# What am I doing wrong?



## Red Belly Fan (Jan 22, 2005)

I have 5 large piranhas in a 100 gal tank. The biggest 9" and the smallest 6". The two largest have breed a total of 3 times now. The eggs come out an orange color but within a couple of days they turn to a off white color, and never hatch














. Why do they change color, and is it normal? If not, how can I prevent it from happening and maybe get a sucessful hatch?

Please and Thanks,

RBF


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## Sheppard (Jul 8, 2004)

cant help ya that much...
i know that when they turn the whitish colour, that means they have become infertile, and will not hatch.

But i dont know what causes it.


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## Mughal (Mar 3, 2005)

Do you see you rmale fertilize the eggs, this usually happens as the male swims millimeters away from the eggs and you see a little plume of smoke so to speak. If you don't see this then he isn't fertilizing the eggs, perhaps the other fish in there are distracting him too much to fertilize the eggs. Other than that, you may have your water temperature too high, breeding season for piranha is spring, so the water is actually around 78 Farenheit because of the constant rain and clouds on S. America. Hope this helps.


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## Husky_Jim (May 26, 2003)

i agree with mughal and also what is your water hardness? GH/KH/TDS???


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## WolfFace (Nov 2, 2004)

Mine had a hard time getting it right in the beginning but you know, it's not easy to perform under that pressure the first times









They got some practice and now they usually succeed. I have had some luck with reducing the current after they've changed colors and started showing breeding behaviour... Less current -> more time for the "smoke" to make little piranhas.


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## mantis (May 16, 2003)

Are you removing the eggs, or leaving them in the parent tank?


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## HOLLYWOOD (Feb 6, 2003)

The eggs were not fertilized.


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## Red Belly Fan (Jan 22, 2005)

Sheppard said:


> cant help ya that much...
> i know that when they turn the whitish colour, that means they have become infertile, and will not hatch.
> 
> But i dont know what causes it.
> [snapback]918966[/snapback]​


Now all I need is to find out why they are not getting fertilize. Thanks.


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## Red Belly Fan (Jan 22, 2005)

Mughal said:


> Do you see you rmale fertilize the eggs, this usually happens as the male swims millimeters away from the eggs and you see a little plume of smoke so to speak. If you don't see this then he isn't fertilizing the eggs, perhaps the other fish in there are distracting him too much to fertilize the eggs. Other than that, you may have your water temperature too high, breeding season for piranha is spring, so the water is actually around 78 Farenheit because of the constant rain and clouds on S. America. Hope this helps.
> [snapback]918986[/snapback]​


I watched the whole breeding thing two times. I seen him swim right above the eggs, but I didn't want to disturb them so I was kind of far away. So I don't know If he is fertilizing them at all. I have another 100 gallon tank in the garage that I will probably set up. What would be the best way, leave the breeding pair in there all the time, or just when they start showing the signs? I also dropped the temperature down to 78'F.


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## Red Belly Fan (Jan 22, 2005)

husky_jim said:


> i agree with mughal and also what is your water hardness? GH/KH/TDS???
> [snapback]919225[/snapback]​


I just bought a water hardness test kit so I will let you know later. What would be the target for breeding ( GH/KH/TDS )?


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## Red Belly Fan (Jan 22, 2005)

WolfFace said:


> Mine had a hard time getting it right in the beginning but you know, it's not easy to perform under that pressure the first times
> 
> 
> 
> ...


They breed successfully twice for the guy who had them before me. He wasn't even trying to breed them. I am and still no fry







!! It gets really frusterating some times, but this rookie is still working at it







. The only current I have in there is the outpost nozzle of my Fluval Filter, and the nest is on the other side under my other filter. The current is just enough to keep the water circulating, but I will cut it back to half the power when they turn colors. Hopefully It works for me. Thanks alot.


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## Red Belly Fan (Jan 22, 2005)

mantis said:


> Are you removing the eggs, or leaving them in the parent tank?
> [snapback]919587[/snapback]​


The first time I left them alone in the nest. The second time I put a bunch of eggs in one of those 6x4 inch breeder nets and left it in the parent tank. All the other times I just left them alone. What should I do leave them in the parent tank or remove them to another







???


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## Red Belly Fan (Jan 22, 2005)

HOLLYWOOD said:


> The eggs were not fertilized.
> [snapback]919610[/snapback]​


Do you have any advice to give me a better chance for fertile eggs???


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