# Baby RBP



## Nuance (Jun 12, 2005)

So Iv'e got some babies, and I feed them chichlid pellets and frozen Brine shrimp. There about 2 1/2 to 3 inches and they accept both these foods. Id like to vary there diet a little so they dont get bored of it, and so that they can grow to be big and colourful. WHat kinds of food have you guys used with your young red bellies? anything you can recomend from your experiences?


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## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

In addition to what you're feeding them chopped up white filets and nightcrawlers would be good.







to feeding and nutrition


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## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

give them KRILL too.


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

I agree with Jerry on the white filets and nightcrawlers. Earthworms/nightcrawlers are high in protein and low in fat, so they are always a good choice.

Since your babies are 2.5-3" in length, they can basically eat anything that an adult can, although it may have to be chopped up for them. It is good that you are feeding them pellets. You should pack that good stuff to them while they are young enough and accept it, because when they get older they most likely will not.

Shrimp with the shell is very good for them, because the shell of the shrimp contains ingredients that aid in great red coloration of your babies. Also some krill would be good. Basically any frozen whitefish that you can buy at the market would be good, like I said they may have to be chopped in small portions for your little ones.

I understand that beefheart is good and nutritious for them, but the downside of it is that it is high in fat, so it should only be fed in small portions about 1 time a month as a treat.

There are just so many possibilities. I've listed the most common choices to feed them, but just take a look around here, you will find some other healthy choices as well.

~Taylor~


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## vicious (Apr 4, 2005)

My 4 RBP are also juv.... maybe a bit bigger than yours though.... but for awhile I just simply stop at a bait shop once a week or so, pick up a scoop of fathead minnows (about 30 of them) and throw them in the tank. In about a week or a bit longer my 4 have them just about all taken care of, the only ones left are the smaller, quicker ones that the RBP just can't seem to catch. About once a month for a week though I switch it up and give them leaches and worms to feast on. They seem to be growing quite well and coloring very nicely. I know just giving them all that food at once isn't really recommended as they could feast too much and get fat and lazy, but this doesn't seem to be happening. I come home from work in the late afternoon and pick up about 5 to 6 heads a day from the tank, so 5 or 6 minnows for 4 RBP in a day I don't think is overfeeding. As they really do share pretty much each one, when one is starting to feast all the others are right there to get a piece so my feeding program is working quite well for me.


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## Nuance (Jun 12, 2005)

RB 32 said:


> give them KRILL too.
> [snapback]1077350[/snapback]​


Krill! awesome!, I used to feed them to my firemouth chiclids and it did awesome for colour. I was gonna pick some up the other day but was hesitant... good to know


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## Nuance (Jun 12, 2005)

taylorhedrich said:


> I agree with Jerry on the white filets and nightcrawlers. Earthworms/nightcrawlers are high in protein and low in fat, so they are always a good choice.
> 
> Since your babies are 2.5-3" in length, they can basically eat anything that an adult can, although it may have to be chopped up for them. It is good that you are feeding them pellets. You should pack that good stuff to them while they are young enough and accept it, because when they get older they most likely will not.
> 
> ...


So just shrimp that i can buy at the grocery store? and they should be defrosted right? and aren't fillets salty??? what about frozen bloodworms? freeze dried worms and stuff like that. I really don't know any bait shops in my area


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Nuance said:


> taylorhedrich said:
> 
> 
> > I agree with Jerry on the white filets and nightcrawlers. Earthworms/nightcrawlers are high in protein and low in fat, so they are always a good choice.
> ...


Well you can buy frozen shrimp from the grocery store, but it most likely isn't going to have the shell still intact, which is still ok, it's just that the shell is what really makes the bellies red, but shrimp without that shell is also a good choice. Some local fish stores also sell frozen shrimp for fish, and it should have the shell still intact.

If you buy fish filets that are at a market and are frozen then they shouldn't have any seasonings on them at all. Just get the plain ones, so to answer your question, they should not be salty if you get the right ones. Tilapia filets are really good, because they are cheap and do not come apart in the water and pollute it.

Blood worms are also good for them too, and I'm sure that they will enjoy them.

