# Feeding Mice



## Good

hello im new to the site and have 3 piranhas two red bellies both about 5 1/2 inches and one black rohm about 4 1/2 inches the rhom is still juvinail eyes are not red yet and spots are still very visable. but i normally feed the fish frozen food and the other day i put a 2 inch pinky mouse with hair on it in the tank and at first the fish didnt bother with it and afte about 10 mins i put some frozen food in there and the piranhas finally got excited they started eating the mouse, which was very interesting and they really only ate the belly of the mouse. i have put a live mouse in there before and the fish were scard of it but i didnt have the rhom at the time and the red bellys were a few inches smaller. so i waas wonderin what would excite the fish so that they attak it right away i put garlic in the tank before but it didnt really excite the fish i was wondering if there was something else i could do to excite the fish aybe blood in the water? any deas plesas help..


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## Smoke

I would think you'll need more than just 2 Pygos to see an exciting feeding (National Geographic style). But I'll let others with Pygo shoals comment from their experience.

Are you keeping the Rhom and reds together BTW?


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## Good

yeah i am keeping the togeather but the rohm attacks the reds pretty reularly and so they prob wont be around for long but i am keeping them togeather with a 5 1/2inch oscar too. but i kno ur not susposto keep them togeather but idk there still all alive snd rohm doesnt have any bites on it so hes fine. hes the only one i care about and i cant find anyone to selll the reds to so there gonna have to stay togeather.


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## Deeks

What size tank are they in?
It might be a good idea to get a divider in there to keep your rhom separated from the group.
Or get him a tank to himself.Chances are, having them all together, isn't going to turn out well.


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## Good

yeah its only a 40gal breeder and i cant get a bigger tank or a new tank so i kinda gotta keep them together i really wanna sell the reds at least one of them, but yeah there at least inch longer then the rohm and they are much more mature than the rohm so there fine for now but not for long


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## r1dermon

ok...so here's a bit of info for you.

first and foremost, it appears that you're inexperienced with piranhas, which is fine, everybody starts somewhere...but in order for us to help you keep fish better, we need to know some basics about your setup.

A. what size tank are your fish in?
B. what type of filtration is on your tank?

like i say, the vast majority of people here are eager to help with your setup, and many here have been keeping piranhas for the better part of a decade.

now that that's out of the way, something important that you need to know is that the pygocentrus nattereri (redbelly), belongs to the genus pygocentrus...whereas the serrasalmus rhombeus, belongs to the genus serrasalmus.

differences in these genus's are pretty stark, and as such, they dont play well with each other. the serrasalmus genus like to nip fins in order to feed themselves. this is fine in nature, since fish fins grow back rather quickly...but in an aquarium, constant fin nipping will result in death of fish. this can be mitigated by dither fish (smaller fish like goldfish or tetras, introduced to take the attention of aggressive fish).

pygo's feed on weak, disadvantaged fish or animals within their habitat. oscars have fairly large fins, and they're a lot slower than a piranha. you have to realize, these fish are not going to work together in the most likely scenario. your oscar, your RBP's and your serra are all at risk of injury or death due to their respective tank mates.

on the topic of the mouse...im not an expert when it comes to that aspect, however, i would worry about feeding live mice when you've established proper husbandry standards. currently i dont think your piranhas or oscar are going to make it...and the constant fin nipping will lead to stress in the victim fish, which can kill it on it's own.

but post up your tank specs and im sure several other members would be happy to help you attain a thriving piranha environment. something you can be happy to enjoy a few hours a day in front of. that's what fish keeping is all about afterall.


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## Good

thank you for your help and information r1dermon but i have had the piranhas for about 6 months and know a good amount of stuff about tem i have read almost every website out there about them and i realize theta my pygos ae gonna die when my rohm matures as well with the oscar i origanly put the oscar in there as food but he lived eventhough literally all his fins were gone and ido want to get the pygos out of m tank but i cant find anyone to sell them too and i dont want to just flush them sooo im leavng them in there its better that there food rather than just wasted.

specs are
40gal breeder 
110 aqua clear filter 
200 wat heater (heat kept around 85 for added movement and aggression also keeps desese down)
3 two 4 live plants 
always lost of ghost shrimp in the tank along with small cray fish to help keep tank clean 
3 mystry snails
2 reds about 5 1/2 inches each (mature dark in color few spots) 
1 black rohm about 4 1/2 inches (very immature still silver with dark spots and eyes are not red yet)
1 oscar about 5 inches. put it in at about 3 1/2 inches and has grown


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## Good

also i kno that the different piranhas shouldnt be kept togeather but i got the reds when i first started keeping piranhas but after some time learning about p's i realized rohms were much better than 2 reds. so i got a rohm and could not get rid of the reds and i cannot start a new tank or get a new larrger tank, i really want to sell the reds if anyone has advice with selling them please feel free to give advice....

but i really would like help with feedin my p's a live mouse plese help.. thank you


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## Sacrifice

Not trying to bash on you Good but it really doesn't sound like you're very experienced. 6 months of Ps doesn't get you very far. We're all here to help of course but you need to realize the stress that you have in that tank. I would look to a local pet shop to give those reds and that oscar to ASAP.

