# Vegetable Matter



## Hogdog (Feb 1, 2010)

I have a Marginatus and it's taken a few bites out of the plants, one Amazon sword and another plant I can't remember the name of.

Is this normal and should I supplement it's diet with some form of vegetable matter?

Are there any carnivore feeds that include vegetable matter?


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

very common for any P to bite at plants. it just kind of happens whether they are real or plastic. chances of getting them to eat any vegetable matter is pretty low. but there are a few pellet products out there that are higher in vegetable matter. but truthfully you dont need to be concerned with those and odds are your serrra wont eat them anyways. just keep to a good diet of white fish fillets, shrimp, etc


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## Hogdog (Feb 1, 2010)

Will do, I read that vegetable matter has been found in their stomachs so it's natural behaviour, I just wish he wasn't eating my plants! If he eats my Anubis I may have to kick him in the nuts, it's just about the flower!

I've not used pellets before so I'll have a look at the contents of some pellets to see if I can satisfy his need for weed.


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## Tensa (Jul 28, 2008)

being the size he is it will be tuff to get him on pellets but it is possible. maybe stuff some into his regular shrimp and fillets.


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## Hogdog (Feb 1, 2010)

He normally lives on smelt, scallops and squid (and the occasional river shrimp) so I may be able to get some small pellets into the smelt but as you say he's small and so his portions are quite small which makes it tricky. I'll give it a go, cheers.


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## dmackey (Jan 26, 2010)

Just from experience I noticed that my plants get less nibbled on and chucks bit out of them when I used floats pellets instead of sinking ones, seems as tho they only bite my plants when their food sinks. So I feed them to the area where less plants are when I feed them food that has to sink . Good luck bru


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## SERRAPYGO (Feb 4, 2003)

Hogdog said:


> I have a Marginatus and it's taken a few bites out of the plants, one Amazon sword and another plant I can't remember the name of.
> 
> Is this normal and should I supplement it's diet with some form of vegetable matter?
> 
> Are there any carnivore feeds that include vegetable matter?


Your live plants will take hits just because they are "there" in front of his face. It's normal. 
And no, it's not necessary to supplement him with veggies. He's a carnivore!


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## smb (Jun 1, 2003)

Like mentioned not needed and my sanchezi does the same thing to my plastic plants. its normal but pisses me off and i think he nust know it because he looks right at me when he does it. Then i have to stick my hand in and retrieve the mess and he goes to the side that is his territory and stands his ground and stares at me like a defiant child. Then whwn i pull my hand out he races around the tank in circles like saying "good thing you still arent here because..." I do feed him thawed out frozen peas without the skin once in a while and he usually eats them but hes more like a cichlid than piranha so who knows. He even ate flake food today the first time i intoduced then to him also. in 25 years of piranha keeping I couldnt get any of them to do it tho so doubt its normal to be that easy.


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