# How Much to Feed 6 RB Piranha?



## jakethesnake (Aug 3, 2005)

I have 6 rbp that are about 4 inches big now. How many feeder fish (small size) per week should one red belly eat? I just bought 20 and they are ALL gone!!! Not even 2 hrs. after buying them!!!

What is normal?


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## PirAnhA$p3ciAlisT (Oct 21, 2005)

First of all don't feed them feeder goldfish as they are very bad for your piranhas. If you keep feeding them feeders that is all they will eat and it is very hard to get them off it. Try to get them used to frozen food as it is easier to feed them that. I used to feed feeders and had to run to the store every week or two and that was a pain in the ass. You want to use white fish meat like tilapia, catfish, etc. and shrimp, krill, etc.


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## nick007x (Sep 9, 2005)

^^^exactly. not to mention feeders will eventually be a detriment to the health of your fish--due to lack of nutrients, introduction of disease and parasites, and if using goldfish, thiamin defficiency, leading to bone/musculature issues.


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## boontje (Mar 27, 2005)

as already replied, don't feed (only) feeders.

how much too feed, is very hard to tell. At that size I would feed once a day. Then make sure they eat everything in a few minutes (unless your fish are very shy). I think the most important is to look at their behavior after feeding. If they are very inactive and sluggish, "sitting" on the bottom and their belly looks like it's going to explode, then you fed too much.-


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## Oscar5001 (Sep 22, 2005)

Zero


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## skool-of-death (Apr 25, 2004)

piranha specialist knows his sh*t. he helped me out with feeding advise for my rhom. Feed as much as they will eat in about five minutes. What I did once for my 3 pygo's was cut a catfish fillet into thirds and drop one portion in and watch them shred it. It was fun to watch and healthy for them. Cold, white meat is primo choice.


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

jakethesnake said:


> I have 6 rbp that are about 4 inches big now. How many feeder fish (small size) per week should one red belly eat? I just bought 20 and they are ALL gone!!! Not even 2 hrs. after buying them!!!
> What is normal?


Here are a few things for you to think about. Only think about them, do not copy these as such, because every fish in each tank is a different case. Piranhas eat very much in favourable conditions, but usually to keep conditions favourable (e.g. water quality, living space) is very hard when you feed a lot.

Feeders
Studies have been made about thiaminase (an enzyme that breaks down thiamine, B1-vitamin) content of certain fish species. I have seen these concerning some Cyprinids (like Carassius, Gold fish) and Clupeids (Clupea, herring). Using these feeders will harm the growth of your Piranhas and also cause increased death in the offspring. This has been shown in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar). This can be cured, though, with additional thiamine.

Using feeder is always a risk. By introducing a fish into a tank (a feeder or even another Piranha) you may also introduce an unwanted disease.

Still, it is not true that feeders generally are bad for your fish or that they generally lack nutrients. Feeder is any fish you introduce into the tank to feed your fish with. We all know that Piranhas do feed on living fishes in nature, sometimes healthy, sometimes sick, old or injured and sometimes dead.

Amount of food
You have 4" Pygos, six of them. The amount of food they consume in one feeding can be about the size of one 4" Pygo. Of course if you feed them often, lets say once a day, they will eat much less per feeding.

I have 4 Pygos of 8" plus. I used to feed them daily when they were 4". Now they eat every 4th day. So not even twice per week. But the amount in one feeding is about 100-150 g. I always feed them pretty much as much as they very eagerly eat, not more. But I do not leave them hungry either.

Feeding intervals
It is important to feed very young Piranhas regularly, Pygos are cannibals when young.
At 4" it may be better to feed them daily or about 5-6 times per week.
At 6" you can slow down to about 3-4 times per week and
at 8" about 2 times per week.

Pygos often get used to the feeding intervals and they come to beg food. If they see a movement outside the tank when feeding time approaches, they come near the surface or swim near the front glass waiting an begging for food.

Water quality
Feeding always burdens water quality. Of coarse any left overs must be cleaned after each feeding. It is better, though, to try to learn how much they eat at one feeding and feed only that much. A good practise is to feed small chunks and add more only if they seem to be still hungry.

Anyway the amount of food Piranhas eat is great. This causes of course a lot of escrements. That means phosphates and ammonia in the water. So an external filter with a big bio filter mass is a must. And of course regular water changes about 20 % per week.

Regards,


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## jasert39 (May 1, 2003)

cant beat HarryKaa's answer great information.


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