With this lack of experience it makes me question why you want to feed them a mouse anyway? So honestly why do you see the need of feeding a mouse to your Ps? You should be feeding them a staple diet of white fish and shrimp. Not saying that a mouse is bad for them, but I'm curious as to why you insist on feeding it.

Once again I'm not trying to bash on you here, I'm just trying to throw get an idea of where you stand with this.

Welcome to P-Fury.


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## Smoke

Since your objective is keeping the Rhom... then a Rhom at that size shouldn't really be fed mice (because the Rhom is still a Juvie).

A juvenile Rhom (4.5") can't handle eating an entire mouse... My juvie Rhom eats 2-3 bites of tilapia per feeding... that's it. It may bite the mouse, hurt it, get injured in the process... but won't ever tear the entire thing to shreds (which is what I am guessing you are envisioning). Now when that Rhom turns into a 10"+ monster... then yeah, it will tear that mouse up (but most likely in 1 bite, so not a whole lot of excitement either).

So you're looking at around 4+ years of keeping that Rhom (maybe less), before he gets to the size where he will terrorize anything that moves in his tank. If you must feed live, try smaller foods like small fish, earthworms etc. Something you know it can handle at that size, and leave no mess behind.

Just my 2 cents, ultimately, it's up to you.


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## Guest

With that filter the last thing you should be thinking about is feeding them live mice. Give the reds to a pet store for store credit along with the oscar. Also lower your temperature, why would you want aggression in a tank with fish that shouldn't be mixed in the first place? All it does it cause stress which can lead to your fish going belly up.
As for advice on how to feed your p's live mice, if they won't eat it it's cause of your water conditions or the fish are just stressed.


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## Good

Sacrifice thank you for your advice i understand that they need a staple diet, which is a large viraty of frozen food fish and worms. just wanted to feed live mouse as a snack. ive already fed them 3 inch pinky mouse with hair on it.but i understand the stress that the fish are under and im mainly hoping thet the black rohm just eats the reds because thats the only option i have left and the oscar causes no stress on the p's he just hids and eats when he has the chance.

but i enjoy keeping th e fish for the experiment of it and i want to see them eat a mouse ive put a lot of diff fish into the tank just to see what would happen after all that is the only way to first hand learn about the fish, the most aggressive fish i put in the tak with th ep's was a 7 inch wolf fish and they killed it and ate part of it i was susprised bc it was almost 3 inches longer than the p's and much wider but in the end it died. as where the oscar who is much smaller lived bc it hid much more. so feeding them live mouse isjust for the expiriment to see wht would happen to better understand the fish.

and thank u smoke i see where ur commin from sayin it wont eat it all bt i got the reds still and the eat there fair share too.

but id still like help with exciting th efish more ive tried increasing thee temp and put garlic in the water is there any other tricks or idea toi help?


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## Piranha-Freak101




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## Hogdog

I just thought I'd let you know Good, people are being very restrained with you at the moment and I'm surprised they haven't ripped into you yet for the way you're keeping your fish but the initial impression that you don't know what you're doing is being replaced with the realisation that you do know a little bit and that you just don't care. Almost everything you're doing is either wrong or extremely juvenile...buying fish so they fight and kill each other is just plain stupid....I'm guessing you're about 14????

Credit to you for asking for advice but you should do people the courtesy of listening too.

Please look after your fish properly rather than treating them like aquatic gladiators and try to appreciate them in a more grown up way.


