# What to feed?



## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

Hey guys ive been buying about 40 feeders a day to feed to my shoal of 12 rbp's they are about 2". 
i want to keep them well feed so they dont eat each other, but what else can i feed them
if i continue to buy 40 feeders a day i might just go broke. 
i know i can feed them tilapia, but what kind fillet? or raw?
are the nutritious to my p's?
any suggestions 
thanks.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Any raw fillets.You can get a frozen pack fro ma supermarket for like $5. Just thaw it out first and try to avoid any packs with preservatives.

Things i use:
shrimp, 
scallops
talapia,
haddock
cod...
pellets too if you can get them to eat it. Any white fish is pretty much recomended


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## EZmoney (May 13, 2004)

yep, what sean said.

when buying shrimp, make sure that it is uncooked because it has more nutrients. Also, buy it with the shell on if you can. The shrimp shells is will help bring out the color in your p's.


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## gtc (Nov 5, 2008)

Try bay scallops.


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

smelt is another good one if they are available in your area. Tilapia is very healthy for ur P's BTW.


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

i just tried tilapia's they loved it. ill try shrimps with the shell on. i think this is way cheaper than buying feeders. 
thanks for the info guys.


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

i was wondering how often should i feed them? morning and night? and how fast do they grow. mine are about 2 inches.


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

at 2" you can feed them both day and nite at moderate amounts until they hit about 4" or so then the feedings should slow down to once a day to once every other day. Once they get to be 7-8" you can feed them every other day or every three days, but with them being pygos it's prolly a good idea not to go any longer then 2-3 days when they reach adulthood.


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

thanks. will do.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

misterjose said:


> i was wondering how often should i feed them? morning and night? and how fast do they grow. mine are about 2 inches.


 i would feed them daily or every other day. The amount depends on the number of fish


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## manuelmedina (Oct 27, 2008)

hey guys do piranhas have to eat th shrimp with the shell or without the shell to get the color cause mine spits the shell out, is it the shell that gives the color?


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## EZmoney (May 13, 2004)

manuelmedina said:


> hey guys do piranhas have to eat th shrimp with the shell or without the shell to get the color cause mine spits the shell out, is it the shell that gives the color?


yes, the shell has carotene which is a color enhancer. since they aren't eating the shell, you can try stuffing the shrimp with cichilid pellets.


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

i tried feeding shrimp and they went for it asoon as i put in the tank. ill alternate every now and then from shrimp to tilapia
thanks for the advise guys


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## manuelmedina (Oct 27, 2008)

gamgenius said:


> hey guys do piranhas have to eat th shrimp with the shell or without the shell to get the color cause mine spits the shell out, is it the shell that gives the color?


yes, the shell has carotene which is a color enhancer. since they aren't eating the shell, you can try stuffing the shrimp with cichilid pellets.
[/quote]
so the shrimp itself wont give them any color at all? Awww man that sucks


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

i believe the shrimp itself has natural carotenes in it along with the shell as long as it is raw.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

sean-820 said:


> Any raw fillets.You can get a frozen pack fro ma supermarket for like $5. Just thaw it out first and try to avoid any packs with preservatives.
> 
> Things i use:
> shrimp,
> ...


Yup. I would also try squid and krill. If your not gonna feed pellets as a staple i would buy a bunch of different kinds since a varied diet is best.

Try pellets though it will save you a lot of money and pygos are relatively easy to get on pellets as long as they can swallow them.


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

my p's r enjoying their shrimp n tilapia's but i think they eat to much. i see their stomachs popping out and they still eat. i only give them 1 shrimp in the morning and about the same size shrimp of tilapia.


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## misterjose (Jul 31, 2006)

is it normal for one or two to grow faster than the others because when i first got them they were all about the same size, but now my biggest one is closing into 3 inches. and when i got then 2 weeks ago they were only 1 1/2. also the only ones that have a good coloring of red are the bigger ones. is that normal. they are really red not orangy red but red red. ill post some pics when i get the chance.


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

Of course its normal.. people dont grow at the same rate why should piranha? The larger ones will be more dominant though so make sure the runts of the group get enough food to keep up.


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## Fishnut2 (Feb 25, 2009)

I know some people will disagree with me. But the faster growing ones are probably the females.


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