# 0s1r1s's Manueli



## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

I've been watching this guy for a few weeks at the LFS and he hasn't got bought. I finally asked about him, and he has been splitting a 15 gallon tank with a Red Belly for about 5 months now. Every time I was in there he was just staring at the red through the divider. I couldn't pass it up. I've been prepping a tank for the weeks while I was shopping around, and after some water tests it seemed to be about that time. So here he is..

























He looks to be around 4-5 inches, and I already know my 30 gallon will not be big enough soon. But for the time being, it sure beats sharing a 15 gallon tank. And I have read a lot about the immaculate water conditions these fish need, and I am only concerned about the hardness of my water at this point in time, because its the only thing off. I hope it doesn't effect his transition to the new home. Also, I have a Aqua Clear 70 running in the 30, I believe its rated at 300gph, I hope this is a sufficient filtering system.

Other than that, he seems okay so far. He hid behind the driftwood for about an hour until it got dark. I left and when I came back into the room, he was where he is in the pictures, and even stayed when I hit the light. I notice a lot more activity when its almost black though. Just enough to see his glimmer moving around. He has three tetras in with him (which have been swarming all around him), although I read to take them out and feed him on my terms, not his. Maybe after I know he eats at least once I'll take the others out. Or just not put in any more after he devours all three.

I'm open to comments and suggestions. And I'll try to keep the updates flowing, especially when a tetra goes missing.. Thanks!


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## egr72 (Feb 20, 2007)

nice fish.


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## His Majesty (Apr 5, 2005)

congrats on the pic up. he looks cute


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

nice manny.


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## Da' Manster! (Sep 1, 2009)

Looking great!..Sweet Manny!..Excellent piranha to have!...







....and yes, the AC-70 is more than enough filtration!...you are getting 10 x's turnover rate with the 300 GPH...Your Manny will be happy in that tank for a good while...Just make sure you do routine maitenance (15 - 20%) water changes weekly and your specimen will hit double digits in size...So how much did you pay for him?!


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

I hate to admit it, because I almost feel I splurged on buying this fish. But he was $180 out the door. I mean, I seen on AS they were $150-200 from 4-7in. So it was right in between for the price and his size. Plus, I didn't know how I felt about shipping this fish because of their high mortality rates during shipping - and AS was out of stock anyway. So I felt the price was right to have it locally, and avoid shipping costs and/or incidents.

I am still concerned about the water conditions. When I asked the LFS about how they maintained the water for this particular fish, they said they didn't do anything different than the other piranhas they have. Which kinda makes me feel better and scared at the same time. I like to think my water conditions are the same if not better than theirs, and he will be fine, or adjust to the slight change. Err, I just don't want a high priced casualty on my hands if the water is not to his standards.

On the bright side, I got up for work this morning and turned the light on to check on him, he came darting out and those huge jaws were all over the glass. But then he quickly retreated back to his driftwood hideout. Good to see signs of aggression so early though. All three tetras remained when I left, however I did notice the gap they are trying to leave between themselves and the manny now. He must of gave them a close encounter during the night.


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## Sacrifice (Sep 24, 2006)

0S1R1S said:


> I hate to admit it, because I almost feel I splurged on buying this fish. But he was $180 out the door. I mean, I seen on AS they were $150-200 from 4-7in. So it was right in between for the price and his size. Plus, I didn't know how I felt about shipping this fish because of their high mortality rates during shipping - and AS was out of stock anyway. So I felt the price was right to have it locally, and avoid shipping costs and/or incidents.
> 
> I am still concerned about the water conditions. When I asked the LFS about how they maintained the water for this particular fish, they said they didn't do anything different than the other piranhas they have. Which kinda makes me feel better and scared at the same time. I like to think my water conditions are the same if not better than theirs, and he will be fine, or adjust to the slight change. Err, I just don't want a high priced casualty on my hands if the water is not to his standards.
> 
> On the bright side, I got up for work this morning and turned the light on to check on him, he came darting out and those huge jaws were all over the glass. But then he quickly retreated back to his driftwood hideout. Good to see signs of aggression so early though. All three tetras remained when I left, however *I did notice the gap they are trying to leave between themselves* and the manny now. He must of gave them a close encounter during the night.


Sweet Manny. I experieced the same results with my new Rhom. I had some guppies in there from the cycle and I decided to just leave them in there and let him pick them off whenever he wanted. The first day the guppies were hanging around almost on top of him, but by the next morning there was a guppy head on the bottom and all the guppies were up top hiding in the watersprite, LOL. I think that he gave them a pretty good scare.


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## Ja'eh (Jan 8, 2007)

That is a good looking little manny you have there, congratz on the pick up.


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

Thanks guys.. Just a quick update.. He hasn't eaten yet, which I understand is some-what normal. The three feeders are still alive, so I bought some freeze-dried krill to try, and it floats. Probably just going to buy some fresh shrimp, and some of the Kent Zoe vitamin supplement as shown in the pinned food post. Other than that, he seems to be more active and less elusive today. He was watching me do water tests earlier, and later had a nice little tantrum in the corner.






