# Goldfish good for Piranhas???



## cpeck (Feb 1, 2007)

I was reading through some posts and came across someone saying that goldfish are bad for your P's. I feed my RBP's them all the time and this worried me when i read it. Does anyone have anymore info on this?


----------



## piranha_guy_dan (Oct 4, 2004)

no no no and no

for one they can carry diseases quite commonly

2. they have no nutritional value.

3 they contain thiaminase which slows the growth, it counter acts with THIAMIN which helps promote growth


----------



## moron (May 26, 2006)

piranha_guy_dan said:


> no no no and no
> 
> for one they can carry diseases quite commonly
> 
> ...


well said :nod:


----------



## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

_to Feeding and Nutrition_


----------



## inspectahdeck34 (Dec 31, 2006)

breed something like convicts for live feeders just get a male and a female give it a few months and you will have a ton of food then just gut load them with nutritional foods


----------



## Xantarc (May 25, 2004)

this is basically a repost of what i told one of the other memebers but i thought id share it with you as well

"Actually it is possible of your P to get sick and possibly die from eating feeders.. ALot of the main reasons why you dont feed your Ps Feeders is becuase lets face it there housed in the most disqusting tanks.. I cant think if one time where i have not seen at least 5 dead feeeders along with the rest of the community as the others suck on the dead feeders. the problem with this is that all those feeders are dieing shiting pissing on each other and tehy tend to carry diseases... Therefore making your p more prone to catching something.. Generally thats the reason why most hobbiest will not feed there fish feeders.. I know that feeders are fun to watch get mauled on so the best thing to do is quartine them.. let them sit in a serparte tank for a 2 weeks and see how they do if they are still good and healthy then throw there ass in ther and enjoy haha hope this helps bro.."


----------



## itstheiceman (Oct 5, 2006)

piranha_guy_dan said:


> no no no and no
> 
> for one they can carry diseases quite commonly
> 
> ...


nicely said....maybe a feeder in a blue moon for a treat..make sure its quarenteen'd 1st


----------



## cpeck (Feb 1, 2007)

I do quarentine my goldfish for at least a week. Thats what my 10 gallon is for, i also feed them pellets most of the time. So they do get there nutrition but i like the show from time to time.


----------



## BlackSunshine (Mar 28, 2006)

The quarenteine is the least of issues with feeding goldfish to your P's. the THIAMIN inhibitor is more of an issue then anything else. That in addition to the fact that you have p's in your 55 is a bad combo. they will be stunted not only from the close quarters but from the golds you are feeding them.

Convicts or guppies would be better food.


----------



## VRM (Jan 9, 2007)

well i personally will not feed goldfishto my p's due to the high disease issue,but i have had friends feed them to thier p's and never an issue. raw shrimp,catfish,squid,and talapia would be alot better,and you can get any of them from jewel or dominicks


----------



## skittish razor (Jan 30, 2007)

I dont feed my P any goldfish. When i do feed him live fish it is usualy a type of tetra that i buy for the lfs and just let him eat that. they are a better food source if u were to feed live fish all the time than goldfish are. the chance of the fish having a disease is still there but not as much as the goldfish. But even if u were to feed him tetras it still would not be a thing to feed him on a daily basis. Variety is key.


----------



## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

I tend to sit on the other side of the fence on this topic than most.

Although I did have a problem once with internal parasites from feeding a group of caribas goldfish, I still do it once in awhile.

As for the growth inhibiting, I don't buy into that very much.
True, they do contain the hormone, but then again, so does catfish, and most people feed their piranhas catfish.

A buddy of mine in Portland who grows some of the biggest pygos I've ever seen, has fed his fish tons of goldfish, and a staple of nearly 100% catfish.
His fish are large and healthy.

As for the idea that goldfish contain no nutritional value, I don't see how this is possible... they're fish just like any other fish...

Anyway, just my two cents.


----------



## boontje (Mar 27, 2005)

Piranha_man said:


> As for the idea that goldfish contain no nutritional value, I don't see how this is possible... they're fish just like any other fish...


what's not possible about that? some foods (if it's fish food or food for human consumption) is more nutritional than others...


----------



## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

boontje said:


> As for the idea that goldfish contain no nutritional value, I don't see how this is possible... they're fish just like any other fish...


what's not possible about that? some foods (if it's fish food or food for human consumption) is more nutritional than others...
[/quote]

In a comparison between catfish flesh and goldfish flesh, with two of the more essential nutritional values targeted, the two compare as follows... the amount of protein and vit. C per 100g of fish flesh:

*Catfish: *  
Protein- 15.55g
Vitamin C- .60g

*Goldfish:*
Protein- 17.83g
Vitamin C- 1.60g

_Shrimp came out slightly better than goldfish..._
*
Shrimp:*
Protein- 20.31g
Vitamin C- 2.0g

The problems that stem from the feeding of goldfish (and other feeders) isn't the lack of nutritional value, but the risk of disease and the buildup of saturated fat in the liver.


