# Feeder Fish



## federowley (Oct 24, 2010)

OK, so I'm still kind of new to owning piranhas so bear with me... If you choose to feed your piranhas feeder fish, is it a bad idea to throw 5 or 6 feeders in the tank and let them eat whenever they feel up to it? Or should whatever they don't eat after so long be removed even if its a live fish?


----------



## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Of course the topic of live feeders comes up pretty often around here...

The answer is always: _"Don't feed them live fish unless you've either raised the feeders yourself or you've quarantined them for an extensive period of time, at least a month..."_


----------



## PiranhaMike661 (Jul 9, 2010)

Go to the Feeding and Nutrition topic and there's a butt-load of threads on feeding live foods. I personally feed live about once a month and thats usually 1 med. size koi. Alot of members on this site will tell you not to feed live because of the risk of parasites and illnesses carried over from feeders taken out of overstocked tanks, and the high levels of thiaminase in several species of commonly used feeder fish. Just to answer your question, depending on how many piranha you have and the age, those 5 or 6 fish might be gone within a few minutes. I would suggest setting up a quarantine tank and buying maybe 15 or so. Quarantine those for about a week, keeping an eye out for illnesses and treat as necessary. After that, just throw in however many will be eaten during that one sitting and clean up any leftovers.


----------



## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

i AGREE WITH PMAN AND YES IT IS OK TO LEAVE FEEDERS IN YOUR TANK.
Some serras might just attack all of the them eating only the tails though and leaving dead fish in your tank which isnt good but with pygos you should be fine


----------



## 2PiRaNhA~2FuRrY (Nov 1, 2005)

I personally wont feed my piranha or any fish feeder no matter if you raise them or not...feeding live its just entertainment for owner to watch and being kool. There are so much healthy food, with nutrite and protein out there to feed your piranha. IMO feeder is no no, no matter what.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

-quarintining is always best

Id keep a side 10g or something for feeders then add one at a time when they will actually be eaten as IMO to many people feed feeders to fish who just are not hungry or are too large for the p and end up in half still alive. Get feeders that you know they can consume


----------



## shiver905 (May 27, 2009)

You can leave the feeder fish in your tank, as long as they are not dead.
If dead all uneaten will rot and cause ammonia,nitrates,nitrites..ect..

As for the feederfish issue i agree with the quarentine method.


----------



## PiranhaMike661 (Jul 9, 2010)

I've got a 12 gallon I use for quarantine...although it's empty right now. My sister's convicts just popped out some fry, so I'll be having those. Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide.


----------



## ImportRacer (May 13, 2003)

federowley said:


> OK, so I'm still kind of new to owning piranhas so bear with me... If you choose to feed your piranhas feeder fish, is it a bad idea to throw 5 or 6 feeders in the tank and let them eat whenever they feel up to it? Or should whatever they don't eat after so long be removed even if its a live fish?


Breed your own feeder fish...Breed Convict cichlids.............They breed like rabbits......


----------

