# Am I Correct On Getting Piranhas To Breed?



## motoracer110 (May 13, 2010)

Ok so i have been doing a lot of reading in this thread and on the web and dont really have a good clear answer. So correct me if im wrong but all that you need is a breeding pair then you want to lower the water level and add a rain spray dripping effect to mimic the rainy season, also add peat to the filter and that's it to get reds the best chance to breed?

i may be way off but thats what i have come up with from my reading and putting 2 and 2 together. Am i missing anything or does that pretty much sum it up?


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Imo none of that is required for rbp


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

motoracer110 said:


> Ok so i have been doing a lot of reading in this thread and on the web and dont really have a good clear answer. So correct me if im wrong but all that you need is a breeding pair then you want to lower the water level and add a rain spray dripping effect to mimic the rainy season, also add peat to the filter and that's it to get reds the best chance to breed?
> 
> i may be way off but thats what i have come up with from my reading and putting 2 and 2 together. Am i missing anything or does that pretty much sum it up?


If you have a breedign pair already you don't really have to do anything but keep the tank farily clean and they will breed. If you are trying to spawn them for the first time some good techniques are altering temperature and water quality. I think the best thing to do is larger mroe frequent water changes with water slightly colder then the tank temp. For reds you don't really need to drop the water level and create rain. You can try but I think there are other methods that are more effective.


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## primetime3wise (Sep 28, 2003)

^i agree with the both of them. all 3 of us have experience with this. simulating the seasons is not necessary for rbp. you might just raise the temp to low to mid 80's. after several days add cooler water to drop the temp down to like 76 or 78, then let it go back up. they would probably even mate without this if you have a pair already. thought this technique will probably speed that up. and of course, make sure you always have good water quality...that goes without saying.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Imo just making them comfortable is the main thing.I think lots of fresh water plays key part in it also. Cooler water probably work but again I don't think it matters with rbp. I'd start with more water changes. Try to stay out of tank as much as possible. Feed best food available.


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## motoracer110 (May 13, 2010)

ok that makes more sense thank you all for your help.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

I agree with the introduction of peat to help induce spawning.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Has peat triggered your rbp to spawn P-man? I'm not saying it does or doesn't work as Everyones setups & fish are different & the fishes triggers can be just as different.hell some refuse to spawn & never will. I've personally never used it so I can't speak on it either way. I know you've been using it for a minute now. Any spawnings since you've added peat? & OP.make sure you want them spawning before you trigger them cause once they start they probably won't quit. I get at LEAST one spawn a week. Imo getting them spawning is the easy part. Getting them to quit is much harder.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

My reds have spawned, and there has always been peat in the tank, yes.
However, I'm not basing my statement on that, 'cause they most likely would have spawned anyway.

I've just read from countless sources over the years from authors such as Herbert Axelrod that peat helps induce spawning for most aquarium fishes.


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## primetime3wise (Sep 28, 2003)

^it's not NEEDED, but couldn't hurt to maybe get a pair going more quickly...like messing with the temp. also, peat is probably more for harder to breed species that require more "natural" conditions. in the case of piranhas, anything other than rbp and macs.


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## Guest (May 1, 2011)

Peat does help with certain fish, I've also read articles on breeding difficult amazonian fish and they all recommend the use of peat to trigger spawning due to tannins and the pH drop.

As everyone else said, rbp will spawn when they want, everything else you do may or may not trigger it.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

I don't think peat will directly get them to spawn but indirectly it maqy make them more comfortable and be more willing to spawn.


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## Sylar_92 (Dec 15, 2010)

Reds are the convicts of the piranha world, keep their water clean and feed them good. Soon enough you'll have some red belly fry, thats where it gets hard to manage because you may require a krill or brine shrimp farm which is already producing shrimp.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

That's no problem. Brine shrimp only take 24hrs to hatch. Takes rbp a week to hatch & eat their first meal if not a tad longer, depending on fry tank temp. If you have 2 hatcheries & start one everyday it'll be ready for the next days feeding.if you do it right you can get 2 feedings from one batch.as some brine will hatch sooner than others. I have a couple detailed videos of setting up brine hatcheries so you'll have a constant supply of freshly hatched bbs twice a day, everyday from two hatcheries. Actually takes closer to 2weeks before rbp fry will eat.takes 2-4 days to hatch & fall into gravel & roughly a week to use up their yoke sak.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> I don't think peat will directly get them to spawn but indirectly it maqy make them more comfortable and be more willing to spawn.


Yeah, it's probably like "mood lighting and music" is to us.


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## motoracer110 (May 13, 2010)

Piranha_man said:


> I don't think peat will directly get them to spawn but indirectly it maqy make them more comfortable and be more willing to spawn.


Yeah, it's probably like "mood lighting and music" is to us.








[/quote]

Haha thats a good way to put it


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## dcp5082 (Feb 14, 2011)

sorry to hijack the thread, but I've got a question. my reds are approaching a year old now and about 6 inches... I really want to induce breeding to get some experience at it... im just afraid all 4 of my reds are male or female.. do you think 4 would be enough? and is there a place where you can buy reds that are sexed already?


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## Guest (May 6, 2011)

Reds cant be sexed. Some people claim to know how to sex them based on shape, size etc Females do get rounder/fatter when they are full of eggs. The likelyhood of you having 4 fish of all the same sex are unlikely. Keep your tank clean and on your next water change add slightly cooler water to trigger a spawn.


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## HGI (Oct 27, 2009)

Red's apparently can spawn after 12month if their big enough thought the chances and like hood of that happening is very slim, no harm in trying though I wouldn't count on it. I'd for sure have a back up tank ready to fill and slap an extra hob filter on your main tank so if and when it happens your not scrambling


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