# Rescued A Few Red Bellies ! :d ...need Help...



## TioCito (May 28, 2017)

Hello everyone ! I'm new here, sure you can tell, and I am also new to keeping piranhas.
I am not new to keeping fish. I until recently have kept 2 large feeder goldfish for 7 years.
Great fish they were. First 1, my comet, died when I trusted someone to care for them for 4 weeks.
They lied and didn't change the water when I needed them too. I came home to ammonia burned fish. /tears
Comet didn't recover, died at the age of 6. Common goldie got sick and died of dropsy the next time I went away.
Person I trusted em too was not to blame this time. Died at age 7 1/2. Both hurricane sandy survivors! Good fish.

Any ways !

I just rescued 6 1-2" red bellies  I'm very excited cuz what more do I need to say, I GOT PIRANHAS !
See, I still live at home and my fathers a building super. The original owners didn't pay there rent
and the marshals came but left the fish. They were up there for a week getting no attention. No one came 
to claim them. So I saved them. The tank they were in was custom and about 6 feet long. Sadly it fell apart when
we tried to move it. I put them in my old goldfish tank. 46 gal bowfront. It's only temp. Been watching craiglist.
I've had them for 3 weeks now. I can not get them to eat anything but earthworms from the bait shop, and FD hikari krill.
They love canned tuna, but I only dropped a pinch to test them cuz I know the preservatives are bad. I've tryed floating
hikari cichlid gold pellets but they wont even go for them. I switched to the more expensive sinking carnivore ones and
they chew them up but will not swallow them. I'm going to try and get them on those. At first I thought they were pacu
so I tried a few veggie. Lettice gets shredded over time but not eaten. Fresh broccoli they run too even tho it floats,
but only gets shredded and not eaten. Bannanas, potatos, apples and even melon gets no play at all.
There was no clue left after the marshals cleared the apt to what they were eating. But the filter intakes where clogged up
with some kind of pink meaty stuff. Thought it was chicken so that was the first thing I tried. The small one took a single bite
and swallowed it and nothing more again. 
Now in there tank they didn't have many hiding spots. Think 1 plastic plant, a large pirate ship and a castle with a broken hole
in the side. They seamed to like that castle the most so I kept it. They huddle up next to it in my tank but the smallest guy
hides deep up inside it all the time and it worries me. It will only come out after being in the dark for a long time. I need 
to lift it and make it come out when I'm going to feed them. They hate the lights. I have a nice and bright lamp I'd like to 
have on but for there sake I leave it off. I tried poking holes in foil for the light to go threw, it's very nice dim lights but
they still stress. I just leave it off and use the room light to see them. 
I've been doin my homework and know about tank perams, just feeding is my current "problems" <--not really a problem just want them to eat pellets 

So questions that I need answered are just a few I think. I come from a fishing family. When go out I catch stripers and bluefish.
When its the right season, black seabass is my favorite.

Can I feed them bluefish fillets ? Or black seabass ? I'd like to do this so I'll never have to buy a staple food. Just treats.

I would like to get rid of the castle and add a few spots to hide. Any cheap or free ideas ? I don't know what kind of free 
stones to use or were to find flat rocks around me other then the beach.

I'll end this here cuz it is quite long XD

ty for reading ! And any help ;D

My Little Mafia


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Welcome to the forum.

You can feed any fish fillets, I would freeze them to kill any parasites first. Would also keep pushing the pellets, they will eventually take them.

As for decorations, you can use any driftwood or other natural looking pieces. I would boil / soak before adding it to the tank. With a small tank like that you are prob better off not having any decor or territories to fight over.


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## timmy (Mar 29, 2004)

Welcome! I remember getting piranhas (first ones). Its a great feeling.


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