# I Recieved My Baby Cariba!!



## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

I was really shocked to get them this early!! I couldn't believe they came so fast!

Jon Rare gave me the rest of them, when I only paid for 7, so I recieved 12. I'm gonna obviously have to get rid of a few when they get too old. 2 of them are missing 1 eye, and the others have some pretty bad bites, but I added salt to the tank, and I'll have to get some mela-fix, or don't you think mela-fix is necessary since I am using salt?

They are really active and healthy acting, except 3 are laying on the gravel breathing heavily. What could the problem be? They have been laying there since I put them in there, and I accustomed them to the tank's water, I used the drip method, so everything should be fine but it isn't...







They are the really nice ones too that are laying on the bottom, the ones with all eyes and almost perfect fins. I really hope that they pull through it...







I won't be able to get to town today, so the mela-fix will have to wait, if you reccommend me using it.

My brother with the digital camera is not home right now, but he will be soon, so I will have some pictures sometime today!!








~Taylor~


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## bjmarche (Jun 30, 2005)

Congrats man, i wish i had some Cariba. Too bad about those 3 that are sick/dying or whatever. i suggest u use mela-fix, salt might do the trick but i'd use the mela-fix too


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## kove32 (Oct 26, 2004)

They will be fine, just give them some time. Man, I told you I could hook you up nasty! haha.. 5 extra caribe isn't bad, infact that is crazy. They'll heal, my god caribe are tough mofos.

Congradulations.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

kove32 said:


> They will be fine, just give them some time. Man, I told you I could hook you up nasty! haha.. 5 extra caribe isn't bad, infact that is crazy. They'll heal, my god caribe are tough mofos.
> 
> Congradulations.
> [snapback]1106733[/snapback]​


Yeah, well I came in after about 15 minutes of being away, and all of a sudden all of them are swimming and acting fine! That fast! They are so frisky and happy. I think that I will feed them some fish filet. I know you aren't supposed to feed them for 24 hours after they are in the tank, but they just look hungry.







If they don't eat it right away I will take it out.
~Taylor~


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## killerbee (Aug 18, 2004)

Congrats







Don't add melafix as they are very sensitive to chemicals. Probably just shocked.

You said you already added salt, good... just wait it out and they should be swimming in no time at all. make sure you feed them 2-3 times daily as they are very canibalistic at juvenile stage.

feed them a variety of food, since they are that small i would suggest blood worms, cichlid flakes, small cichlid pellets, small carnivor sticks, cut shrimp (small pieces), and occasional cut beefheart (small pieces)

good luck and can't wait to see your little guys swimming about in there new large tank


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## Piranha King (Nov 28, 2002)

nice cant wait for some pics.
wes


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

cant wait to see the pics


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## piranhaqueen (Nov 18, 2004)

YIPEE!!!!!!!!!







Can't wait to see them photos!!!!!!!!!!!


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## kove32 (Oct 26, 2004)

Feed them as soon as you can trust me. These guys will eat like none other. I learned that if you dont' feed them and their stomachs are any less then buldged they start to pick on each other. I feed them as soon as I got them, no need to worry.

Krill, Shrimp, Brine Shrimp, and Blood worms are their usual diet for me.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

WOW, these things are INSANE!!







I just fed them a lil piece of pollock filet, and about 5 went at it at the same time and grabbed ahold and started shaking it like a dog playing tug-o-war. It was crazy, I have never had my red bellies do that before...

Thanks for the reccommendations for the diet killerbee. I already know what thier diet will consist of. Shrimp, fillets, krill, and I just need to get some bloodworms. Of course some earthworms too. I will also "pack" them full of flakes while they are still young and accept them. I have been planning this for a while...









I can't wait to take pictures. My mom doesn't know when my brother will be home, because we haven't talked to him, but he told us sometime today, and he will bring his digital camera. It could be tonight or in 1 hour, who knows, but sometime today!








~Taylor~


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

Congrats on your pickup. You think those injuries were caused in shipping. I would give Jon a call and at least mention it to him. I doubt he would have shipped them out in that condition. I don't know Jon so i really can't say anything about his practices. Good luck with those little killers.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

jerry_plakyda said:


> Congrats on your pickup. You think those injuries were caused in shipping. I would give Jon a call and at least mention it to him. I doubt he would have shipped them out in that condition. I don't know Jon so i really can't say anything about his practices. Good luck with those little killers.
> [snapback]1106799[/snapback]​


I talked to Jon on the phone, he sounded like a great guy. He wanted to call me, because he was in a rush to get on his plane, that way he could cover everything on the phone. He just said that he gave me the rest he had, because he thought I would enjoy them more than he does. He said that they are basically the "left-overs" so they aren't in that good of condition. But they are free, so I am not complaining, especially because I think that they will heal fine. He also said he didn't want me to be disappointed if any were killed during shipment because they are furiously cannabalistic, but none died!!

