# Gay Piranhas?



## Killer (Oct 28, 2003)

I've got two 4" Red-Belly Piranhas and they are the most non-aggressive fish I've ever seen. I drop a dozen small feeder goldfish in and they ran to the other side of tank and wouldn't move. I mean, I know piranhas don't have the reputation everyone makes them out to have like they're vicious killers and stuff, but I mean come on, when you're running from goldfish, somethings wrong. Anybody got any tips on making them more aggressive towards food and not eachother? Also, my aquarium is sparcely decorated, do you think this might have something to do with it? And my biggest question, how do you make your water harder? I read that piranhas usally live in water with 17dGH, mine is like 6dGH. How do I make the water harder? What's an optimal temperature for them? I keep mine around 80-81F.


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## mantis (May 16, 2003)

how long have you had them?


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## tecknik (Jul 18, 2003)

Welcome to p-fury! The first thing you should do is add another red belly. You have two reds which will end up fighting sooner or later to show who is superior. If you have three, they really dont compete too much and they will shoal together. What size tank are they in? If you just got them and put them in their new home, most of the time they wont eat. They need to time to adjust, it could be as fast several days to a couple weeks, it all depends on them and when they feel comfortable, just give them time. Piranhas like places to hide when they are stressed so a little decoration will help, its up to you though. Im not too sure about making your water harder, maybe someone else can help you with that. But temperature wise, I usually have my tank at a comforatble 80 degrees.


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## Honda99_300ex (Apr 18, 2003)

tecknik said:


> Welcome to p-fury! The first thing you should do is add another red belly. You have two reds which will end up fighting sooner or later to show who is superior. If you have three, they really dont compete too much and they will shoal together.


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## MR HARLEY (Aug 12, 2003)

add a caribe to the mix ..ask for a lively one.....heavy eater...or a super red


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## sweet lu (Oct 3, 2003)

that weird how big are yours? my new reds are have only been in the tank for 5 hours and they are acting like they have lived in it for years. mine are also eating regularly. what size tank and also try not to feed the live feeders. they can poison your piranhas. try stuff like beef heart,shrimp, and frozen foods the sell at the pet store. welcome to P-Fury.


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## camotekid (Sep 21, 2003)

your fish might be full. just leave those goldfish there. You'll know when they eat it. Or if not, your fish might be newly introduced to your tank, and they're making some time to acclimatize. Just let them be with the live feeders.


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## Reich (Oct 1, 2003)

just a matter of time...... they will unleash the fury!!!


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## Killer (Oct 28, 2003)

I definitely understand what you mean by the two of them fighting because they fight pretty hardcore, everyday I wake up there is a new nipped fin. I've had them for about a month now. I transferred them to a 30 gallon tank about a week ago and they've pretty much setup residence in it. I'm sure I could stand to get some more decorations and cover for them to hide in. I think a lot of the fighting stems from them competing for the one huge plant to hide behind. Also, what is a caribe or a super red? I've never really heard of either of these fish. The local fish stores don't stock exactly the most exotic of fish if you know what I mean. I would really like to get them on a regular eating schedule, rather than dropping a dozen feeders in and having them dissapear over a few days. I don't like to overcrowd them, and I don't want some sort of disease epidemic to take hold. I've tried beef heart but they aren't the most graceful eaters and usually shred it up and it usually winds up in a filter clean. What are some other suggestions for food? Any type of lunch meat? Or anything like that?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

First of all, welcome to PFury









Cariba are a different species of shoaling piranha, that can be kept together with redbellies. "Super reds" are just a local variety of the redbellied piranha, from a certain range in Northern Brasil, with more intense red coloration.
For more information on all the different species, have a look in our PFury information center: click me.

The reason your reds are affraid when you drop in feeder fish might be that they usually feed on sick or injured animals, so dropping in active, healthy fish might scare them off. Besides that, piranha's are easy to scare fish, always on guard, because many animals (including their own kind) prey on them in the wild: so in general, they are rather shy/skittish, especially when drastic changes to their already limited living space occur (like dropping in new fish).
So I wouldn't be worried about that: it's basically just normal behaviour (although I agree it can be a bit discouraging at times).

One last remark: Like some said before, I would most definitely invest in a larger tank (at least 55 gallon), and at least 1 additional redbelly. They are fish that form a pecking order/hierarchy within the shoal and territories of their own. With only two reds, the dominant one will most likely bully the other one around, until it's injured or even killed. With more than two fish, these types of agression are more evenly spread out amongst the fish, decreasing the changes of constant bickering, injuries or fatalities.

Good luck, and keep us updated!


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## mantis (May 16, 2003)

Killer said:


> What are some other suggestions for food? Any type of lunch meat? Or anything like that?


 no lunch meat, it has perservatives that are bad new for your P's. Feed them fish fillets, pellets, shrimp, worms, lean meat.......


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## phishin06 (Jun 11, 2003)

ha..and I thought this post was going to be about homosexual P's.....


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## captinmo187 (Oct 19, 2003)

phishin06 said:


> ha..and I thought this post was going to be about homosexual P's.....


 HAHAH i thought the same thing. i was like wtf!


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## SiameseDream (Sep 7, 2003)

I just got my reds 2 weeks ago and at first i never saw them eat feeders. I figured to turn off the hoodlights and i sit below the tank and watch the carnage and it works


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