# Leader of the pack



## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

so i have three reds, in a 55 gal,
and at first, two of them hung out all the time, and the other was a loner

but i recently added a pygo to the mix

now, the three reds all hang out together, and they are little, so i noticed while getting them to eat new food, and have continued to notice since, that there is one red (Benjamin Franklin) who kinda does everything first, he will always be the first to try new food, and the two others continue to follow him even when they arent eating

is that weird?
anyone notice anything like this before?


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## Lector (May 6, 2005)

Yeah hes the alpha male, theres one in every pack. post some pics of those bad boys


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

yea that happens alot, and is completely normal. He will likely always eat first, and grow faster, thus always being the ring leader. I think it helps sometimes when everyone knows their rank, but it can cause problems when adding fish. What kind of pygo did you add, another red? Is he bigger than your old 3? They might be grouping out of insecurity about the new guy.

in a 55gallon you'll likely end up with territory issues, that lead to all kinds of drama playing out. Sometimes the big one will get overthrown, or even ganged up on and takin out. Its hard to figure these fish out sometimes. If you watch them enough, you start to understand whats going on in your tank better, and realize that they have friends/enemies and all kinds of crap you wouldn't think fish would be smart enough for. They have personalities, and relationships with each other.


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## Hater (Apr 21, 2006)

Your tank is to small to house 4 Piranhas. Theyw ill outgrow it within months and the bigger stronger Piranhas will kill the weaker ones.

Good luck.

Hater


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Your 55g tank will house them for about a year; however, after that you will definitely need a tank upgrade. Once they hit 6" or 7" you will really see the territory issues arise. Other than that, yeah that is very normal for one fish to start everything with all the rest following. Post some pics, I would love to see your set up.


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## P-Dee (Jun 1, 2007)

> Your tank is to small to house 4 Piranhas. Theyw ill outgrow it within months and the bigger stronger Piranhas will kill the weaker ones.
> 
> Good luck.
> 
> Hater


100% Agreed. I had the same issue. My alpha boys name is Russell and he grew to about twice the size of his tankmate and damn near bit Bob (his tankmate) in half (he survived, p's have insane haeling powers). They were displaying the same behaviour you posted. Keep an eye on him!!


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## chokoboy (Mar 25, 2007)

Nick g said:


> so i have three reds, in a 55 gal,
> and at first, two of them hung out all the time, and the other was a loner
> 
> but i recently added a pygo to the mix
> ...


I have a 115g for my 5 caribe's, the biggest of them is about 4 inches and he's the alpha.
2 others are about 3 inches and the last 2 are about 2,5 inches.
My tank is decorated with plants, rocks, roots and a cave i made for them.
It looks like all 5 of them have they're own territory, when the alpha male enters some of the smaller p's territory he get's chased away quickly and vice versa. Is this because they have to many hideouts or what?


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

Their is always a alpha I suggest you getting a 75g soon


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

im sorry
i added a PLECO
not pygo
i was tired when i wrote that last night

will post pics when i get home from work.


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## ICEE (Feb 3, 2007)

^ thats a big difference lol


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

yeah... my bad, i was very tired, and had pygos on the brain because i was reading about them last night.

i never knew about them, but they seem very cool.


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

Here is some pics
What do you guys think?
(anyone have any tips for pictures.... they always move away from the flash, so its hard to get good ones)


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## Doktordet (Sep 22, 2006)




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## JAWZ99 (Jul 25, 2007)

Lector said:


> Yeah hes the alpha male, theres one in every pack. post some pics of those bad boys


X2


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## ...Jay... (Nov 2, 2006)

that has to be the girliest piranha tank I've ever seen.

fish look great so far though, and thats the important part.


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## GN121406 (Jul 28, 2007)

the leader in my pack is the only one without nibble marks on its fins


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## Nick G (Jul 15, 2007)

yeah, if its girly, its because to warm my girlfriend up to the idea of getting carnivorous pets, i let her decorate, im not worried.

you guys think that backdrop (the one that makes it look like my living room is a tropical reef) does anything at all, what about fake plants?
toying with the idea of getting rid of them.

also none of my fish have their own territories, they all just kinda hang out together, except for one who is very much smaller than the other two, and he just kinda goes wherever he isnt getting messed with.
like, when the big boys let him, he hangs out with them.

also, is it true that when the Ps are scared they turn white? and when they are comfortable they darken up?


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

when i had RBPs my one wild caught natt was the alpha. he was the biggest, ate the most, and was the first to move.

it's actually kind of funny, but also adds more to the "wolves of the water" reference that many ppl make.

this was my alpha male of the shoal:


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## P-Dee (Jun 1, 2007)

> also, is it true that when the Ps are scared they turn white? and when they are comfortable they darken up?


I've heard it's when they're stressed. My p's color disapears when it's dark, I've never seen mine without color during the day

And "wolves of the water"..thats a cool reference









great color on your bad boy as well Puff


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## Puff (Feb 14, 2005)

i sold him for 120$ when he was less than 5" long...


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## P-Dee (Jun 1, 2007)

> i sold him for 120$ when he was less than 5" long...


nice! I don't doubt it at all


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## cjdrew2 (Jul 1, 2004)

Jayson745 said:


> that has to be the girliest piranha tank I've ever seen.
> 
> fish look great so far though, and thats the important part.


Agreed


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## redpiranhas4 (Feb 23, 2003)

nice babys and natural tank


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