# PLEASE HELP!



## mujolibo (Jan 11, 2009)

Yesterday i bought four 6" RBP's. Before i walked out with them, i was given a demonstration while they were feeding (pellets). Today they do not want to eat and keep on chasing each other and nipping. I have tried to put two gold fish that i have had for four months and they are not interested. Got fresh shrimp, still no interest. Went to the pet store and got pellets, still no interest. I guess my question is; does this happen often when there is a change of habitat (surrounding)? Is there something i should be doing that i am not? Should i wait it out? My biggest concern is that i spent way too much money on them for them to eat each other or die on me.


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## crazy banana (Jan 8, 2009)

Well if your piranha are brand new to their tank they arnt going to eat right away. It might take a couple of days maybe a week before they eat. Nipping isnt uncommon, at least for me it wasnt. What size tank do you have?


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

It is normal for them to act like this when they have been moved from one home to another, they are probably trying to establish territories. They will nip at each other also, just keep an eye on them. Try putting some food in before you go to sleep, and see if they eat overnight, it is likely they will, if they don't make sure you take the food out.

What size tank?
Where did you buy them from?


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## rhomkeeper (Mar 31, 2008)

just give them time and let them settel in


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## mujolibo (Jan 11, 2009)

crazy banana said:


> Well if your piranha are brand new to their tank they arnt going to eat right away. It might take a couple of days maybe a week before they eat. Nipping isnt uncommon, at least for me it wasnt. What size tank do you have?


I have a 75 gallon with two gold fish still alive.


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

#1 - Is your 75 gallon tank cycled? Do you have water parameters to share?

#2 - Four 6" reds in a 75 gallon is pushing it. I've heard that as a rule, you generally want 40 gallons for one and 20 gallons for each additional when they're at that size. You need somewhere around 90 - 100 + gallons... the larger the footprint, the better. Aggression is likely when you don't provide adequate space for each to claim.

#3 - As Murphy said, they don't typically eat shortly after a transfer. If your water params are good, just be patient.


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## ju5tin95 (Nov 25, 2008)

yea try not to feed them live food , they might have some parasites or diseases and will result to loss later on... they will eventually eat, they will not starve themselves...

got any pics?


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## mujolibo (Jan 11, 2009)

Unfortunately i had not cycled the tank. I went to the LFS and got some dirty water to kind of speed up the process. Also tested water perimeters and ammonia was too high before adding dirty water. This buffles me because the water was straight from the tap. Will test again in a week if they are not eating.. I will post pictures in the next couple of weeks

Would it be wise to feed them fresh shrimp or boil them first to kill bacteria.


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

mujolibo said:


> Unfortunately i had not cycled the tank. I went to the LFS and got some dirty water to kind of speed up the process. Also tested water perimeters and ammonia was too high before adding dirty water. This buffles me because the water was straight from the tap. Will test again in a week if they are not eating.. I will post pictures in the next couple of weeks
> 
> Would it be wise to feed them fresh shrimp or boil them first to kill bacteria.


straight from the tap = BAD WATER.

You need to have beneficial bacteria to help remove the ammonia and nitrites/nitrate waste of the fish and their food. You're going to have to START FROM THE BEGINNING. Read up on tank cycling.

For now, if you can, you need to take those fish back to the LFS, leave your tank running for two weeks with those two goldfish, then go back to get the reds after it's complete. If you don't get that tank cycled, those reds will be dead before the end of the week.


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

mujolibo said:


> Unfortunately i had not cycled the tank. I went to the LFS and got some dirty water to kind of speed up the process. Also tested water perimeters and ammonia was too high before adding dirty water. This buffles me because the water was straight from the tap. Will test again in a week if they are not eating.. I will post pictures in the next couple of weeks
> 
> Would it be wise to feed them fresh shrimp or boil them first to kill bacteria.


Raw shrimp, tilapia, mussels, squid is fine


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## EZmoney (May 13, 2004)

mujolibo said:


> Unfortunately i had not cycled the tank. I went to the LFS and got some dirty water to kind of speed up the process. Also tested water perimeters and ammonia was too high before adding dirty water. This buffles me because the water was straight from the tap. Will test again in a week if they are not eating.. I will post pictures in the next couple of weeks
> 
> Would it be wise to feed them fresh shrimp or boil them first to kill bacteria.


