# can i ask for help please



## lord or the red belly (Aug 7, 2005)

i have 2 red bellys that i prsume are male and female as i have read in many websites that females are fatter than the males in which case i have a male n female i was wondering whts thre best way to get them to breed der about 4-5 inches big now any suggestions does my tank need to be havily planted do i need to do reg water chenges plz plz plz all suggesions welcome 
tnx phil


----------



## FormulatedFire (Jan 3, 2005)

.....i havent had my reds breed for my yet but at that size i dont think that they will be ready to breed.....also you cant tell just by looking at rbp to tell their sex there is no way (explained in the pinned topics above)......you would notice if your p's were ready to breed by their color they would get a really dark color to them and then began "the dance" where they swim against each other in circles mating and then shaking to release the eggs......you would also see them build a nest by moving rocks with their mouths......what size tank do you have it is suggested to keep more than 2 p's in a tank also so they dont constantly fight for the territory if you are working with a 55g or larger you might want to def think of adding another p around the same size into the mix....i believe that around 6-7" they are sexually mature but i could be wrong so you might have a little more time until they are ready but its alot of work so be ready for it if you do try to induce it some more


----------



## Piraya33 (May 26, 2005)

Welcome to P-Fury!

I have had my reds breed for me twice now and I think they are working on a third time. You don't really have to do anything special to get them to breed. Regular water changes will help, but I think the best thing to do is change the scenery. I regularly move the decorations around and before they started to breed I moved the whole aquarium to the other side of my living room.

Another thing to try is adding another P to the mix. Getting them to breed with just two in the tank is hard because they are constantly fighting over whose territory it is. Add another one in there about the same size, if not bigger than the others.

How big is your tank? I have a 75 gallon with (2) 6-7" and (1) 10". The 10" is the male and one of the 7" ones is the female. It is hard to deterime the sex of the Piranhas until they breed, so I have no idea if the other one is a male or a female. Only time will tell.

I don't think that your P's are mature enough to breed at the size they are. They should be at least 6" or more before they become sexually mature. But you can still try.

Put another P in there and start doing regular partial water changes and move the scenery a little once in a while. Good luck and welcome to P-Fury again!

If you have anymore questions, don't hesitate to ask. There are plenty of guys on here with a vast knowledge on every subject you can think of. If you haven't done it, chances are, someone on here has.


----------



## Slim (Jan 9, 2005)

they grow really fast to bout 6 inches and then start to slow down. 2 of mine are 10 inches and ive only had them 2 years. So wait it out a little bit longer. Then what I do to trigger it is I do a water change once a week. When they start doing the love dance I dont shut the lights off till I get eggs. I dont know about everybody elses ways of triggering it but mine has worked for 3 people so far.

Piraya33 both of my largest are females and my 3rd largest is male. The females have larger bellies on them while the males stay nice and slender in the belly. All of this is for my P's only no other members. I know B.Rodgers is the same way too but thats it.


----------