And here's some more pictures for your viewing pleasure..

























Enjoy!


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## Lifer374 (Dec 5, 2003)

What are your plans for his upgrade? Tank wise.


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

Lifer374 said:


> What are your plans for his upgrade? Tank wise.


I've been contemplating that since I picked him up. I would like to think he would be okay in this for a little bit, but I would still rather have him in a larger tank right away so he has plenty of room to grow and dart around. Which may work out, because I am able to trade-in the tank I have now. The problem is just the transfer to a new tank again.

What size tank would you suggest that he would be able to grow into? Ive been thinking a 55 would be sufficient for at least a year, maybe push two depending on his growth rate. 55 seems like my best choice for some of the items I have now as well. For instance, my filter is an Aqua Clear 70, would this be okay on a 55 or would you go for the 110 for better turnover?


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## Lifer374 (Dec 5, 2003)

0S1R1S said:


> I've been contemplating that since I picked him up. I would like to think he would be okay in this for a little bit, but I would still rather have him in a larger tank right away so he has plenty of room to grow and dart around. Which may work out, because I am able to trade-in the tank I have now. The problem is just the transfer to a new tank again.
> 
> What size tank would you suggest that he would be able to grow into? Ive been thinking a 55 would be sufficient for at least a year, maybe push two depending on his growth rate. 55 seems like my best choice for some of the items I have now as well. For instance, my filter is an Aqua Clear 70, would this be okay on a 55 or would you go for the 110 for better turnover?


In all honesty, I've never had the pleasure of keeping/growing out a mannie. But I have kept a good number of serras over the years.
That being said, a 55 gallon tank would be ok for 2-3 years but it would be nessasary to upgrade again down the road given the standard 55 gallon's 12" width. I would highly recomend you look at a tank with a footprint no smaller then 48" x 18" and even then there could be a possibilty of another upgrade way down the road but this would take many years. 
A tank with a footprint of 48" x 24" would hold this mannie for life no problem.

I'm not saying don't get the 55 by any means. Sometimes finding a 75 or a 90 at a good price (used and in excellent shape) is hard to do but IS possible with enough hunting. Where as finding a standard 55 gallon is relatively easy and are a dime-a-dozen. A 55 does make a very good grow-out tank but should only be concidered just that...temperary quarters. When concidering a tank that will last the life of the species you have, a 48" x 12" tank is just not large enough to go the long run with.

I'm not a fan of hang on filters. Much prefer canisters over hang on's any day. But to answer your question, you could get by with a 70 but an AC110 would be way better suited for the 55 over the AC70.


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

Well, all three feeders went missing over the weekend. Now that they're gone, I'm going to try and get him on a shrimp and/or fillet diet. Maybe an occasional live meal here and there. But even better news is that I obtained a 55g tank setup with a Rena Filstar xP2 canister filter over the weekend as well. So I'm in the process of getting it setup and and ready to go. I'll get some more pictures up after everything starts to come together.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Congrats on the new setup, I'm sure he'll like the extra space. Can't wait to see pics


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

Nice Manueli! That's my fav P species by far. I have a 6" Manueli myself, and kept him in a 55G tall setup when I first got him (for about 2 months) - and I just moved him into his new 125G home this past weekend... I noticed that when I first got mine, it remained in a corner for a while building up territory etc. Then after a while, it began swimming all over the tank, just cruising around and really utilizing all the swimming space the 55G could provide... After seeing that, I had the urge to move him into something bigger, or at least longer so that he had more swim room... So I moved him into a 125G (72" L) so that he can get comfy in there for a while... These get really big in size, so I think it helps to give them plenty of room to be comfortable.

I noticed that when I had a hiding skull piece in the 55G tank, he stayed there for the entire time (probably only coming out at night)... So I removed that and after about a week with no real hiding places, he became more bold and swimming all around the tank. Also when I left the light on in the 55G, he seems to get nervous and didn't swim about much - so I took out the light altogether - and he was just fine.. (the regular room lighting was enough anyways)...

In the 125G tank, I keep one side dark, and only one side lit (and planted)... So now he has a preference of being in the light, or not...

I noticed your Manueli is getting the red on its gillplates already - that's a really cool thing, as it takes FOREVER (or what it seems like forever) for that to come in. I think once the red starts coming in, you're really in for some fun. Every manny I've seen with the red gills have been pure monsters.

Enjoy him.


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

Well I went ahead and got the 55 gallon tank setup and transitioned everything over the other night. Basically looks the same as the 29g setup. I'm running the Rena xP2 and the AC70 for the time being. I couldn't hang it on the back because of space limitations, so I had to put it on the side and let the hood kinda sit on it for now. In the future, will the xP2 alone be enough filtration?

So what does everyone think?








I got him eating frozen silversides I picked up. But hes only been eating half, usually the head. I gave him a smaller fish and still only the head. But at least he's eating daily. I would also like to get a hold of some floating plants for some cover. So if anyone has any excess floating plants, let me know. I can pay for shipping.