First off, dirty water from the fish store will NOT speed up the cycle process. In fact, it will make it far worse as you just dumped extra ammonia into the tank. You need to be adding beneficial bacteria to the tank. Also, hopefully you added something to neutralize the chlorine from the tap water that you initially added to fill the tank. If your LFS gave you some of their dirty water to help the cycle of your tank, then my advice is to find a new LFS.
Also, if you are truly concerned for your new fish, then do not wait a week to re-test water. You should get started immediately by doing a little more research on this site and elsewhere cuz you have no idea what you are doing at the moment. 
GL


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

gamgenius said:


> Unfortunately i had not cycled the tank. I went to the LFS and got some dirty water to kind of speed up the process. Also tested water perimeters and ammonia was too high before adding dirty water. This buffles me because the water was straight from the tap. Will test again in a week if they are not eating.. I will post pictures in the next couple of weeks
> 
> Would it be wise to feed them fresh shrimp or boil them first to kill bacteria.


First off, dirty water from the fish store will NOT speed up the cycle process. In fact, it will make it far worse as you just dumped extra ammonia into the tank. You need to be adding beneficial bacteria to the tank. Also, hopefully you added something to neutralize the chlorine from the tap water that you initially added to fill the tank. If your LFS gave you some of their dirty water to help the cycle of your tank, then my advice is to find a new LFS.
Also, if you are truly concerned for your new fish, then do not wait a week to re-test water. You should get started immediately by doing a little more research on this site and elsewhere cuz you have no idea what you are doing at the moment. 
GL
[/quote]

^^^^


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## Parsa (Nov 12, 2008)

feefa i got respect for ur comment about reterning his fish but that fucken bs. dont scare the poor guy most likley they wont die. if he put some kind of decloraniser then he should be fine. honestly i could say that they'll be fine just drop in a couple of raw shrim at night before sleep and wake up in the morning they'll be gone, reds are hardy fish. and also when ur cycling a tank you use stupid feeders or other weak fish how do you think they survive 95% of the time? if they can make it then the reds will for sure.


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## nero1 (Jul 26, 2008)

If you witnessed them eating pellets at the pet store I would continue to offer them those exact same pellets for now. I would not try and get them to eat other foods until they have settled in there new home. Remeber the pellets are what they have been accustom to eating not Talapia or shrimp. I would guess that they would react better to the food they are used to. Once they are comfortable with there new home they will eat. You can introduce new foods to them after a few days of eating pellets. Just my 2 cents. And most def no feeders.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Parsa said:


> feefa i got respect for ur comment about reterning his fish but that fucken bs. dont scare the poor guy most likley they wont die. if he put some kind of decloraniser then he should be fine. honestly i could say that they'll be fine just drop in a couple of raw shrim at night before sleep and wake up in the morning they'll be gone, reds are hardy fish. and also when ur cycling a tank you use stupid feeders or other weak fish how do you think they survive 95% of the time? if they can make it then the reds will for sure.


Four 6" reds are a bit more bioload than several feeders. They can make it, but only if you know what you are doing and keep an eye on the parameters in case the levels get too out of hand. With 4 6" reds in an uncycled 75g, things can get out of hand in a hurry.


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## baliztik terror (Nov 24, 2008)

His reds will survive, why scare the guy? I didn't cycle my 75 gallon before adding my baby reds and they're fine, growing fast, looking good with great color and not nipping each other, also eat plenty. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got them and the tank, of course the tank has been up and running now for about 3 months so it's cycled now. As long as you bought some sort of water conditioner to add to the tap water and keep a close eye on your params you'll be good to go. Just throw in some shrimp overnight like the others said and turn the light off. I would try to sell 1 of them, to me 3 6" reds will be fine in a 75g. Good luck on what you choose to do.


