# Red Belly?



## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

Well, I've had this p for 4 months now and I keep the tank clean and feed it different food like shrimp pellets, blood worms, and occasional guppy. There hasnt been any spots of the red belly like the one i saw at my pet store so could anyone tell me what this is?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

rbp.


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

Yep it's a pygocentrus nattereri aka red bellied piranha.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

why is it not showing the red belly then?


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

Could be a number of things. Substrate, background, lighting, age, stress.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

hmm i just installed the lights in today, just put the background today, hes 4 months, idk about stress and idk what substrate is. Could you help?


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Looks a little "immature" for 4 months old... what/how often you feeding him, and what's your waterchange schedule?


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

i change the water once a week, today i did an actual full water change, and i feed him shrimp pellets mostly


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

"Full water change?"
Hmmm... please define.

How often do you feed him?


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

full waterchanges usually are not the smartest things to do.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

i feed him 3 times a day, thats what the bottle says. And like i put him in a separate tank and put new water in it, changed the filter cartridge and put new dechlorinator, i also scrubbed the tank with a sponge no soap of course. Maybe its the diet?


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

What are your water params?

Substrate is gravel, sand or anything else you lay on the bottom of the tank.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

im new at this, i clean the gravel each time i do a water change, and i havnt checked anything what would i use to do that?


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

What bottle? And what filtration are you running? Was the tank cycled?


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

You need to educate yourself on "nitrogen cycling."
By emptying all the water out, scrubbing the tank and cleaning the gravel, you're destroying beneficial bacteria cultures that are absolutely necessary for your fish.

To tell you the truth, you're making the same mistake that most aquarium owners do.
Becoming a member of P-Fury was probably the best thing you could have done for your education in fish keeping.

Somebody'll be along shortly to give you a 'crash course' in cycling.
I've gotta run... just got in from yardwork and am sitting here filthy and in desperate need of a shower.









Listen to the advice given and you'll be in good shape very soon.
Welcome to the site!


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

traveller the bottle of the pellets, and piranha man, thanks for helping me on that. I thought it was all going good but i guess not :O
edit: the filter is the one that came with the tank, its a 10g filter and what do you mean cycled?


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

No sweat man, I mean... your fish looks fine in the picture... it's not like you've killed him...
He'll just be a hell of a lot better off once you get his aquarium properly cycled and the parameters in check.

He'll grow and show nice coloration.

We were all 'noobs' at one time!


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

thats why i started with only 1 until i get the hang of it and get a nice school of them


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

Can you list your setup. Tank size, filter.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

right now its a 10g until he gets bigger and im upgrading to a 55g, the fliter is a whisper PF10


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

10g is too small for a RBP you've had for 4 months. I say upgrade asap to a 40breeder or the 55. What size is the RBP?
Your filtration isn't enough especially for a red in a tank that size. Upgrade too asap.

For now, do 10% water changes daily with conditioned water and buy yourself a liquid test kit for ammo, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

You need to cycle your tank, so that you build up beneficial bacteria that will convert the ammonia (fish waste) into nitrite and then nitrate.

But first grab yourself a test kit and start planning an upgrade.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

how about diet?


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

Don't over feed and only feed once a day now.

What pellets is the RBP eating?


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Mix it up a little...

You've already got him eating pellets which is GREAT!
Now supplement a little with pieces of fish (tilapia is great...), shrimp, mussel, etc.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

they are wardley shrimp pellets formula


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

Like P-man said, mix up the diet. Shrimp, mussels, white fish. But for no try not to feed too regularly because you have a fish in a small uncycled tank that appears stressed.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

i have things in there that i had to take out cuz he was getting stuck underneath it, and where would i get this kind of stuff


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

Super market, frozen fish section.

You seem more bothered about feeding forgetting the fact your tank isn't cycled and you can kill your fish, stunt it's growth and cause it unnecessary stress.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Yeah, Travel's right... ya gotta cycle the tank stat.


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## imanubnoob (Feb 14, 2011)

im still confused on how to cycle a tank


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## Guest (Apr 17, 2011)

Cyclng 101
This should get you started. Any other q's post them in the appropriate section and I'm sure more members will chime in.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

It is still small so it is farily normal for them to have little red. With size they will lose their spots and gain red.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Yeah, knowing at least the basics of cycling a tank... "how to do it and why" is absolutely one of the most important things about aquarium keeping.
You need to not only know what to do, but why you're doing it.
30 minutes researching and reading about the nitrogen cycle will be 30 minutes well spent.


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

I agree you need to put him in a bigger tank ASAP... i agree stunted growth is not the most important issue right now... you need to learn about tank cycle, water parameters and general fish keeping ASAP:

http://www.piranha-fury.com/information/index.php?Act=articles

http://www.opefe.com/opefe_research_page.html


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