Jon is on vacation now, and he said that he will "touch base" with me on Friday night when he gets back. He is very reasonable and a great business guy IMO. He also mentioned if I was not happy with them, he would "take care of me". Not sure what that means, but it sounds reassuring.
~Taylor~


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

That was definitely cool of Jon. Good to hear.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

killerbee said:


> Congrats
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Actually killerbee, I have them in my 29 gallon. I sold my oscar to the pet store last night, and then cleaned the tank out really good. I had no choice. I never got heaters for my 130 gallon tank, because I wasn't planning on getting the fish so soon. But then when I saw Jon's post saying he was selling them all out, I had to get them. For now they are in the 29 gallon. I am going to get Rena Excel heaters from PetsMart, which is like an hour from here, and I may not get there for a few days. My local Pet Supplies "Plus" sells heaters, but they are SUPER expensive, but that goes with all of their products I guess, so I am not supporting their business. I'm thinking I will get the heaters this weekend, but I want to do it soon so they don't tear each other apart even worse in this tank.
~Taylor~


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## piranhaqueen (Nov 18, 2004)

It has been hotter down where you are then where I am... my heaters haven't been running much! These 90 degree days are killers!!! Do you ever look on ebay? I've ordered lots of brand new stuff from different sellers and have always gotten good deals and good service.

check out what is for sale right now.


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

cool glad u were happy with your service, maybe ill order my next serra(what ever it may be) from him. good luck with them, caribe look pretty cool IMO. and with the extras, thatsa hella deal. raise em up and then u can sell em for quite a bit a $ when there 6"+.


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## Elongatus cockus (May 28, 2005)

Congrats on the new caribas

Just got mine too (got 2 free







)

Right off the bat, these guys are insane


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Tibs said:


> cool glad u were happy with your service, maybe ill order my next serra(what ever it may be) from him. good luck with them, caribe look pretty cool IMO. and with the extras, thatsa hella deal. raise em up and then u can sell em for quite a bit a $ when there 6"+.
> [snapback]1107022[/snapback]​


That's what I was thinking, except the one-eyes would never really be worth anything would they?

My brother works at a really fancy bar at a ritsy place called "Bay Harbor" in Petoskey, MI, which is about 3 hours northwest from my house. It is where all of the rich people flock. Tim Allen and Madonna have houses that you can see from the harbor along the bank, anyway, I thought that when these suckers get about 6"+, I would post a classified ad in their newspaper up there. I can't imagine anybody in MY area buying a fish for that much, so I wouldn't waste my time locally. Maybe charge a lil more than or sponsors. Hey, it's not like I'm preying on poor people or anything up there. It was just a thought....








~Taylor~


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Elongatus cockus said:


> Congrats on the new caribas
> 
> Just got mine too (got 2 free
> 
> ...


GREAT! Do yours vary in size too? My biggest one is probably pushing 2.5" and the smallest is about just a lil more than an inch. I have about 3 big ones, and the rest are pretty much the same in size.
~Taylor~


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## mashunter18 (Jan 2, 2004)

Awesome man, its always exciting getting new fish, especially when they are shipped, you are waiting to see exactly what you got.

I was happy when I used Jon.there is a chance the one eyes will get munched, but sounds like that will be o.k since you got 5 extras....

Good luck with them


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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

id keep the 1 eyed ones, ive heard that ones like that will be hella more aggressive


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Tibs said:


> id keep the 1 eyed ones, ive heard that ones like that will be hella more aggressive
> [snapback]1107093[/snapback]​


It's pretty sad watching them try to eat a sinking fish flake. They miss it about 5 times before they finally nab it.








~Taylor~


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Congrats on your new fish, Taylor















Now hurry up and share some pics, dammit


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## GlassblowRBPown (Apr 4, 2005)

feel free to send your one yes this way, ill buy em. hehe


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## sprtslvr785 (Mar 3, 2005)

I know your feeling of excitement in getting new caribes. I bought 5 from Shark aquarium. One of them came in as a pirate, and now I have 2 pirates. so obviously one of them was pissed off at another. Keep them well fed and they will grow fast.

I got 10 one inch rbps about a month before I got the caribe and when the caribe got here they were half of the size of the rbp's now its vice versa.


