# can a piranha eat too much?



## Jimmyhf6 (Sep 13, 2003)

well sumone told me that to feed smallserras like 4 times a day and so i did but i was wondering will anything happen like will they eat too much and die or stuff like that is it harmful?


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

you can tell when they have ate too much is when their bellies are bulging, for my red belly piranhas, they only eat what they can and then they are fine, if they arn't fed enough for a while remember they can live for up to 3 months without food so just feed untill you see slight roundness in their bellies. i was supprised at how much mine can eat without being overfed, it is a lot!


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## Jimmyhf6 (Sep 13, 2003)

o so they cant over feed themselves? so they will just eat wat they can and leave the food there right?


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

When feeding piranha they will stop eating "when they have had enough". Overfeeding is technically putting too much matter in your tank that your piranhas will not digest. This in turn affects the bio load of your system.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

yup, if my piranhas rnt hungary, wont touch it :laugh:


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## Jimmyhf6 (Sep 13, 2003)

thanks guys for all the help closed plz


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## cooldudectd (Mar 4, 2004)

> closed plz


Ok, here goes....


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

Actually, you can feed your piranha's (or other fish, for that matter) too much...

It's not that they're gonna pop like a soap bubble if overfed, but if you feed them too much for a long period of time, your fish become fat/obese and inactive/sluggish, which results in a decreased resisitance to parasites, diseases etc. (just like with humans). It's not the amounts of food itself that diseases or kills the fish, but secundary reasons, caused by too much food...

The best thing to do is feed with moderation: two or three times daily when babies, then 1-2 times when juveniles (2,5-5"), and once every 2 or 3 days once they are approx. 5" and bigger. Also, it's better to feed them two smaller portions daily than one massive portion once a day...
When fed sparingly, your fish will look better (muscular, instead of fat and deformed), will be more active, more interactive (because each time you approach the tank, the fish wait in anticipation: maybe you're gonna feed them this time...), and will be healthier.


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