# What Live Fish Too Feed Red Bellies Consistently



## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

i have a 6ft by 2ft 180 gallon tank i just bought, I am currently in the process of setting it up and decorating it, but i want to know what live fish should i feed my piranhas for the regular diet. i want them to maintain their natural behavior. i will feed them dead food as well, but i am considering raising feeder fish in a separate tank, while my main tank goes through the cycle...

i am planning on having 10-20 red bellies in the tank(1-2 inches each)

any help would be appreciated...


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## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

sounds like it will be quite the setup...id definitely get 20...good buffer for lost fish

as per food id use pellets as the base food and supplement it with raw shrimp and white fish....for your live feeders your could any of the livebearers ...ie mollys, guppys, plattys...you could also try you luck with convicts but they are a little harder and slower growing but are really cool fish


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

If your going to raise fish for feeders I suggest tilapia pair or maybe a dovii pair. For the spawn size & time invested convicts aren't even worth the effort. Get a bigger pair of fish thatll have 3-4times the spawn size of convicts. Something like tilapia or dovii will have decent sized spawns, will care for fry, & grow fast compared to slower growing convicts.


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## TheCableGuy (Feb 22, 2005)

I agree with Buckeye, personally I'd go with some convicts.


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## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

for the convicts what size tank would be necessary for breeding and or raising. what about the tilapia or dovii


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## TheCableGuy (Feb 22, 2005)

For the cons, you'd be ok with a 30b or 40g. For dovii's, probably 180-220g.
Male convicts get about 4-5" and the females are smaller, dovii's get about 15-16". And talapia get bigger.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Dovii can get huge but they're like most Cichlids if they breed young their growth will slow down. Tilapia is the same way, same for convicts. Hell I think its even true with rbp also.


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## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

i was planning on getting a 30-40 gallon tank nothing too big, i just want to reduce the amount of times i have to travel to the LFS and get feeders, and this way i know the ones i raise will have less chances of being diseased. my original idea was getting a tank and fill it with 100+ feeder fish (gold fish or guppies) and let them grow to a health size and then feed them to the piranhas. but after reading stuff on this form every seems to be in agreement that its not healthy for the fish to them since they have very little nutritional value. would this still be the case if i get the feeder goldfish at a real young age and raise them myself...


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

That's a heated debate right there. Low nutritional value compared to what extruded pellets? Idc how many people claim they have low nutritional value its BS. That live feeder has living tissue, bones, meat,brains, guts. Aren't going to get that from pellets. If you feed a good variety of foods there's nothing wrong with feeders.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Id do somehting like guppies, mollies, convicts...

Something like talapia could work but IMO it would be a waste to have a 75-180g tank for just feeders. I'd probably just get a few pairs of cons and set up a colony that you can take from.


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## BuckeyeGuy777 (Oct 30, 2010)

BRUNER247 said:


> That's a heated debate right there. Low nutritional value compared to what extruded pellets? Idc how many people claim they have low nutritional value its BS. That live feeder has living tissue, bones, meat,brains, guts. Aren't going to get that from pellets. If you feed a good variety of foods there's nothing wrong with feeders.


while i agree with this as long as the golds are healthy...the point remains feader goldfish are terribly messy and gross fish...

guppies are fragile and die easily...least thats my experience

mollies and cons are by far the best choices IMO


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## Bacon Of Time (Feb 1, 2011)

Im breeding guppies curently, They like the flashy males, but yeah they die easily, and sometimes leave them alone once thier dead. When i move i plan to start breeding cons.


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

theres many you can feed, but dont play it off as its keeping there natural behavior. You could keep a fish for 6yrs+ feeding dead and the first time a live fish hit the water he would still take it.


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## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

Right now I currently have a 20 gallon set up under my 180g with a breeding pair of convicts. Hopinig the pair off and spawn. But i think my efforts might go to waste. Currently my 22 rbs (1 1/2 - 3) dont seem interested in killing their own food. They have 18+ edible tank mates and they leave them alone(guppies, mollies, tetras, platys) I think I made my Ps lazy after constantly feeding them blood worms, tiger shrimp and tailapia fillets daily. What can I do to entice them to eat live fish?


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

I suspect that they do eat a few... but it's probably tough to keep count when you have more than 10 feeders in the tank.


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## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

Well the thing is fish were intended to be feeders, they were in the tank first during the cycling process and I was hoping the 22Ps would of killed them off when I added them but they just ignored them. It's been a month and not on casualty. I count the tank mates everyday hoping they get removed so it's less mouths to feed. But it's the opposite the tetras school together in their own group of 10 and steal food from the Ps. Platys r pregnant and the guppies do their own thing.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Co. Caines said:


> i have a 6ft by 2ft 180 gallon tank i just bought, I am currently in the process of setting it up and decorating it, but i want to know what live fish should i feed my piranhas for the regular diet. *i want them to maintain their natural behavior.* i will feed them dead food as well, but i am considering raising feeder fish in a separate tank, while my main tank goes through the cycle...
> 
> i am planning on having 10-20 red bellies in the tank(1-2 inches each)
> 
> any help would be appreciated...


If you want to "maintain their natural behavior," feed them pieces of dead fish... ie: tilapia fillet, etc.


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## Co. Caines (Feb 14, 2011)

I have been feeding them fillets twice or three times a day but if I am breeding feeders I don't want it to go to waste.


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