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## killerbee (Aug 18, 2004)

taylorhedrich said:


> killerbee said:
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> 
> > Congrats
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I see. why not order your heaters frome Bigals. Great prices.







I've ordered many things from them


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

killerbee said:


> taylorhedrich said:
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> > killerbee said:
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Because I take advantage of the price match deal that PetsMart offers, and then I just take in the BigAls book or a PetsMart online print-off, and then they match that deal, plus you get away from paying shipping charges.








~Taylor~


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## Dave Hasselhoff (Nov 17, 2004)

Taylor,

Let me know when you want to get rid of those bad boys. I'll take them off of your hands and they can go in with my caribes.

Ryan


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Dave Hasselhoff said:


> Taylor,
> 
> Let me know when you want to get rid of those bad boys. I'll take them off of your hands and they can go in with my caribes.
> 
> ...


Great, I will. You probably won't want any of the one eyes though will you?


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

ur P's should be fine...they jus need soe time to acclimate to their new surroundings....caribes are one of the nest pygos IMO...u'll have fun


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

the_w8 said:


> ur P's should be fine...they jus need soe time to acclimate to their new surroundings....caribes are one of the nest pygos IMO...u'll have fun
> [snapback]1107469[/snapback]​


Yes, they are fine. They were fine about 30 minutes after I posted that 3 were having a hard time. I fed them, but they just wasted most of it, so I will do a gravel vac and try to feed them tomorrow.

These are my very first caribas, so I think it will be fun too.








~Taylor~


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## Dave Hasselhoff (Nov 17, 2004)

taylorhedrich said:


> Dave Hasselhoff said:
> 
> 
> > Taylor,
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Maybe, I could always use a badass. Just let me know when you wanna sell those guys off.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Dave Hasselhoff said:


> taylorhedrich said:
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> > Dave Hasselhoff said:
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Will do! I'll probably start getting rid of them at around 6-7" I think. I will PM you.

If they are bad-asses, then I may have to keep a one eye for myself to keep solitary in my 29 gallon. Maybe not... I have a while to decide anyway.








~Taylor~


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## Dave Hasselhoff (Nov 17, 2004)

That sounds like a plan to me.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Damn-it!!









My brother was swimming in a lake today with his friends after the water was treated with chemicals to killl seaweed....long story short he has a bad rash and just went straight home, so I have no pictures.







Sorry to disappoint you, but I feel worse about it, especially when I said I would have pictures so confidently.

Well, I have a question that might be hard to answer without pictures, but I was wondering how good a piranha's "regeneration powers" are. As stated, about 4 have their dorsal fins; flesh and all, taken out. Just a half-circle bites right where the dorsal fins should be. They are pretty deep, probably about a half of a centimeter deep. It doesn't sound that deep, but with as small as these fish it is. I was just wondering if when it heals the dorsal fin will grow back or not. I know it is probably really hard to answer correctly without pictures, but I tried explaining the best that I could. Thanks in advance.
~Taylor~


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## ~Silly~Spy (Mar 12, 2005)

congrats man! glad to see you finally got them


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## kove32 (Oct 26, 2004)

They'll heal in no time!!!


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## BigChuckP (Feb 9, 2004)

taylorhedrich said:


> Damn-it!!
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Remember this thread? P's got some mad regenerative powers so I wouldn't be too worried, but remember to keep them well-fed so the injured caribes don't get munched also get them in the 135 so they have more room. Some times fins don't grow back though. My p(snowflake) is missing his left pectoral fin, his former tank mate(Übeltäter







) decided he would be ok without it and that was october of last year that he lost it, and as far as I know it is still gone.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

BigChuckP said:


> taylorhedrich said:
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> > Damn-it!!
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Yes, I do remember that thread, but I never did get to see the recent picture that he posted, so thanks for directing me to it.







Now I am treating them with salt using the method pinned in the Disease, Parasite, and Injury forum, so hopefully they will get better!







I'll post pictures the fastest I can....
~Taylor~


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## matc (Jul 31, 2004)

where are the pics ? Is it one on your caribe in your avatar ?


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

matc07098702 said:


> where are the pics ? Is it one on your caribe in your avatar ?
> [snapback]1110105[/snapback]​


No, my cariba are still babies that range from 1.5-2.5"

As stated earlier in my thread, I don't have a digital camera, so I was going to use my brother's as long as he was home. Well, he went swimming with some buddies up north and got into some chemicals that was poured in the water to kill seaweed. He broke out in a rash, and decided to go straight back home instead of coming back to my house.