----------



## bigdaddy998us (Jan 2, 2007)

> In a comparison between catfish flesh and goldfish flesh, with two of the more essential nutritional values targeted, the two compare as follows... the amount of protein and vit. C per 100g of fish flesh:
> 
> Catfish:
> Protein- 15.55g
> ...


verry nicely said.. I have weened my p's off of gold fish recently.. They love shrimp and walleye!


----------



## Leasure1 (Jul 24, 2006)

and the thiamin inhibitors.....which thiamin helps growth, and when you block those, your fish will not grow as well as they should.


----------



## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

edit


----------



## ___ (Feb 19, 2006)

NO!

http://www.piranha-fury.com/pfury/index.php?showtopic=135651


----------



## cpeck (Feb 1, 2007)

Thanks for all your input. I especially like the comparison of the catfish, goldfish, and shrimp. I dont want to stop feeding them goldfish because its fun to watch. Plus i have had them for 6 months and they have grown from 1" to 5" just like they are supposed to so i dont think the growth thing is that big of a deal, its more the disease.


----------



## soon2breed (Aug 30, 2006)

Your best bet would be to stop the goldfish. Many years ago when i first started with P's i used to use strictly goldfish. Now i use a mixed diet that consists of mainly high end cichlid pellets when they are juvies and then as they grow i move towards shrimp and other white fleshed fish, as well as keeping pellets in the diet. It is true that my p's did grow back in the day on a goldfish only diet but now the growth and colour is incredible with the mixed diet and no live feeder fish! I just got a new batch of juvie reds that were the size of a nickel on Dec 30 2006 (5 natts) and they are now just shy of 3 inches each and have a surprising amount of colour considering how young they are. Consider that this was achieved through only cichlid pellets. 
Im not telling you what you should feed your p's but if you want superior growth and colour it is best to mix up the diet and keep feeders out


----------



## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

soon2breed said:


> Your best bet would be to stop the goldfish. Many years ago when i first started with P's i used to use strictly goldfish. Now i use a mixed diet that consists of mainly high end cichlid pellets when they are juvies and then as they grow i move towards shrimp and other white fleshed fish, as well as keeping pellets in the diet. It is true that my p's did grow back in the day on a goldfish only diet but now the growth and colour is incredible with the mixed diet and no live feeder fish! I just got a new batch of juvie reds that were the size of a nickel on Dec 30 2006 (5 natts) and they are now just shy of 3 inches each and have a surprising amount of colour considering how young they are. Consider that this was achieved through only cichlid pellets.
> Im not telling you what you should feed your p's but if you want superior growth and colour it is best to mix up the diet and keep feeders out


Just curious, 
You recommend feeding a variety of foods, 
But also commented on feeding only pellets.

Which is it?


----------



## soon2breed (Aug 30, 2006)

Piranha_man said:


> Your best bet would be to stop the goldfish. Many years ago when i first started with P's i used to use strictly goldfish. Now i use a mixed diet that consists of mainly high end cichlid pellets when they are juvies and then as they grow i move towards shrimp and other white fleshed fish, as well as keeping pellets in the diet. It is true that my p's did grow back in the day on a goldfish only diet but now the growth and colour is incredible with the mixed diet and no live feeder fish! I just got a new batch of juvie reds that were the size of a nickel on Dec 30 2006 (5 natts) and they are now just shy of 3 inches each and have a surprising amount of colour considering how young they are. Consider that this was achieved through only cichlid pellets.
> Im not telling you what you should feed your p's but if you want superior growth and colour it is best to mix up the diet and keep feeders out


Just curious, 
You recommend feeding a variety of foods, 
But also commented on feeding only pellets.

Which is it?








[/quote]

piranha man, first off my post was to inform the guy who started this thread about what i feed my p's and not to feed them goldfish. Secondly if you read my post it says that i used pellets when they were juvies and mixed it up a bit later. It seems as though you have been a member for a long time and you most likely know what the answer to your question is. If your trying to be a smart ass go post elsewhere. Here is the extremely simplified version.

Basically I use pellets only up to 2.5" or 3" then i start mixing up their foods with white fleshed fish, shrimp etc...
This is just the way I go about it and it works great from experience. 
Read what other feed their P's and you can come up with your own diet for them. 
Just make sure you stay away from live feeders, unless you get a small catfish or tetra and quarantine them before you feed them to your p's. Goldfish and Minnows are a big no no


----------



## Whall Banner (Nov 25, 2004)

I give my caribe the odd goldfish but not too often. i'm not over convinced that giving piranhas goldfish is like the equivalent of feeding them Big Macs because at the end of the day these fish have a duty of keeping the river systems clean by eating all sorts of crap. The worst thing about giving your fish goldfish is the risk of desease because goldfish share tanks with hundreds of fish during transportation and are usually treated like sh*t during the process causing stress and hence desease.


----------

