# Just Got 6 Rbps



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

Its been 2 days since putting 6 3-4 inch RBPs in my 65Gal tank. (36" x 18" x 24") most of the fist day they were in the back under some wood. but now they are starting to come out and they keep biting each other. not just fin nipping it looks like they are biting each other in the sides. it doesnt look like just one is getting picked on they all look like there picking on each other.

currently they have eaten 3 feeders that were in the tank before I got them. and a small amount of frozen krill. 
currently the tank is at 79 degrees. witch from what i read might be too high. should i change it? what temp should i be shooting for?

tomorrow I'm going to try to get some pellets to see if i can get them to eat those.


----------



## Titus (Dec 1, 2014)

Nice looking tank, the fighting could stop with time, mine fought a lot and have grown out of it, all of them have some scars but they are healing up nicely.

I keep my tamp at 71F as learned from the pros on the forum and fighting has gone down with the temp, also they fought a lot when I had water problems, check that as well. They are getting used to the tank so that might be the issue.

Also, I think you may have too many for your tank size, more experienced guys will show up but that's my opinion, I have 3, 5.5" RBPs in a 40" x 15" x 23" and they are starting to show their size in there. Also had major fighting issues but they have gone down with time. When those 6 guys start growing...you'll have to start upgrading.


----------



## wizardslovak (Feb 17, 2007)

Nice tank ..
Light is kinda too bright for them and as posted above id decrease my temp to 71 or 70 to release tensions in fighting ... and finally 6 of them in 65 is not enough space ...they will kill each other cause of territory ..


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

The light isn't at bright as it looks in the pic. its also not that blue. Im planning on taking one of the bulbs out tho.
As far as temps I will try to lower them slowly.

Yesterday I was watching them fight a bit. and There was still 2 feeders in the tank. they killed one of them and all the fighting stopped and I haven't seen much aggression since.

Thanks for the tip about the water conditions can affect their aggression I didn't know that.

is my tank too small for them right now? or will I need to upgrade in a year or so? They seem to only stay in the bottom right third of the tank by the wood. I'm going to get another piece of wood for the other side to give them another hiding place.

About how long does it take for them to get used to people being around. every time someone walks in the room I see them start to move to the back under the wood.


----------



## Titus (Dec 1, 2014)

Well I guess they look good in there for now, scale wise, but don't take my word on it, 6 is a lot for 65g now matter how you put it, they will grow very fast till about 5-6 inches, mine have grown from 3.5" to 5.5" in just 3 months.

Good point made about the lighting, mine don't like it either, dimmed it with tape.

You will need to upgrade soon (1-2 months) OR loose about 3 of them to be on the spot. Just don't be surprised when they start chewing on each other, not much room in there, also many people on this forum are against live feeding, think about bacteria and diseases that the feeders may carry, read through the forum, I have seen at least 2 cases of fish dropping for no apparent reason.

They will get used to traffic, but again, they may be skittish because of the light and space, mine eat out of my hand and I've only got them for about 3 months, I spend about 2 hours a day with them, watching, running my hand up and down the glass to make them chase me, etc.

Check out my topic, "Help needed" it's my log, with problems, help given by more seasoned P' keepers, and solutions for the many issues I've encountered, see some damaged fish, water problems and general P' talk there ! It's my experience with them from day one, I post every two days if not daily.

Read through the forum, tons of info here, this place is a fishkeeper's bible !


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

thanks. I will keep my eye out for a bigger tank. What size would you recommend for 6?

Im going to look for a good pellet for them. I was planning on getting away form feeders. I currently have only frozen krill.

I will check out your thread.


----------



## wizardslovak (Feb 17, 2007)

There is rule of 20 a fish .. but seen people with less gallonage per fish living happily . 
Id suggest Craigslist for tanks.. matter of fact i am getting ~150 gallon tank with stand for $100 tomorrow ;-) it doesnt leak nor any cracks but will reseal with black silicone for that cool effect..

They should be fine for 3-4 months if you decrease temperature and feed them often .. and i know feeders sounds like fun but id take them off their diet ... pellets and mixed diet of shrimp(with shell) catfish and tilapia fillets would work best .. and since they are new i would turn off light completely for week or so to help them with stress ..
If you like feeders once a while just make yourself 10gall quarantine tank for feeders and keep them few weeks there with meds before feeding them ..


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

Where I am we use Kijiji its basically the same as cragslist. I got that tank + stand + 3 Ehime filters and lots of other goodies for $250. there is great deals to be had there. I will keep my eyes out.


----------



## Titus (Dec 1, 2014)

I've successfully fed them cod fillet, shrimp (without shell and thawed of course) and I'm looking to get the Hikari Cichlid Gold pellets as suggested by members.

Turning of the light might help *but* when you turn it back on they will freak and you will get worse results, put it on a timer, they will get used to it.

Go for a long and wide tank not a tall and skinny one ! If I had 6 red's I'd probably get them an 150g tank and be sure that they will not grow out of it and start killing each other. Provide cover but be aware that it's territories that start the fight, I have a cover zone for each fish, when I hadn't they fought for it all the time.