So in other words, no pictures. Sorry. I am really disappointed too, because I wanted to ask opinions on if you think the dorsal fins will grow back, but oh well, another time I guess, if they aren't healed by the time he comes home again.








~Taylor~


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## doctorvtec (May 15, 2004)

taylorhedrich said:


> matc07098702 said:
> 
> 
> > where are the pics ? Is it one on your caribe in your avatar ?
> ...


Congrats Taylor. I am happy that everything has worked out for you.

Get us some pics when your brother comes around.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Crap! I just counted them and there are only 11 now. I then was trying to figure out which one was eaten, and it was a one-eye, because there were 3 and now there are only 2. I'm pretty sure the "big ones" were in on it. I feed them like crazy, and only the smaller ones are intersted and eat a lot, and the big ones just chill at the back, so I throw a nice size chunk of pollock fillet in there to satisfy their cravings. Well, they never eat to get their stomachs bulging like all of the others do, and now that the one is missing, the big ones have nice plump tummies.







Oh well, life will go on, at least this one was just a one eye....
~Taylor~


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## doctorvtec (May 15, 2004)

taylorhedrich said:


> Crap! I just counted them and there are only 11 now. I then was trying to figure out which one was eaten, and it was a one-eye, because there were 3 and now there are only 2. I'm pretty sure the "big ones" were in on it. I feed them like crazy, and only the smaller ones are intersted and eat a lot, and the big ones just chill at the back, so I throw a nice size chunk of pollock fillet in there to satisfy their cravings. Well, they never eat to get their stomachs bulging like all of the others do, and now that the one is missing, the big ones have nice plump tummies.
> 
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Don't be too down Taylor. Remember they are still relatively new to their surroundings.


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## anthongy817 (May 3, 2005)

atleast you had a couple that were free! my 7 caribes are doing great...i just put in 10 1.5" reds. I'm going to get rid of 5 whenever they get about 4", so only a total of 7 caribes and 5 reds that i'm going to keep.

funny is that caribes are suppose to be more aggressive than the reds..but i came home tonight with one missing red but left was its head. Checked out my caribes and their stomachs weren't bulging...and found 3 of the reds with bulging stomachs..=/

i hope i don't loose any more...and i hope you don't either. My caribes are turning darker, so i guess their comfortable in their enviroment!


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

anthongy817 said:


> atleast you had a couple that were free! my 7 caribes are doing great...i just put in 10 1.5" reds. I'm going to get rid of 5 whenever they get about 4", so only a total of 7 caribes and 5 reds that i'm going to keep.
> 
> funny is that caribes are suppose to be more aggressive than the reds..but i came home tonight with one missing red but left was its head. Checked out my caribes and their stomachs weren't bulging...and found 3 of the reds with bulging stomachs..=/
> 
> ...


Mine are turning darker too, and they will be going into the 130 tomorrow once the heaters get the tank up to temp, so I am hoping that they will get along better with all of the room.

It also seems like it is going to be a pain in the but to feed them in that tank. They hardly seem to pick at the pollock fillets that I leave in the tank they are in now (29 gallon) so it seems they'd be more likely to totally ignore it in the larger tank. I just hope I can get them to eat, otherwise there will be a catastrophy. I am also feeding them earthworms, krill and flakes.









You are going to keep 12 pygos for life in that 140 gallon?








~Taylor~


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## anthongy817 (May 3, 2005)

haha not for life...getting more tanks when i move =] which is in 1 year.

have you tried shrimp? i fed my caribes frozen shrimp without its shell, and they loved it. Andi just fed them halibut fillet and they loved it as well.

my p's wont eat flakes or krill...


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

anthongy817 said:


> haha not for life...getting more tanks when i move =] which is in 1 year.
> 
> have you tried shrimp? i fed my caribes frozen shrimp without its shell, and they loved it. Andi just fed them halibut fillet and they loved it as well.
> 
> ...


No, I haven't tried shrimp yet. I don't haver any on hand.

My bigger ones won't eat the flakes, but then again they don't hardly eat anything. I guess it is just the difference in that lil bit of age, because my smaller ones just gobble the flakes right up..
~Taylor~


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## anthongy817 (May 3, 2005)

taylorhedrich said:


> anthongy817 said:
> 
> 
> > haha not for life...getting more tanks when i move =] which is in 1 year.
> ...


i fed my caribes shrimp 2 days after i got them. they tore it up like there was no tomorrow...you should go try some...i have two bricks of frozen shrimp and 2 lb of halibut.


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