway lol piranha are a fun hobby!


----------



## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

lol my bf told roid that he has fin rot and he still came so its not like he didnt know







. and maybe you should of gotten my rhom its a "finger chaser" just like my elong that i sold to roid


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

roidrage03 said:


> I bought that elong and it was effin beast! I sold it before I got to know it. When I purchased it had a chinois and fin rot. I drove 2hours, didn't know he was sick and still bought him. I housed him in a 40B and committed to healing him. After two weeks everything was healed except for the fin rot. I then sold him and got the cash and the guy couldnt house him toll two weeks later. In those two weeks, this fish became 100% and was completely brutal. Smashed anything in the water. Nearly bit my hand when I dropped my contact in the tank and just attacked the glass when I said hi. I made the worst decsion by selling him before even knowing him. Dont make the same mistake man.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not according to this.More commonly fin rot is caused by poor water quality in your aquarium. In fact, most fish diseases are caused by poor water quality. Poor water quality stresses the fish making them more susceptible to ALL fish diseases. You had bad quality water and i had bad quality water. Mine ended to be fatal. You got lucky and roid nursed it back to health. Just drop it, Everything in fish keeping you can do better than me at.


----------



## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> I bought that elong and it was effin beast! I sold it before I got to know it. When I purchased it had a chinois and fin rot. I drove 2hours, didn't know he was sick and still bought him. I housed him in a 40B and committed to healing him. After two weeks everything was healed except for the fin rot. I then sold him and got the cash and the guy couldnt house him toll two weeks later. In those two weeks, this fish became 100% and was completely brutal. Smashed anything in the water. Nearly bit my hand when I dropped my contact in the tank and just attacked the glass when I said hi. I made the worst decsion by selling him before even knowing him. Dont make the same mistake man.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Not according to this.More commonly fin rot is caused by poor water quality in your aquarium. In fact, most fish diseases are caused by poor water quality. Poor water quality stresses the fish making them more susceptible to ALL fish diseases. You had bad quality water and i had bad quality water. Mine ended to be fatal. You got lucky and roid nursed it back to health. Just drop it, Everything in fish keeping you can do better than me at.








[/quote]
Yep that's what u would say. I bought the elong and it suffered a fungus that I healed and before roid picked it up it had 0 tail and when he picked it up it had 1/2 a tail.


----------



## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

STOP DRINKING THE HOLLYWOOD PIRANHA f*cking KOOLAID! YOU HAVE BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH TO REALIZE PIRANHA ARE NOT WHAT HOLLYWOOD MAKES THEM OUT TO BE. "Most Macs are finger chasers" WRONG MOST PIRANHA (ESPECIALLY WILD ONES) ARE SKITTISH p*ssy'S! ITS LUCK THAT YOU GET ONE TO FINGER CHASE.

We keep piranha cause we see past what hollywood thinks they are. We see the beauty in everything they do. Sometimes we get lucky and get some means ones. But it doesn't happen everyday.


----------



## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

Couldn't agree more with johnny...I don't go for the "HOLLYWOOD" scene that they make piranhas out to be. Honestly the majority of them are going to be skittish. Thats just piranhas by nature. I simply think they are a beautiful and incredibly interesting fish. I've kept piranha for many years and keep learning new things about them all the time which, also continues to spark my interest about the fish.


----------



## ChilDawg (Apr 30, 2006)

Okay, my take? You sold fish where one recently died due to dropsy--I hope you warned him. You sold off fish where you thought one was on the way out--I hope you warned him. You took him for a fish and $100 for three fish that were not kept in good conditions, in which one recently died due to a disease that's often caused or exacerbated by being kept in poor water? Did you test the water before sending the fish on their merry way? Is there any possible way that you have a live guarantee on these animals? That would be the only possible ethical thing you could do in this case...unless you COMPLETELY warned him about what has happened and what you see might happen in the not-too-distant future. The way that you're bragging about this, I don't hold out much hope!


----------



## Criley (Jun 2, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> any specific cannisters for a reasonable price? Im on a budget so the least expensive the better. Remember im going to keep runing my HOBs also. On a side note what should i have in my HOBS like i said im running carbon in the trays it came with... I heard i need "bio media" ... do i just dump whatever that is in there? If its the ring things it def will not fit in the tray they give you.


Get a Rena xp3 or 4. Also buy bunch of bio media on the side because they dont give you nearly enough to be useful, i recommend the ceramic rings. i personally dont buy filters on craigslist because you got a good chance that its a boogered up filter is why its being sold. it wont set you back too too much. you dont have media now because you got a bio wheel, which i havent ever messed with... so ask someone else if thats enough for your tank. which i doubt 2 bio wheels are good enough for a 75, maybe a 40b or something


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

The piranha are healthy... There colors were great and i know for a fact they were healthy. I warned him that the one is a runt of the pack.


----------



## MPG (Mar 14, 2010)

Dolphinswin said:


> The piranha are healthy... There colors were great and i know for a fact they were healthy. I warned him that the one is a runt of the pack.


How were the colours on your exploda-piranha?

Don't judge a book by its cover.


----------



## Inflade (Mar 24, 2006)

Dolphin, grow up.

If there are a dozen plus members here saying your practicing poor fish keeping, perhaps everyone here is right and you are the one that is wrong.

