# RB's newbie helpout please



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

Hey everyone, Im new here and I am getting a 55g tank in less then a week

I am getting the tank, canopy, heater, a penguin 170 hang on filter good for 50G tank

Im wanting to get a bunch of baby RB's I was at a local fish store today they are about 2 inches long at most.

So Im wondering how many would be good to get to start off with I want a bunch so they can feed/play or whatever in a large group and then take a few out as months go by.

Also what should I be feeding them while their small and am I missing anything to start off with them

Any other tips would be great thanks


----------



## Fido (May 21, 2003)

First, BIG WELCOME. :welcome:

Where are you getting the cycled water and filter pad from? Do you know about cycling the water? If you dont cycle the water, it is possible that you may lose a lot of your red bellies... Also many times red bellies are skitish for a long time, if you are expecting a savage rabid beast, you might be disapointed.
Usually people with a 55g get 2 red bellies or 3 maximum. There is a common 20g per red belly rule around here. But I would say 3 is good. A variety food is best, a lot of people feed juvy RB worms, bugs, shrimp, squid, etc...


----------



## icedizzle (Feb 3, 2005)

make sure to look in the information section and do some reading... all you need to know about feeding, and Piranha care is in there.

Welcome


----------



## frankyo (Oct 20, 2004)

Yes 3 should be fine I got five the first time and I had to change tanks because I was losing a lot space for them to swim.


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

I am a total noob haha, I dont know about cycling water or anything

I have been doing some reading but couldnt find the exact info I was after which is alot but I did find some

If I dont get the 55g that I was looking at what would a tank around the dimensions of 48 inches wide up to 20inches deep and maybe 24inches tall be, thats the size of the desk I have in my room I could put a new tank on if I dont get the 55g

would that be around 75g or more? I want to get a bunch to start off with and maybe have 3-4 big ones down the road


----------



## icedizzle (Feb 3, 2005)

http://www.piranha-fury.com/information/de....php?id=cycling

Thats the link to the cycling page.







READ IT CAREFULLY!!!


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

yah I read that, thanks

when I was at the fish store today they said to setup the tank and put in 10 or so feeders for 2 weeks and it should cycle ok, dose that sound about right? then after the 2 weeks test it and then add the RB's


----------



## icedizzle (Feb 3, 2005)

petereggy said:


> yah I read that, thanks
> 
> when I was at the fish store today they said to setup the tank and put in 10 or so feeders for 2 weeks and it should cycle ok, dose that sound about right? then after the 2 weeks test it and then add the RB's
> [snapback]890022[/snapback]​


Don't just go with "two weeks" I would constantly test the water ike the article says then when you get the proper readings add the piranha.


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

Alright, thanks for the help on that subject

but what do you think I would be better off doing picking up the 55g or buying a tank to fit my desk which works out to be about 90 US Gallons (48x18x24, WxDxH)

How many RB's could fit in there near full size or at full size?


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

also would it be worth it to buy a smaller tank for feeders or just go pick some up every few days?

and if I got the smaller tank would I need to go though the same setup as the RB's?


----------



## goodnews (Oct 5, 2004)

you could pull away with 5 for a long time but I would say 4


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

that would be awsome

so I could have 4 or 5 for life in the 90g tank or a 100g?


----------



## Fido (May 21, 2003)

^^^ pretty much yeah. Just hope for the best that they dont pick on each other. good luck.


----------



## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

90 gallons is going to weigh around 900 pounds with tank, gravel and water, you might want to double check to make sure the desk will hold that weight.

The 90 will obviously be better than the 55, and with a 90 I would get 6 if I was just starting up a tank with babies. If you don't lose one you can sell the extra down the road


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

900lbs!!!

holy crap yah I will double check my desk or get a stand that can handle that much weight

I had a friend who works at the fish store and he said I can return the fish for credit, so if I got a 90 how long could 6-8 babys live comfortably in there without trying to kill eachother


----------



## PYROPYGO1 (Nov 23, 2004)

if you want to get some aggressive piranhas, get some caribas from one of the online fish stores. i got four from George at sharkaquarium.com and they are constantly swimming around in the 100gal. tank, unlike the redbellys that just barely move unless they are going for food. here is a pic of the 100 gal. i chose to get only 4 caribas so they won't fight as much and will get as close to full grown as possible. here is a pic......