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

Titus your thread is soooo long. Ive been reading it im on page 10. lots of good stuff there. Im taking notes.

I got some shrimp pellets the sinking kind. they had a few today. I didn't feed them much. because they dont eat it all. As soon as I go near the tank they all hide.

I also added another piece of wood to make some more hiding places. also removed some rocks. they seem to be using more of the tank now.


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

i apologize i didnt read the above responses. first thing i would do from looking at the picture is dim the lighting in the tank. ive always found that brighter lights induce a more skittish piranha. it would be a great help to them to dim the light. you can obtain this very cheaply by tearing off some tin foil, folding it, and placing it under the light in pieces until you get the desired effect. 
secondly from my own experience, keeping the temp around 76-79 is spot on for them. they have a large tolerance with temp swing but i would aim for that.

the thing with reds are they feed off of one another. one skittish fish makes the rest on edge. thats why im suggesting the light be dimmed. it works wonders.

another trick, although i dont always recommend...adding live feeders or dither fish can keep them occupied less on eachother and more on the other fish. i wouldnt recommend adding feeder fish right from a pet shop ever as most are in questionable tanks and you might introduce unwanted disease or parasites.

try those 2 things first. they will adjust regardless. it takes sometimes several weeks for the fish to truly feel at home in a new tank. dont get too worried. as long as the nipping and chasing doesnt result in mortal or severe wounds its piranha being piranha.


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

Thanks Central. since taking the pics I removed one of the light bulbs (used to be 2 Blue 1 Daylight) now its just one daylight and one blue. I was trying to think of some way to make it not so bright, tinfoil sounds like a good idea I will try that tomorrow.


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

You'll be surprised how well it works. It doesn't retain heat so you need not worry about it. 
I've used it for years to get that perfect amount of shade in my tanks. I've seldom ever found lights alone that would do half as good a job. 
I'll check back tomorrow


----------



## Titus (Dec 1, 2014)

Going to try that myself, thanks for the tip central !


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

The tin foil worked great! They are coming out of hiding much more today and not freaking out when someone walks in the room.

They also are eating the shrimp pellets I got for them. However its hard to feed them as opening the lid still scares them and they all hide when I drop the food in.


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

Great news!
Over weeks and perhaps months they will relax with the hood. Once they start associating it with food they will greedily approach you. 
Piranha are naturally skittish fish. So have patience.

Glad my tin foil trick helped. Cheapest mod you'll ever do lol


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

central said:


> Glad my tin foil trick helped. Cheapest mod you'll ever do lol


SO CHEAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!


----------



## Colty (Sep 25, 2014)

Nice Tank man...Ya during their initial stage they would show off each other but slowly they will be fine...

They are hard fish and they will heal quickly...No worries









Just Dim your light a bit ..


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

yesterday I saw them out near the top of the tank. That was a first.





Music is Pro BTW


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

So awesome! I love them


----------



## Titus (Dec 1, 2014)

Getting there !


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

I like that background. it adds a lot of depth to that tank.
man you're making me want to reinvest in piranha again.

aren't they beautiful fish? even if they weren't such cool predatory fish theyd still be awesome enough looking on their own for a display tank.


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

Thanks. I was thinking about getting a solid black background... It looks better in the pictures then in real life. it looks rather fake.

Im still on the hunt for a bigger tank. looking for 100-125g. found some okay deals on 5 foot wide ones but I really want one that's 48x24x26 that would be probably the best size for the fish and for my room.

Currently feeding them 3 types of food. frozen krill maybe once a week. shrimp sinking pellets, and floating Tubifex worms daily. They seem to love the worms. Its like a floating cube and when the bite it it explodes and they go nuts, or one eats it in one bite.

I have a 5g setup in my basement I can setup for a feeder tank. should I set one up? just for the occasional treat. I have no problem keeping them in there for 30 days before I use them for food. do i have to put meds or anything in the tank with feeders?


----------



## wizardslovak (Feb 17, 2007)

Quarantine feeders for 30 days would be awesome ,and very good idea . Wouldn't feed them daily on feeders , only on show days ;-)


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

wizardslovak said:


> Quarantine feeders for 30 days would be awesome ,and very good idea . Wouldn't feed them daily on feeders , only on show days ;-)


okay just quarantine for 30 days. I read somewhere you should put some meds or something in the water to get rid of illness.


----------



## venturejordi (Jan 19, 2015)

I thought I almost scared my P's to death today. I added some live plants and they freaked and one was just sitting in the corner doing nothing...So I took some pics. There all back to normal now.

I also took a quick vid : LINK


----------



## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

^ lol that cracked me up that first picture. talk about a head! doing what reds do best...chillin behind the plants. looks very healthy though. he has some very nice colors.


----------



## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

venturejordi said:


> Quarantine feeders for 30 days would be awesome ,and very good idea . Wouldn't feed them daily on feeders , only on show days ;-)


okay just quarantine for 30 days. I read somewhere you should put some meds or something in the water to get rid of illness.
[/quote]

I would use an ICH treatment, which is typically copper based so you dont want to be scooping large amounts of water into your display tank.


----------



## Colty (Sep 25, 2014)

Nice tank mate....great close up shots...Nice shape


----------

