# How to teach your piranhas to eat pellets



## assclown (Dec 12, 2005)

i just tryed this last night and this afternoon:

i dropped a hand full of pellets into my tank last night and my children did not even care to eat them, i pulled them out and
put the pellets into a small bowl.............here is the key.

i added garlic extract exteme (4 drops) and just enough water from the tank (teaspoon) to make the pellets soft, over night.
when i got home from work, i dropped them into the tank, little by little. i have my tank drilled, so i can not leave floating food in the 
tank because it will end up in my wet dry.

the pellets will sink slowly, make sure you soak over night for needed effect. my guys ate them up without hessitation.
the purpose of the garlic is added amunities and a strange sent for them to go after, the pellets will end up on the bottom,
but will be eatten for sure.....its a win win food option.

the nutrience will not be washed away and the pellets will be soft for them........


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## NegativeSpin (Aug 1, 2007)

Not feeding them for a while is a pretty good technique. Then when they go to the surface to investigate the fish oil smell in the pellets they'll have some trouble positioning the pellets in their mouths to chew them at first but they'll eventually learn. Now my fish let me know when to feed them by swimming to the front of the tank and aiming upward.


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## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

I have been trying this method without any success for 3 days now. I soak in garlic extract for 24 hours. I feed my P's when the lights go out so they are not skittish, they completely ignore the pellets. I then have no choice but to feed them krill or sole fillet. Any ideas on what else I can try. Starving them for a while I dont think is an option, they are juvies and new together.


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## philbert (Mar 8, 2007)

nero1 said:


> I have been trying this method without any success for 3 days now. I soak in garlic extract for 24 hours. I feed my P's when the lights go out so they are not skittish, they completely ignore the pellets. I then have no choice but to feed them krill or sole fillet. Any ideas on what else I can try. Starving them for a while I dont think is an option, they are juvies and new together.


if they are real small i'd wait a while till i tried pellets.


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## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

if they are real small i'd wait a while till i tried pellets.
[/quote]

They are 2-3 inches long. What size would be good for me to give it a try at?


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2008)

nero1 said:


> They are 2-3 inches long. What size would be good for me to give it a try at?


the sooner you try the better, i would get like small pellets or mini at that size. get hikari bio-gold+.
it has garlic in it already. thing is at that size you do not want to starve them much to get them to eat pellets. so it would be ok to wait until they are 5"s.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Mine will eat the pellets, but only when i squeeze the air out of them so they will sink


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2008)

sean-820 said:


> Mine will eat the pellets, but only when i squeeze the air out of them so they will sink


are your pellets soft or something? how can you get the air out of them without crushing them?


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

granules are the best the crumble as soon as the p bite down on them and most are really good for coloration.


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## Domelotta (Apr 25, 2007)

I never knew it was such a big deal feeding them pellets till I got on this site. I guess I just got lucky. When they were small I fed them shrimp and tropical fish flakes so they were used to going to the surface. Then when they got a little bigger thats when I added pellets and there was no problem. I could tell though after adding a bigger red later on that pellets were a kind of food they needed to get used to. The bigger red couldn't keep any of them in its mouth. Now they are fine though. I guess starting them off as early as you can helps.


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## Restricted- (Aug 21, 2008)

nero1 said:


> I have been trying this method without any success for 3 days now. I soak in garlic extract for 24 hours. I feed my P's when the lights go out so they are not skittish, they completely ignore the pellets. I then have no choice but to feed them krill or sole fillet. Any ideas on what else I can try. Starving them for a while I dont think is an option, they are juvies and new together.


have you had your piranhas for long because mine wont eat sole and i got them 1 day ago. do you tie it to a string or drop it in?


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## freebird21 (Dec 3, 2004)

i have never had a problem feeding pellets mine all eat pellets from the surface daily...? never heard of this being a problem...? good luck


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## TheWayThingsR (Jan 4, 2007)

I failed at this. A few of mine are a couple years old or older now. Can't teach old piranhas new tricks? I've resorted to forcing nutrients by putting the pellets in talapia and shrimp.