Your attitude is no better then those kids that think they can keep 3 reds in a 30 gallon for life.

Take a minute and think about why your really in this hobby.....

Oh and ps, its more then just a hobby when your dealing with animals. Sounds like you need a few cracks in the head to realize what your doing to these fish.

Get a canister, do some research and then ask these guys for some fish opinions. I would strongly recommend you stay away from a group of Macs, there is no way that you have the patience, or intelligence to deal with the issues associated with housing a complicated group of fish.


----------



## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

You already failed once by not taking the good advice that was given to you, are you willing to make the same mistake again.
Unlike you these people know what they're doing so I suggest that you grow up and start doing things right if you hope to have any success in fishkeeping.

You already had one fish die because of bad water quality and before correcting the problem you went and introduced another specimen to less than perfect water conditions. What do you think will happen? It will eventually get sick also especially since they are most at risk when introduced to a new tank from stress.

Have you even purchased a test kit yet?

Ofcourse you didnt because you dont need one since your water is perfect right


----------



## balluupnetme (Oct 23, 2006)

Water quality is the most important thing in fish keeping...I would recommend you test your water at least once a week or at least once every couple weeks.

I would recommend that you get the API Freshwater test kit only priced at $25-$30.

And if you're in the fish keeping hobby thinking you're gonna make money, I suggest you get out of fish keeping.

Advice: keep your thoughts to yourself and don't go on full blast about what you're doing and none of this would happen.


----------



## I Can Mate (Apr 8, 2010)

balluupnetme said:


> Water quality is the most important thing in fish keeping...I would recommend you test your water at least once a week or at least once every couple weeks.
> 
> I would recommend that you get the API Freshwater test kit only priced at $25-$30.
> 
> ...


x2 bc i said that too


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

balluupnetme said:


> Water quality is the most important thing in fish keeping...I would recommend you test your water at least once a week or at least once every couple weeks.
> 
> I would recommend that you get the API Freshwater test kit only priced at $25-$30.
> 
> ...


Only 25-35 bucks no big deal... yea right... Not making money thats for damn sure. ****** i do have a test kit, might not be to your standards, its a strip test kit. Dont even tell me there that far off because thats a shitty lie. I tested my water the day of the piranha incident and i will swear on my life that the params looked good. There was 0ammonia, there was 0 nitrite, and there was 30 nitrate ppm. Who knows why he got it, all i know is the others didnt have it. Perhaps he had no immune system... I did another vac of the tank and water change and everything seems just fine. Now go through this post and find something that you can fire another bullet at so we can keep this thread rolling.


----------



## Inflade (Mar 24, 2006)

Plain and simple, us poor quality equipment and get poor quality results. Buy a liquid test kit! Sure strip kits are less then 10 dollars, but you get what you pay for.

When I test my water, I test everything twice to ensure I'm not getting irregular results.


----------



## T-wag (May 21, 2009)

ill bet you something dolphin....ill put 100dollars on this...

its all about time bro, i have a elong that does nothing but hide till its eating time, a complete pu*** and is nothing compared to my mean ass "finger chasing" rhom.

but my bet is....that my elong will be meaner than any piranha u will ever own. this is because im actually going to grow him out and let him get comfortable in his tank. that is the key dolphin....iv had MANY MANY piranha and my most recent baby black is the only one that was super aggressive within the first day


----------



## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

I agree with t-wag it took my spilo 4 years before he became a finger chaser, My rhom and brandti hide all day and i still like them just as much.


----------



## Criley (Jun 2, 2010)

found something for your dolphin

http://hudsonvalley.craigslist.org/pet/2033086561.html


----------



## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

Ahahaha Criley why do you choose turtles? lmao. Why not frogs or something?


----------



## Criley (Jun 2, 2010)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> Ahahaha Criley why do you choose turtles? lmao. Why not frogs or something?


hard shell makes it more difficult for him to harm them.


----------



## Illuminati (Oct 21, 2010)

I have never seen anyone until today join a forum and then go and ignore everything that everyone has told him. Is this what forums are for is to learn about a particular subject?? Why would you join and then tell everyone that is trying to help you to beat it?


----------



## Inflade (Mar 24, 2006)

Illuminati said:


> I have never seen anyone until today join a forum and then go and ignore everything that everyone has told him. Is this what forums are for is to learn about a particular subject?? Why would you join and then tell everyone that is trying to help you to beat it?


Totally agree.


----------



## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

Hey Dolphinswin I'm not gonna jump on the bashing band wagon today. Trust me I'd like to at times but not today. Well anyway extra filtration never hurts so I've been talking with TheWayThingsR about his ad and I just wanted to share it with you. He has some really good canisters for sale and they're pretty cheap. You should check them out.

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?/topic/194872-filters-and-misc/

Anyway dude it's your Mac just try to give him a good home. You never know you may love him to death. I was a little hesitant to keep a solo serra myself, but man I'm loving my lil 5" rhom. He's not a finger chaser but he's got personality. He doesn't hide all day like some. If I just chill on the couch he'll play in the powerhead all day and chase himself in the glass. Just be patient and try not toss these poor piranhas around too much. Give him time. Good Luck....and remember the golden rule. "Do onto others as you would have them do onto you" Show us respect and we'll respect you back my friend. Plus it never hurts to not share "all" the details, lol.


----------