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## Parsa (Nov 12, 2008)

also baby reds are way more vulnerable then adults.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

Parsa said:


> also baby reds are way more vulnerable then adults.:rasp:


Depends on what you mean...in this case, a half dozen baby p's in a 75g aren't going to put out near the waste as 4 6"ers. You're not going to reach toxic levels anywhere near as fast in an uncycled tank which is what people are cautioning him about. Leaving food in overnight will only exacerbate the problem.

Topic moved to Water Chemistry.


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## Parsa (Nov 12, 2008)

True. but if hes worried about them eating thats the most likley way that they'll eat isnt it? oh yea also would small frequent water changes help him?


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## mujolibo (Jan 11, 2009)

KONViCT said:


> His reds will survive, why scare the guy? I didn't cycle my 75 gallon before adding my baby reds and they're fine, growing fast, looking good with great color and not nipping each other, also eat plenty. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got them and the tank, of course the tank has been up and running now for about 3 months so it's cycled now. As long as you bought some sort of water conditioner to add to the tap water and keep a close eye on your params you'll be good to go. Just throw in some shrimp overnight like the others said and turn the light off. I would try to sell 1 of them, to me 3 6" reds will be fine in a 75g. Good luck on what you choose to do.


I have been keeping freshwater fish for the last 6 years so i know quite a bit about set-up and all. The only reason I am worried is because I did not do as much research into RBP's as i was supposed to partly because this guy was selling his 75 gallon for a pretty good price. Anyway, quick update, the guys ate a couple of pellets last night not nearly as much as i would have liked but its a start. I never realized how messy these guys can be.

Anyone have any recommendations on bottom feeders that are compatible with them?

I am also going to be selling off either one of two of the smaller ones soon.


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## Rough996 (Oct 3, 2006)

mujolibo said:


> I have been keeping freshwater fish for the last 6 years so i know quite a bit about set-up and all. The only reason I am worried is because I did not do as much research into RBP's as i was supposed to partly because this guy was selling his 75 gallon for a pretty good price. Anyway, quick update, the guys ate a couple of pellets last night not nearly as much as i would have liked but its a start. I never realized how messy these guys can be.
> 
> Anyone have any recommendations on bottom feeders that are compatible with them?
> 
> I am also going to be selling off either one of two of the smaller ones soon.


OK... Glad to hear they're eating. Sorry for being so hard on you early on... just didn't seem like a good set up.

They are VERY messy eaters and you will have a hard time finding ANYTHING that is compatible for bottom feeding. Plecos that are large enough to survive are not good scavengers. crabs and crayfish seem to work for some people, but in my experience, they only work short term. The best answer to maintaining a clean P tank is MANUAL MAINTENANCE. You can't have a clean P tank and be afraid to put in the work... it goes hand-in-hand.


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## mujolibo (Jan 11, 2009)

mujolibo said:


> His reds will survive, why scare the guy? I didn't cycle my 75 gallon before adding my baby reds and they're fine, growing fast, looking good with great color and not nipping each other, also eat plenty. I had no idea what I was doing when I first got them and the tank, of course the tank has been up and running now for about 3 months so it's cycled now. As long as you bought some sort of water conditioner to add to the tap water and keep a close eye on your params you'll be good to go. Just throw in some shrimp overnight like the others said and turn the light off. I would try to sell 1 of them, to me 3 6" reds will be fine in a 75g. Good luck on what you choose to do.


I have been keeping freshwater fish for the last 6 years so i know quite a bit about set-up and all. The only reason I am worried is because I did not do as much research into RBP's as i was supposed to partly because this guy was selling his 75 gallon for a pretty good price. Anyway, quick update, the guys ate a couple of pellets last night not nearly as much as i would have liked but its a start. I never realized how messy these guys can be.

Anyone have any recommendations on bottom feeders that are compatible with them?

I am also going to be selling off either one of two of the smaller ones soon.
[/quote]

Thought i would post an update about my RBP's. Finally they seem to be doing well, they are living up to their hype. My next question is, What other tank mates can i put in there besides tetras. Tried to put a 5" pleco and they went crazy


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## cobrafox46 (Jun 2, 2008)

No other tankmates except other pygos will work.


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