----------



## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

im buzzed and didnt wanna read to much of sh*t but welcome man

and if you get a 90gal you could do four pygos in there and id get a lot of filtration,

i have a couple "cascade 300's on a hundred" there cheap and work good, plus if i was you

id do like tow 150 heaters in the 90 cause if one falis then you dont lose total heat

and it evenly distivutes the heat better,. get a test kit to test the water BEFORE you get

your fish and well help out with that

0ammonia
0nitrItes
some nitrAtes


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

alright cool, well Im gonna go to the fish store in the next few days and see about getting a big tank and all that

maybe I will just get rid of my desk or get a smaller desk for a computer or something

thanks again for your help guys

and pygo = piranha?


----------



## jamesdelanoche (Dec 15, 2004)

they mean pygocentus, one genus of piranha. I would say since your new and I'm gonna assume you don't want to spend tons of money on fish, go with a few reds, personally i'd say 7-8, just so if you lose some you will get down to a good amount, and if not, you've got yourself an overstocked tank (but its not impossible to make it work, many members will tell you that. However, if you do want to spend some more money, buy a couple caribe or a couple wild reds and some caribe and make yourself a nice aggressive shoal.


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

at big als which is the store I have friends at, they wanted like 12 bucks for baby RB's and the only other P's they had were long bellies and maybe another type but I doubt it.

so I guess I will be getting a 100G or so tank soon and stocking it with 6-8 RB's

I cant wait


----------



## 351winsor (Aug 3, 2004)

5 rbp until they get about 5",in the end you can have 3 full grown in the 55g.You can feed them alot of different food.I mainly use feeders which alot of people disagree on,but it is more fun to watch.I would also suggest beef heart,Brime shrimp...Thats all I can think of.


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

would there be anythign wrong with nothing but feeders ?

or is it good to diversify?


----------



## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

petereggy said:


> would there be anythign wrong with nothing but feeders ?
> 
> or is it good to diversify?
> [snapback]894795[/snapback]​


Diversifying their diet is very important for your fish's wellbeing - if a human would only eat McD or pizza or pasta day in day out, it won't be good for him or his health either...

Feeders should be avoided as much as possible - best is not to feed them at all, but if you want to do it anyways, feed them as a treat, once or twiceper month at most.
Feeders aren't very nutricious, can carry diseases and/or parasites, and many feeder species including goldfish, rosy's and minnows contain growth-inhiting hormones that can negatively affect your piranha's.
So I'd stick to prepared foods (fish fillet, smelt, shrimp, krill, mosquito larvae, bloodworms, earth worms, meal worms, mussels, squid and pellets), and feed stuff like live feeders, beef heart, mamal meat/organs and poultry only as a special treat.


----------



## hrdbyte (Feb 2, 2005)

4 is fine for atleast 8 to 12 months. then get a bigger tank if you reallys care for them.


----------



## LFSuperfly144 (Feb 7, 2005)

3 or 4 would be cool enjoy and welcome


----------



## redbellyman21 (Jun 27, 2004)

besides the fact that feeders arent the best choice (check mr.freez signature for link "feeders") If u still want feeders after u read that u will need at least 2 small tanks, u could do it with one but 2 is easier. The one tank is the hospital tank so to speak! that way the initial die off since they are garbage fish to begin with. After the 10-20 feeders u get stabilize in the one tank move them to the 2nd tank were they should be fed bloodworms, brineshrimp etc, as to give them a nutritional value to your p! That will be ur feeders that are healthy and well fed to fed p and just get new feeders when u start to run low and start it all over again. remember feeders are like snacks, they shouldnt be only food!

I have two tanks 10 g
1. get 20 put in first tank feed them well okie filtartion (week1)
2. wait a week remove dead ones, there will be dead ones trust me
3. put in 2 tank with great filtration and feed them good (week2)
4. week 3 get new feeders! easy enough


----------



## petereggy (Feb 13, 2005)

yah that sounds like a good idea, but that may get expensive

10g tanks are how much? plus filters for both

also Im probly chaning from getting the 55g tank to getting one that will be either 48x18x24 or 48x24x24 with stand and everything else I will need

Could some PM me a list of all the stuff I will need to start up a brand new tank and an approx price or what is an acceptable price or post it in here thanks


----------



## Feeding_Frenzy (Feb 12, 2005)

In all honesty if you have the means, I'd get a 125g with stand. I have a 55g and I regret not getting bigger. Bigger is better


----------



## Mack (Oct 31, 2004)

Mmkay. You need:

-Tank (Hood, light)
-Stand (You can buy one, or make one yourself. It's possible to make a stand out of plywood, cinderblocks, and some foam.)
-Filter
-Heater 
-(Optional) Powerhead
-(Optional) Gravel or Sand
-(Optional) Decorations

If your local fish store has Bio-Spira, I would buy it. This stuff cycles your tank instantly, it's the only product that does it.


----------