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## Good

well i suppose i see where your comming from with keeping fish and should be ket the right way. but i mean eeping p's sucks they are boring dull in color and are not all that active so the only thing left for them is to see how they react to things, after all feeding them gold fish or live fish is why most ppl like keeping them. so there is not really a necessity for keeping them properly? i put them togeather theres nothing really wrong with that. i just put things in there tank to see how they responf and if they choose to eat each other so be it. they are just fish. thats why fish keeping is a hobby. nd there not generlly referred to as pets. but if u dont like to see it that way just see it as if u were feeding them a large gold fish or small cichlad its all the same in literal terms. so i dont really see what i can be "tore into bout" not trying to be rude or ignorant just trying to show you the truth to this


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## Piranha-Freak101

Actually your o so ver wrong my friend... fish keeping is not just a hobby, its a passon too! Honestly you have no right to keep these creatures if you dont appreciate them WHY YOU GET THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE. Piranhas ar pets, but its people like you who mistreat them and make them look bad. Seriously "dull in color" "boring" words cant describe how inorant you are









really if you dont see nor wnt anything to do with appreciating and caring for these creatures i sugget you leave pfury, you wont fit in this community


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## Guest

Hogdog said:


> well i suppose i see where your comming from with keeping fish and should be ket the right way. but i mean *eeping p's sucks they are boring dull in color and are not all that active* so the only thing left for them is to see how they react to things, after all feeding them gold fish or live fish is why most ppl like keeping them. so there is not really a necessity for keeping them properly? i put them togeather theres nothing really wrong with that. i just put things in there tank to see how they responf and if they choose to eat each other so be it. they are just fish. thats why fish keeping is a hobby. nd there not generlly referred to as pets. but if u dont like to see it that way just see it as if u were feeding them a large gold fish or small cichlad its all the same in literal terms. so i dont really see what i can be "tore into bout" not trying to be rude or ignorant just trying to show you the truth to this


It's a common mistake that people buy piranhas thinking they are going to be trying to jump out and attack anything that walks in front of their tank. If you don't want to do the fish justice, and give them a good life, then give them away and get yourself a snakehead or a wolf fish. They'll provide the spectacle your looking for.
Also most people don't like keeping them just to feed live fish, as you can see this forum is dedicated to keeping piranhas responsibly and not for just throwing things into their tank to see how they respond. Unless your conducting some sort of zoology experiment which is documented and has a goal, then why would you need to see how they respond? 
And like HogDog, people on the forum are most likely restraining themselves from flaming you, as I know I am after reading your put blood in the tank comment.


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## Good

piranha freak i understand how some one like you could not see my argument bc you are so emotionally attached to these fish, but is common knowledge that you cant mix rational thoght with emotions because you get a distored worped view to your personal slant of things not the truth... so with that said i hope you will open your eyes but u will prob not give my post a second lance.

but you try to claim these fish as pets yet they have no benifical qualitys as pet like compainship which is the most important quality of a pet so they are just a hobby an interesting hobby but just a hobby. and become much more intersting when you mix things yup in your tank try it, youll grow at understand a new appreciation of these fish


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## Hogdog

Personally I've never treated my fish as pets but I always treat them with the respect they deserve.

They say that the way people treat animals tells you about how they'll treat people, going by that I'd say you're probably a sociopath.


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## Guest

Hogdog said:


> Personally I've never treated my fish as pets but I always treat them with the respect they deserve.
> 
> They say that the way people treat animals tells you about how they'll treat people, going by that I'd say you're probably a sociopath.


He's too retarded to be a sociopath


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## weerhom

Good said:


> piranha freak i understand how some one like you could not see my argument bc you are so emotionally attached to these fish, but is common knowledge that you cant mix rational thoght with emotions because you get a distored worped view to your personal slant of things not the truth... so with that said i hope you will open your eyes but u will prob not give my post a second lance.
> 
> but you try to claim these fish as pets yet they have no benifical qualitys as pet like compainship which is the most important quality of a pet so they are just a hobby an interesting hobby but just a hobby. and become much more intersting when you mix things yup in your tank try it, youll grow at understand a new appreciation of these fish


I kinda like this.


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## Good

i dont know how you could see me as a sosicpath. honestly i work at a pet store and i see that the vast majority of people who buy these fish or cichlads do the same thing and do it all in a 20 gal tank so in prespective i am a normal piranha keeper. there are only a very few "passionate" piranha keepers out there like you. the fact that you dont want to face what these fish are and how there being kept infact shows that you are the "retarted" one. but sense i see that there is no point in reasoning with you people i will leave the fourm because i see that i will not recieve assistance here so enjoy your fish but hey just try to have a litle more fun with them if you know what i mean.

all thaks,
Good


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## Guest

Good said:


> i dont know how you could see me as a sosicpath. honestly i work at a pet store and i see that the vast majority of people who buy these fish or cichlads do the same thing and do it all in a 20 gal tank so in prespective i am a normal piranha keeper. there are only a very few "passionate" piranha keepers out there like you. the fact that you dont want to face what these fish are and how there being kept infact shows that you are the "retarted" one. but sense i see that there is no point in reasoning with you people i will leave the fourm because i see that i will not recieve assistance here so enjoy your fish but hey just try to have a litle more fun with them if you know what i mean.
> 
> all thaks,
> Good


