# Something Is Very Wrong



## skallwe

i bought 2 piranhnas from a girl and she feed them every 3-4 days and since i had them for almost a year now they have ate like every 2 months what could be wrong with them but right now they almost been not eating for 3 month now I NEED HELP!!!


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## Guest

When was the last time you did a water change? Could be the camera but your water looks quite cloudy.

You need to do water changes of 30-50% on a regular weekly basis, this must include vacuuming the gravel thoroughly to remove poop, debris and trapped food particles. Do you have a water test kit to check the levels of toxins in the tank?

We need more information as well. Such as how many fish, what tank size are they in, what are you running for filtration and what are you trying to feed them/how long do you leave food sitting in the tank.

On a side note, you fish do not look like they are starving. They actually looked pretty good for not eating for 3 mths.


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## skallwe

thats good to hear and i just did a 25% water change 2 days ago and done a 50% water change 4 days ago and i dont no what my toxins are it just the 2 pirianhas in a 45gallon i leave the food in for about a day im running a 20-40 gallon filter with a air bubbler on the side i tryed feeding them fresh deer meat today and some cow liver yesterday and a gold fish has been in there for a few weeks but i dicided to take it out yester day and give to my friends rbp for a snack

my water looks realy dirty and cloudy because i got black water extracts in it is that what u c?


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## skallwe

ksls said:


> When was the last time you did a water change? Could be the camera but your water looks quite cloudy.
> 
> You need to do water changes of 30-50% on a regular weekly basis, this must include vacuuming the gravel thoroughly to remove poop, debris and trapped food particles. Do you have a water test kit to check the levels of toxins in the tank?
> 
> We need more information as well. Such as how many fish, what tank size are they in, what are you running for filtration and what are you trying to feed them/how long do you leave food sitting in the tank.
> 
> On a side note, you fish do not look like they are starving. They actually looked pretty good for not eating for 3 mths.


ohh and i just moved them from my brothers house like 2weeks ago but at his house they done the same thing since i had them


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## Guest

Ok, where do I begin.......

You need a bigger filter. An AC70 will do but an AC110 would be even better http://www.amazon.com/AquaClear-110-Aquarium-Power-Filter/dp/B000260FV6/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1320782989&sr=1-1

Stop feeding red meats such as beef liver and deer meat. They are fatty and hard to digest. These fish eat other fish so try and feed them tilapia fillets, smelts or raw shrimp cut into small bite sized pieces. Only leave food in the tank for 20 minutes tops! Feeder goldfish can carry disease and parasites that will make your fish sick. I do not recommend these at all.

Only feed these guys once or twice a week tops. Their tank is to small for them so if you can upgrade to a larger tank, it would be in their best interest (75G will do). Big Al's usually have a tank sale on before christmas and you can get a 75G for about $100 or look on craigslist and see if you can find a tank and filter used.

With proper feeding and filtration you should only have to do one water change per week. I prefer to do a 50% water change weekly. But since your filter isnt able to handle the bioload, I would recommend you do 2 water changes per week. 25% each.


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## skallwe

but how come they are not eating? could u help me out


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## memento

Don't worry too much about them not eating. Piranhas can do months without food, they won't starve themselves.
Like Ksls said, change the diet to white kinds of fish.

Get a bigger filter if possible.
It's likely your parameters will not be stable without enough filtration, what causes a lot of stress in your fish. Refusing food could just be the result of that stress.
Get a testing kit asap, to check the parameters.

Once you have a bigger filter and can check the parameters and are sure those are correct and stable, just start conditioning them to eat.
That means offer them food at a fixed time of the day. Turn of the lights, leave the room for a while and remove the uneaten food after an hou r.
Repeat that cycle on a daily schedule, untill they start eating it. From then, like ksls said, feecd them once or twice a week with a similar procedure.
Don't change the food you offer untill they accept it - offer the same food every time.

Once they start eating what you offer, you can start offering different types of food. Leave out red fish like salmon or beefheart, all too greasy for a piranha's digestion.

And once they get used to several types of food, you can start feeding them with the lights on and being around the tank.


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## Guest

memento is correct. Your fish are not eating because of what I suspect is stress due to poor water conditions and poor diet. Once you improve their tank conditions, stabilize the water parameters, fast the fish for 2-3 weeks, I am sure they will begin eating again


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## mike996633

I agree stabalize there living conditions and they will eat.


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## skallwe

you guys are correct about getting a bigger filter and they will start eating i got a 30-60 gallon filter last night and this morning the water was realy clear and put a peice of deer meat in and turned off the lights and left the room for 2-3 min and they already started eating it.. THANK YOU GUYS


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## Restricted-

skallwe said:


> you guys are correct about getting a bigger filter and they will start eating i got a 30-60 gallon filter last night and this morning the water was realy clear and put a peice of deer meat in and turned off the lights and left the room for 2-3 min and they already started eating it.. THANK YOU GUYS


You still should get a test kit asap, stop feeding red meat and upgrade tank size for proper living conditions.


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## Guest

I am glad they ate but now I have another question. Did you leave the old filter on the tank and just add the new one or did you completely remove the old filter?


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## skallwe

i completly removed the old filter i no that i shouldent have because of the bateria that was growing in it and this one doesent have no bactirea correct??


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## Guest

Thats correct. So now more than ever you need an API master test kit to keep an eye on your water parameters. Your tank is going to go through a cycling process now. I would rinse you old filter media, in your old filter thoroughly and also add it to the tank for extra filtration.


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## memento

Shouldn't be much of a problem if you left the substrate in the tank.
The bacteria will have settled there as well.


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## amazonjungle

how are they now? did you get yourself an API test kit?

I was able to get my piranhas onto pellets at their current age and it looks like yours are older than mine. for optimal water quality...pellets are the greatest and my fish LOVE them. they are full of nutrients as well. If you could get those suckers on those your water quality will be much better. I have 5 adults, a lobster, and a pleco in a 60 and theyre doing okay, but I DO have to keep on my water changes or things will start going downhill. Ksls said that an ac110 would be good. I have TWO and still need a canister filter to really get perfect water quality. you can never have enough filtration for these dirty fish haha.


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## Skepsis_DK

well said amazon jungle. I also use pellets and its easier to throw out uneaten food. If you buy floating pellets, what ever they dont eat you can just pick off from the top of the tank, and my red bellies love the pellets


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