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## Demon Darko (Jan 28, 2007)

I tried the method and it worked for about a day. After that the rhom wouldn't even acknowledge the pellets.


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## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

Hey guys, im back on this topic. My Piraya still dont even look at the pellets, so here are my questions, how long should I go without feeding my 4 inch Piraya. Should I try to feed them only pellets everyday until they accept them? I get a little stressed out if they do not eat every single day cause Im concerned that they will get aggresive towards each other. I do soak the pellets in garlic before I feed but they never accept. To sum up my questions

1) Do I starve them for a few days and then add pellets? if so how many days is the least risk?
2) Should I offer only pellets as food each day until they eat them and if they dont accept when should I switch back to fillets and shrimp?
3) With my Fish at only four inches should I wait until they are larger to feed pellets?
4) What size pellet should I offer them?
5) If Hikari gold are not working should I try some other pellet if so which ones?

This issue is very important to me for multiple reasons. Some of the major ones are to ensure best possiable nutrition, when I am out of town for a few days or weeks at a time it will be easier for others to care for my fish, and the pellets ( while I am away) may not pollute the water as much as fresh fish or shrimp. Any comments would be greatful.


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## caribad (Jul 27, 2008)

My cariba eat pellets even at the surface. My piraya would even look at them for days. I think all fish are different, some will eat them, some won't. I guess the more times you try, the better your odds. It may take several attempts, but sooner or later they may get the idea. Anybody have a P that ate pellets for months, then stop completely?


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

cant believe no one linked this thread yet:
http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=37129
its a great method just use pellets instead of shrimp i believe he is trying in that thread. its all about patience, and starvation, but an initial fattening period. that thread was very helpful to me in the past. i havent always had to use that method, on fish i got as babies its always easier, but for this one solo red i had that was used to feeders, and on my GDR when i first got him, he also was used to feeders, the method was particularly helpful. the rhom took the longest (about 2 or 3 months), but in the end, i won and he readily eats pellets now. 
good luck.


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## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

Nick G said:


> cant believe no one linked this thread yet:
> http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=37129
> its a great method just use pellets instead of shrimp i believe he is trying in that thread. its all about patience, and starvation, but an initial fattening period. that thread was very helpful to me in the past. i havent always had to use that method, on fish i got as babies its always easier, but for this one solo red i had that was used to feeders, and on my GDR when i first got him, he also was used to feeders, the method was particularly helpful. the rhom took the longest (about 2 or 3 months), but in the end, i won and he readily eats pellets now.
> good luck.


Thanks, that link was vey helpful. I am gonna be presistant and only feed them the pellets everynight for at least a week and see if they accept them. Wish me luck


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## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

DAY 3 : Have not eaten anything, and still show no signs of interest in the pellets. The are getting much more aggressive toward each other as a matter of fact I just witnessed my first fight as I was typing this. Should I continue to starve them and offer only pellets? I am not sure my nerves can handle this however I feel that it is very important for them to accept pellets. Please anyone that has gone through something very similar let me know your comments. I feel like im risking losing one or more at this point.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

how long have they gone without food? 3 days?
how big is the tank? is there adequate hiding spaces. 
once i had 12 reds, all about 3 inches in a 55 gallon (was a huge mistake but i fixed it) i got them to eat pellets by just making sure there was enough hiding places, make sure the water params were PERFECT, and offering pellets once. they didnt take them. i waited 24 hours, offered them again with no success, then i waited 48 hours, still nothing, waited 72 hours, and then some started to take them, then i tried the next day and they all ate. its easy when there is a group because all it really takes is one to eat them, and they rest will follow. 
them being agressive towards each other wont be about food if its only been 3 days since they ate. are you taking the uneaten pellets out? if so, after how long? my suggestion would be to give it 20 minutes in the tank then remove. one trick i did was to put them right near a HOB filter output, it kinda pushed them under water and got the fish interested i think.
how big are your piraya now? in august you said they were 2-3" 
by my guesses they are about 4-4.5" now?


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