Big difference between having fun and being irresponsible. Your not a normal p keeper, your an irresponsible one. I guess in your logic every Pitbull owner should run out and throw their dogs into the box to fight, it is what they were bred for after all right? 
GTFO


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## TheSpaz13

Ummm...is this kid still reading the thread? I would be more then interested in taking those reds off his hands if he's local...more then able to give them a much better life then using them as overgrown feeders


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## Guest

TheSpaz13 said:


> Ummm...is this kid still reading the thread? I would be more then interested in taking those reds off his hands if he's local...more then able to give them a much better life then using them as overgrown feeders


Who knows, the guy sounded like a troll looking for reactions. Said he worked at a pet store too, which is why I didn't believe him seeing that he could of easily just put the fish there instead of using them as "overgrown feeders" like you said.
If you do get in contact with him, and are able to take the fish off him, make sure he knows he's scum, lol.


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## Guest

TheSpaz13 said:


> Ummm...is this kid still reading the thread? I would be more then interested in taking those reds off his hands if he's local...more then able to give them a much better life then using them as overgrown feeders


Just saw he started this thread.
thread.


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## h1n1

wow this is crazy but i guess makes sense in some ways. but to each there own


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## VJventrella

He Sounds like a fool to me!


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## Piranha feeder

Good said:


> well i suppose i see where your comming from with keeping fish and should be ket the right way. but i mean eeping p's sucks they are boring dull in color and are not all that active so the only thing left for them is to see how they react to things, after all feeding them gold fish or live fish is why most ppl like keeping them. so there is not really a necessity for keeping them properly? i put them togeather theres nothing really wrong with that. i just put things in there tank to see how they responf and if they choose to eat each other so be it. they are just fish. thats why fish keeping is a hobby. nd there not generlly referred to as pets. but if u dont like to see it that way just see it as if u were feeding them a large gold fish or small cichlad its all the same in literal terms. so i dont really see what i can be "tore into bout" not trying to be rude or ignorant just trying to show you the truth to this


No offense bro but u must be color blind cause Red Bellies are very colorful and beautiful! Red bellies, gray body and grumpy looking face! U shouldnt b keeping p's if all u want is flesh tearing action! Get a shark or snake head! P's r beautiful fish and i sit for hours looking at them. And people dont buy P's for their temper! I hope ur P's DIE so they dont suffer anymore!


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## fish21562

The tank is not big enough for an oscar let alone 3 other large fish and the piranhas could begin to bite the fins of the oscar and hurt it. And aventually the reds are going to be killed or just die from lack of tank size. Also the Rohm is going to need alot more then 40 gallons. I would recomend you feed them cichlid pellets to keep your tank the cleanest


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## Spilo26

I would recommend he gets two bettas and a divider if he wants to see fish aggression lol. Seriously tho. Get rid of your fish and get some kind of snake if you only want aggression. Fish are supposed to be tranquil and calming (except for the occasional mouse feeding hehe) not be a box for your entertainment. They're animals too dude.

Oh just thought I'd throw in the fact that I think your a moron. If you do work in a pet store and willingly sell someone that has a 20 gallon aquarium Oscars I hope you go out of business.


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## DeadFriends

If you absolutely have to feed your fish mice, then just give them pinks or dead mice. Grown mice can swim well, and theyre going to go right for any hole in your tanks lid they can get to. It's one thing to stress a mouse out and have it die a quick death, but to torture them and put them through that much stress when they're probably just going to get out, and you're just going to have to keep plunging them back into your tank anyway, is just cruel. I tried feeding my old shoal of reds and caribes live mice once or twice and it was pretty pathetic, they were all between six inches and a foot, and they weren't very interested anyway... they ate baby mice without hesitation though. Sounds like you just want to see a blood bath...

But then again, this is coming from the dude that has hamsters and mice as pets...


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## Red Sox Fanatic

No one can be this stupid,can they???


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## ibcd

Uhhmm after reading this I now have no faith in the human race. WTF


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## eclypse03

If you aren't going to take care or your fish, give then to someone who will or sell them back to the fish store. I've only had fish for about a year now and still don't know sh*t about it. But I atleast come on here to listen to experiences and better myself as a fish owner and I agree with everyone else, fish are pets and should be treated as such. I mean, you shelter them, feed them, and take care of them. Isn't that a pet? And thank you to everyone else for all the helpful info!


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