# Happy!



## chaddfc (Dec 29, 2009)

After a lil over a month of waiting , frustration and anticipation I believe my tank is cycled!!!! Checked the last 2 days and ammonia 0 nitrites 0 and Nitrate about 1.0-2.0ppm ph 8.0-8.2 and it couldnt have happened at a more perfect time because my ruby red will be here by 11 am tomorrow morning....gonna take the convicts out of the tank and do a lil rearranging so its not so cluster$%$#ed in there haha. Wish me luck on my new and first Piranha....wanna do it right. Its a 2-3" so best food to start off with. Oh and my Vita chem is on order probably be here in about a week. Is there a different way to introduce a piranha to your aquarium or it goes the same where you float the bag for 15.....add some water for another 15 and then net it into the tank? Never gotten a fish through the mail before......excited!


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i like to do a drip line to acclimate new fish... just put your fish in a bucket along with the water that it was shipped with, then run an airline from your tank to create a syphon into the bucket, you can either use a drip valve or a clip of some sort to restrict the flow so the water is just dripping into the bucket. i like to let the bucket fill up so that there is about 3 times as much tank water in the bucket as there was water from the bag.

for a fish that size, you could start working on pellets or just put small pieces of shrimp, tilapia, catfish, or cod in there. i'd go easy on feedings for the first few days and keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels.


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## chaddfc (Dec 29, 2009)

joedizzlempls said:


> i like to do a drip line to acclimate new fish... just put your fish in a bucket along with the water that it was shipped with, then run an airline from your tank to create a syphon into the bucket, you can either use a drip valve or a clip of some sort to restrict the flow so the water is just dripping into the bucket. i like to let the bucket fill up so that there is about 3 times as much tank water in the bucket as there was water from the bag.
> 
> for a fish that size, you could start working on pellets or just put small pieces of shrimp, tilapia, catfish, or cod in there. i'd go easy on feedings for the first few days and keep an eye on your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels.


Okay will do and as for the food..... like food from a supermarket, frozen??? A certain brand anyone uses??? I work at wal mart so they do have a seafood section.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

i've gotten the big family packs of frozen tilapia at walmart, they come in a box and are all individually vacuum-packed. they also sell bags of frozen raw shrimp in the frozen section.


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## chaddfc (Dec 29, 2009)

Ok and how soon after getting the fish home how do I know when to feed and how often for a piranha that size....how many times a day and what not.....I know what he doesnt eat I need to remove from the tank right away.....


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

since it's a new tank, i'd try feeding every couple days or so to start with... after a week, you could feed more frequently until it gets up to a healthy weight, then you can feed every other day or so.


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## jmax611 (Aug 6, 2006)

you can also tie a knot in the airline to control the drip


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