Everything that you feed your piranha should be thawed and no longer frozen.








~Taylor~


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

krill will give them a nice red belly


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## Nuance (Jun 12, 2005)

taylorhedrich said:


> Nuance said:
> 
> 
> > taylorhedrich said:
> ...


so those frozen brine shrimp cubes should be thawed? oops







but that stuff is like liquid once it thaws.

I will be doing some shopping tomorrow and i will get some krill and bloodworms. w'ell see how that stuff works out. im gonna wait till there a little bigger before i get them on the filets. Im gonna keep takin pictures to see how progress is going with them. I just wish they would gobble up these tetras that i still have swimmin around there.


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## boozehound420 (Apr 18, 2005)

i just drop those little frozen brineshrimp, bloodworms and krill cubes right in the tank frozen, they thawy in like 10 seconds, the brineshrimp and bloodworms thaws and falls apart almost instantly, so they dont really frenzy over it, but the krill will stay in 1 piece so they'll all be going for at once


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

i live by feeding my young Ps; prawns (big shrimp), krill, catfish...thats all they eat. dont like pellets or anything.

prawn really brought out the colour in my Ps. they're about 3.5 inches long.


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## boozehound420 (Apr 18, 2005)

wow puff those colors are awesome, i gotta go pick up some prawns

ow and by the way prawns arent big shrimp, shrimp is from the atlantic somwhere caribean??, prawns are from our own waters of the coast of BC


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Wow, those prawns really did make AMAZING color on that red belly. I'll have to definately keep prawns in mind in the future. I have an idea of what they are, I've just never seen them sold in stores or heard of them before this site.
~Taylor~


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

prawns are caught elsewhere than BC. there are numerous kinds of prawns. i just said (big shrimp), because when i first started saying prawns on here, nobody knew what they were. i was like, "WTF??? its a prawn.."

but prawns are so good for them. especially RBPs, because the anthaxin(however the hell you spell it) which is found in prawns, brings out the red in them.

sometiems the red gets so dark that it looks like they're bleeding under their scales.


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## RB 32 (Mar 2, 2005)

Puff said:


> i live by feeding my young Ps; prawns (big shrimp), krill, catfish...thats all they eat. dont like pellets or anything.
> 
> prawn really brought out the colour in my Ps. they're about 3.5 inches long.
> [snapback]1078800[/snapback]​


I thought that PRAWNS are just (REAL BIG SHRIMP) can someone explain this to me please. puff do you feed your piranhas the shrimp with SHELL intact or not. thanks


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## boozehound420 (Apr 18, 2005)

RB 32 said:


> Puff said:
> 
> 
> > i live by feeding my young Ps; prawns (big shrimp), krill, catfish...thats all they eat. dont like pellets or anything.
> ...


ill repeat, prawns are the same thing, except where there from

shrimp are imported from the atlantic somwhere, im pretty shur the caribean

prawns are from the pacific ocean, mainly the coast of bc


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

i thought there are some shrimp from coldwater and deep depths, and others from warmer climates.

like there's krill in the arctic, those are tiny. but theres shrimp off the coast of eastern canada, and all the way down the coast, right?

mmm...i want a shrimp cocktail right now...split it with my Ps and FH,haha

one thign that's funny in the pic i posted. look in the bottom right corner. theres a P tail sticking out of the plants. thats my wild RBP, i put the secondary light up to the tank to take the pic, and he went and hid his face, while the others posed.haha. yet he's the only P in the tank not to have a nip out of him yet.

oh yeah, and in england, they call shrimp 'prawns'. that confused the hell outta me. you order a prawn cocktail, and you get dinky little shrimp.lol. british cuisine


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## Nuance (Jun 12, 2005)

Puff said:


> i live by feeding my young Ps; prawns (big shrimp), krill, catfish...thats all they eat. dont like pellets or anything.
> 
> prawn really brought out the colour in my Ps. they're about 3.5 inches long.
> [snapback]1078800[/snapback]​


Beautiful Pygo... mine are about 2 1/2 to 3 inches, so yours are a bit bigger, but yeah, time to go shopping me thinks


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## sprtslvr785 (Mar 3, 2005)

Time to go shopping..


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