Here he is exploring his new territory. This is before I had the backdrop on the tank. He did this for hours until I finally got around to putting it on, and he hasn't done it since. Maybe he was chasing his shadow on the wall behind him. (fyi - those are bubbles floating around the tank, not debris, maybe a root or two though)






Enjoy.


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## RedneckR0nin (Nov 5, 2008)

Beautiful tank and photos of, also a great looking manny for sure. Thanks for sharing your videos, you got a happy fish for sure man. 









To edit the title of your thread you must full edit your Op. Once you do that it will pop up just like when you created it.


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## Da' Manster! (Sep 1, 2009)

Great looking, Manny!...He rocks like a SKID ROW concert!!!....







...Aren't you glad now that you decided to keep him instead of selling him?!...







...My Manny has nearly doubled in size in his 55 gallon tank (gone from 3 - 4 inches to 6 in about 3.5 months) but he is still very shy and somewhat skittish...He wolfs down 4 feeders every fourth or fifth day but he constantly stays in his favorite spot (right side of the tank) but I do notice when I turn my bedroom lights off, he starts roaming back and forth from one side to the other!..Also, everytime I turn my lights on he goes absolutely psycho and nuts and that kind of freaks me out as I have never had a rhom or a pygo in all my years of P-keeping overreact like that..I figure it stresses him out so I never turn them on now...Besides, there is more than enough light in my bedroom from the windows and sunlight so its really not necessary!...Anyhow, I think its only a matter of time before he comes out of his shell and unleashes the beast from within him!!...


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)




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## sick of chiclids (May 25, 2010)

SWEET LOOKING FISH MAN!!! the manny is one of my fave p's!


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## RuthlessCarnage (Apr 1, 2010)

If you're looking to get a 55 for the grow out tank, I would suggest getting a 50 breeder instead since the foot print of one is the same as a 75 only shorter. The diamentions of the tank are 48"x18"x13" and you wouldn't have to pay as much for a either a 55 or a 75 seeing as you will have to upgrade later in the future anyways. IMO I think your best bet is a 50 gallon breeder, perfect foot print for the cute little manny to dart around in and ample space to grow out in. Since Serra's I.e. Rhom's usually are kept in standard 75 gallon grow out tanks when they are 4-5 inches because of their notorious slow growth rate that can't be helped but with time and lots of care as well as patience. Good pick up btw  a canister filter would benefit you too on the grow out tank, would also create a stronger flow of current which I'm sure your manny would just love IMO. A ehiem 2213 would work nicely with your existing aquaclear 70 filter on the upgrade tank


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Sweet pick up! It took my manny awhile before eatting when I got mine to. Ssems to be about the same size as yours around 5". I was being bad and feeding it guppies as he only went after anything that moved. I fianlly broke him of that and now feed him frozen silversides. The silversides are a couple inches and he devours the whole thing. Mines still spending a lot of time under a piece of driftwood but I moved it so I can still see him. IVe tried puttign in dithers, things liek cherry shrimp, ottos danios any kind of small fast fish. Nothing has lasted more than 12 hours. Last time I tried cherry shrimp one lasted about 5 seconds lol. These are great fish to keep. In my case not always lively but they have an attitude. Mine will go ballistic anytime a kid walks by or a cat or anything smaller than me basically lol.


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## the_w8 (Jul 28, 2003)

Manny's can be a touchy piranha, but IMO they aren't as feeble as people make them out to be...I've had mine for a year and a half now and he's by far the craziest piranha I've owned. I got him at about the 5" mark and now hes closer 7" last time I measured him. Good diet and water changes weekly will definitely help ur lil fella out in the long run. When I first got my Manny I had him in a 40G breeder and he did well in that and a couple months later when I moved i put him in the 75G. I think they need a longer tank because they are such an active piranha (or at least mine is) therefore a 55G should be fine for AWHILE. They are notorious slow growers and you could easily get a few years of ur manny housing in the 55G. I'm not a big fan of the 55's dimensions, but it'll work for ur little guy.


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## karas (Oct 15, 2010)

Awesome pickup!


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## wisco_pygo (Dec 9, 2009)

nice manny tex


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

Very nice, and the gills look like they are starting to get some nice color! Hope he grows out nicely.


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

.


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

Here's an updated picture and a new video. I can't tell if he has grown much, maybe a little, but more recently his colors have been coming out. His gill plate is more intense orange and yellowish, and his eyes are gaining a hint of red/amber. He has also been slightly more aggressive toward me when I'm around his tank or bothering him with pictures. I've been reconsidering selling him.


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## impalass (Nov 20, 2009)

Beautiful speciment and photography, so much so Manny is now my new fav...Keeper !


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## Inflade (Mar 24, 2006)

nice looking fish! i would say keep it! he seems to be getting more interesting as the days go by!


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## 0S1R1S (Aug 29, 2010)

New pics with the flash and a full tank shot. Also a crisp finger chasing video. Been pissing with the new camera a lot.


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## jp80911 (Apr 3, 2008)

cute


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Fish & tank are beautiful.


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## Smoke (Sep 8, 2010)

Great personality on that little killer!


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