# do Piranhas breath with their mouth open?



## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

I just got my first P at 9 this morning. Fed ex busted the box open and all the water came out. Well thankfully they opened the box up and saw it was a fish and put it in a tupperware container with water in it. So I was handed a tupperware box with my P in it lol. I immediatly dosed the tupperware with prime to get out the chlorine and tested the water for ammonia, ph etc. I then dripped the water from his new tank into the tupperware and eventually placed him in the tank. He is swimming around but it kinda looks like he is panting, he is breathing with his mouth open and kinda hanging out near the top of the water but every so often he will swim down to the bottem-middle and the come back up. All my water is in check, no amm, no nitrites, 20ppm nitrates, plenty of aggitation to create oxygen. Is this him just being stressed?


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## Kudos (Dec 22, 2005)

i would say its him being stressed


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

good deal, its what I figured. Ill be sure to take some pics once I get her color back in and turn the lights on tonight!


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

It sounds like the fish is definitely doing that because os stress. It sounds like the poor thing had a rough trip. Just give it time and it should settle in and start exploring it's tank.

By the way, what kind of fish did you get?
~Taylor~


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

S sanchezi. its abeauty wild caught fish. fins are in great condition little marks though but im guessing that is from thrashing around. 3 hours later and still doing fine, swimming around more but still breathing kinda heavy.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

thebluyak said:


> S sanchezi. its abeauty wild caught fish. fins are in great condition little marks though but im guessing that is from thrashing around. 3 hours later and still doing fine, swimming around more but still breathing kinda heavy.


Awesome, 'Daisy' sounds like a beautiful fish. I can't wait to see pictures of her when she's settled in. I'm glad to hear she is doing well. As long as your parameters are in check she should be adjusted soon. Just give her time to come out of her shell to be aggressive/not shy though.
~Taylor~


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

Yeah everytrhing is in check, my tank is a 36 bow planted/ co2 high light (they are off now to help adjust) planted, rock caves and driftwood. I have an XP3 for filtration and fully cycled so water will be perfect always. How long before I should expect her to eat? There is a cichlid in there now but he just keeps following daisy around lol. I have fresh flounder and croaker fillets as well as meal worms to feed her.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

thebluyak said:


> Yeah everytrhing is in check, my tank is a 36 bow planted/ co2 high light (they are off now to help adjust) planted, rock caves and driftwood. I have an XP3 for filtration and fully cycled so water will be perfect always. How long before I should expect her to eat? There is a cichlid in there now but he just keeps following daisy around lol. I have fresh flounder and croaker fillets as well as meal worms to feed her.


It sounds like you have a very nice set-up for your sanchezi.

Don't be surprised if she doesn't eat for a few weeks. I wouldn't get overly worried about it until about the 3rd week, because adult piranhas can go a long time without eating. Most likely she will eat before that though if you give her a chance.








~Taylor~


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Sounds like she is adjusting very well to her new tank. To answer your first question, p's breath by pulling water in through their month and flushing it over their gills. Then, expelling it out the rear of their gills.

Second question, you could try to feed her later today. Give it about 30 minutes, then remove any uneaten food.

Congrats on a wonderful pick-up! Can't wait to see some pics!


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## zack-199 (Aug 10, 2006)

I dont blame her for bein stressed, sounds like it was a rough trip there.


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

Coldfire said:


> Sounds like she is adjusting very well to her new tank. To answer your first question, p's breath by pulling water in through their month and flushing it over their gills. Then, expelling it out the rear of their gills.


Right, and to add something more detailed here.
When a fish opens its mouth to inhale, the gill membranes are closed. This is because now the exhaled water will not go back inside the mouth through gill openings.
When a fish exhales, it lets the gill membranes open and at the same time as it thrusts the out of the mouth, the memmbranes just behind the lips are closed. This is in turn to prevent the inhaled water form going out via mouth again.

If you look inside a Piranhas mouth, you can easily see the closing membranes while exhaling, because Piranhas (Pygos especially) have slightly open mouths during breathing.

Harry


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

Here she is! She hasnt gotten alot of her color back but its coming. I built that fish tank stand myself it was originally for my 55 gallon which is why it is so long. That spot on her nose looks like from bumping up agaisnt stuff, will that heal? Do I need to go get some melafix for her? I think its humorous to see the cichlid swimming with her!

Let me know what yall think!

Ryan


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

She is looking pretty nice! I see she is pretty thin though, not to alarm you, but without fat storage in their dorsum, they cannot go as long without eating (like a month or anything). I would just keep trrying to get her to eat everyday.

That scrape on her chin is no big deal at all. It will be healed in no time.








~Taylor~


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Agreed ^^^

She looks very nice! That scrape on her chin will heal in a week or two, no worries. As Taylor stated, keep trying to feed her everyday.


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Nice looking specimen... soon he will heal and settle down







!


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

Should I try to give her fish fillets in addition to leaving the cichlid in there or how would you recommend I try to entice her to eat?


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## the_skdster (Aug 15, 2006)

thebluyak said:


> Should I try to give her fish fillets in addition to leaving the cichlid in there or how would you recommend I try to entice her to eat?


chichlid meat taste good, no?


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

thebluyak said:


> Should I try to give her fish fillets in addition to leaving the cichlid in there or how would you recommend I try to entice her to eat?


Leaving the cichlid in there is okay, as long as he doesn't harm anything. If you are really worried and want to give it your all to try and get her to eat, you can dangle food on a string (piranhas are attracted to movement). You could also go to your local fish store and pick up a bottle of garlic extract (such as Seachem Garlic Guard) and put that on the food, since piranhas seem to like the smell/taste of garlic.

Those are just some options, I'm not saying that you HAVE to do it.








~Taylor~


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

alright ill leave the cichlid in there and try to fish on a string thing she has calmed down alot and regulated her breathing so thats good. The first night is done atleast thats the most crucial.


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## the_skdster (Aug 15, 2006)

thebluyak said:


> alright ill leave the cichlid in there and try to fish on a string thing she has calmed down alot and regulated her breathing so thats good. The first night is done atleast thats the most crucial.


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## thebluyak (Apr 14, 2006)

the_skdster said:


> alright ill leave the cichlid in there and try to fish on a string thing she has calmed down alot and regulated her breathing so thats good. The first night is done atleast thats the most crucial.











[/quote]

Still hasnt eaten really but im becomnig less worried as im being reassured its natural for her not to eat so quickly. She does have some pretty nasty fin rot from being shipped which is being treated with salt. Its starting to improve slowly but im worried since she hasnt eaten it will be harder for her to recover. Is there a reason why i should go get some melafix or another antifungal medicine or will the 1tablespoon/10G salt treatment enough?


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