# I Plead Ignorance



## PiranhaPhreak (Mar 9, 2013)

Well howdy all, nice to have happened upon your community. It appears there are many knowledgeable people here and I hope to pick your brains for a few and maybe down the line I can help other newbies as they come in.

I will try to keep this short so as to not TL;DNR. I have owned RBPs on and off for about 20 years now. And have taken care of them as I was first told all along. I have always had healthy fish and never has one died of disease. My largest made it up to ~16" in a 180gal before the ex sold them because she got sick of them lol. I have always dumped in ~2 dozen small feeder fish every 2 weeks or so(per fish). They would eat them in about a week, then I would go without feeding them for a week. So a bi-weekly feeding schedule.(once adult obviously)

I recently bought 3 just because when I saw them they were the healthiest I have ever seen in my life. They are 7-8" and are currently in a 55gal. I decided to google how to feed these guys because they eat about 5 times more than any other pirahna I have ever owned and were getting expensive to feed. I am currently buying about 10 dozen (total)large feeder fish a week to feed these guys and believe they would eat more if I gave it to them.

So I was hoping to find something cheaper to feed them.....and ran across a bunch of yahoos telling me that feeder fish are bad mmmmmk? Imagine my surprise after 20 years to find out I was all kinds of wrong. So now I would like to get these guys going proper and have read Worms, White Fish, shrimp and shellfish. Seeing as how I am allergic to seafood, I have never bought fish at the store nor do I have any knowledge on fish in general. So the following questions;
1.) What are White Meat fish? A semi complete list of which ones I can feed my RBP would be super.

2.) How large of pieces do I give them? Do I throw it in the tank froze or thawed? Does it need to be room temp?

3.) I am aware Lobster and Crawdads are shellfish. What else?

4.) Do I freeze the worms?

5.) Do I get this fish from deli? Or just frozen meat section?

6.) These guys eat ALOT, how much should I give them? Every 2 days it sounds like?

7.) I am on disability, so cheapest suggestions would be nice.

Thanks for any info beforehand. I just hope to keep these guys healthy. Have a good one and I hope I didn't drag too long.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

White fish would be any of the lighter colored fillets such as tilapia, catfish etc... salmon can be an occasional snack as its fatty

cubes the size of their mouth approx... bite sized portions work best and prevent scraps. I place frozen foods in a glass of warm water (or cold water and microwave for 40 seconds) and let them sit for enough time to soften up. Feeding frozen chunks can lower a fishes internal temp

shrimp, clams, muscles, oysters.... 
no, live worms are best... might take some time for them to recognize them as food

you can check seafood or fish sections of grocery stores, also check restaurants that serve fish (not chains like red lobster, but family owned or run) and explain your situation, ask if theres any way they could save the fillet scraps for you. My old roomie worked at a steak house, and we had a freezer full of salmon and tilapia fillet trimmings in no time...

Feed as much as they consume in 10 min or so... you dont want any waste on the gravel or floating around. Every other day is fine if they arent attacking eachother.

To save some money, turn your temp down some to decrease metabolism and feedings. Also consider some good pellets to feed between fillets or shrimp.


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## PiranhaPhreak (Mar 9, 2013)

So, can I just get the bags of frozen filets in the frozen section, or should I get the fresh stuff? Also if I get the frozen stuff, do I thaw it, cut it up, and re-freeze it?

Thanks for the help.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

frozen is fine just don't get anything seasoned or salted.

I generally just break up the frozen piece as i need it then thaw that but some people will portion it our first. It is your choice but you don't want to repeatedly freeze and thaw it.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

PiranhaPhreak said:


> 2.) How large of pieces do I give them? Do I throw it in the tank froze or thawed? Does it need to be room temp?*thaw it fisrt. Shrimp sized pieces will be good. You could drop a cunck in but they will frenzy more for it and could nip eachother b accident.*
> 
> 3.) I am aware Lobster and Crawdads are shellfish. What else?*I woulnt do either of those. Try shrimp, talapia, pollck, haddock, scallops or other fillets*
> 
> ...


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## PiranhaPhreak (Mar 9, 2013)

Well, they just had their first non-live feeding that went better than expected. I happened upon the grocery store and just bought what was on clearance for the time being so they got catfish. I followed the little info I got so far so as to how to feed them. I cut the pieces about mouthful, close to shrimp size. And just tossed in one piece at a time as they ate them until 10 minutes were up. The package was 0.66lb, 2 filets. When all was said and done they ate about 7 pieces a piece and finished off one full filet. About 1/3lb. And only the first and last piece hit the gravel before being eaten. Super happy with my first try.

I was at an expensive store today. Later when I get to the WalMart I will buy more and better stuff. I appreciate the help and any more help given. Thanks guys


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Shrimp is good as they are portion sized already. 7 shrimp size pieces is more then you need for 3 fish. I would do that much a week broken up over two feedings. You want to feed them so their stomachs buldge abit but not excessively.


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## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Id just thaw,cut,and feed. I wouldn't thaw and then refreeze. Nothing wrong with feeders if you feed a variety of other foods like pellets,nightcrawlers(dont freeze,feed fresh)fillets ect. Got pic of 16" rbp cause I've never heard or seen one anywhere close to that. Sure it wasn't a piraya and not a rbp?


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## PiranhaPhreak (Mar 9, 2013)

No. TBH, I went to prison for over a year for drunk driving. When I got out the ex had nothing left that was mine, I didn't even have skivvies lol. And it was about 15 years ago, I don't have anything left from that time in my life.

Anyhow. I hit WalMart yesterday, still didn't really come up with any good options. I got 12oz of Swai and 12oz of Tilapia. They were $3.50 for each 12oz portion though and I wanted shrimp and was hoping for cheaper after what I had read. Cheapest Shrimp was $6/lb. But we are going now and I will ask around and find better prices. They are having no problem with the feedings whatsoever. Thanks alot for help, may put pics up soon for kicks and looking to get black flourite, driftwood, and plants now. Wife is upset with you guys because of all the money I want to spend now after reading the forums


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## PiranhaPhreak (Mar 9, 2013)

Couple pics of my guys










Biggest is "Munchie"(named by daughter), mid-size "Buttercup"(cousin named for the irony), Little guy "Scooby"(So I could call their food Scooby snacks). They are all within about 3/8" of each other though.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Any pics of the 16"er?


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## PiranhaPhreak (Mar 9, 2013)

CLUSTER ONE said:


> Any pics of the 16"er?


See post above pics


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