black piranha

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SCT62382

Exodon
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Jul 7, 2020
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Carol Stream, IL
About a week ago now, I got a call from a neighbor saying he needed to get rid of his black piranha and the aquarium it was in...and that he wanted to give it to me since I have other fish and he knew I'd take care of it.
This is the first piranha I've had, let alone a black. I've always been interested in them but never thought of them as something I would necessarily buy.

He had it eating minnows from a local bait shop. I did buy some for it too but I'm afraid to introduce a parasite or illness and wind up killing this guy. I'm in the process of training it to eat frozen food insteadIMG_8942.jpg
 
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SCT62382 said:
About a week ago now, I got a call from a neighbor saying he needed to get rid of his black piranha and the aquarium it was in...and that he wanted to give it to me since I have other fish and he knew I'd take care of it.
This is the first piranha I've had, let alone a black. I've always been interested in them but never thought of them as something I would necessarily buy.

He had it eating minnows from a local bait shop. I did buy some for it too but I'm afraid to introduce a parasite or illness and wind up killing this guy. I'm in the process of training it to eat frozen food insteadView attachment 1437904
Click to expand...

Nice looking Rhombeus . I agree with you about the minnows.
 
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If you can’t get him off the minnows, you can breed your own goldfish. Still not ideal but it’s better than vending machines and you wouldn’t have to worry about parasites.
 
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If you keep him on live food, switch to Livebearers. Goldfish and minnows contain thyaminese (I think I butchered that) which is dangerous over time. But either way, frozen/pellets is better.
With that said, that is a beautiful rhom! One of my dream fish for sure. How big is he right now?
 
My LFS has one for $249... so you picked up quite a steal!!!!
As for feeding, it should adapt to different offerings over time. Just might get a little testy if it starves itself before accepting new feed.
 
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Deadeye said:
If you keep him on live food, switch to Livebearers. Goldfish and minnows contain thyaminese (I think I butchered that) which is dangerous over time. But either way, frozen/pellets is better.
With that said, that is a beautiful rhom! One of my dream fish for sure. How big is he right now?
Click to expand...

audiction said:
switch it's diet to salmon, shrimp, prawns, lean pork, lean beef, tuna etc...stay away from feeder fish
Click to expand...
I did buy one batch of minnows from the bait shop but I'd prefer to have it eat frozen fish or shrimp, especially since I already keep those on-hand for my stingray. I'm not completely sure on what I'll do with the minnows I currently have. I put them in a 10gal by themselves with some salt, hoping that'll help kill off any fungus/bacteria they would introduce. I'll probably actually put them in my 72gal goldfish aquarium.
I could do the livebearers easily, feeder guppies are CHEAP and easier to breed (to save money buying more), plus could be kept in a small tank like the 10gal I mentioned with a larger population.

He is currently about 6" but its hard to get an accurate measurement since whenever I try, he darts to the back of the tank.
 
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That’s a beautiful fish and a great find!

Glad to see you are looking to give it a new home.

I’d suggest steering clear of live food although that is more a personal preference for me. Its a misconception that these fish need to eat live food in any way, shape or form in order to live a long and healthy life, and so it’s good to see you thinking about frozen food.

Piranha can go many, many weeks with out eating during different circumstances so don’t feel immediate pressure to gethim eating.

Of all the fish I have owned, I’ve never seen a Piranha turn their nose up at frozen food when they are hungry enough.

If you are intent on keeping him on frozen, don’t put any live in from now on. Raise the temp a little and if you can, lower the lights on the tank.

Don’t spend too much time with watching for him to eat. Rather set a routine. For example look to feed at the same time in the evening, on every other day. No need to feed daily. I use power heads aswell as filters for current, but I have the power heads on timers to go off in the evenings through to early the next morning so I look to feed after they have turned off.

Also, look to remove the food if it’s not eaten after a set time. Some people leave it a few mins, some a few hours. If I know I’m changing the water the following day, I might leave it in over night as most piranha will be far more relaxed when all the lights go out.

You can also try and soaking the food into garlic oil few a short while before adding it to the tank. Ive had success with that in the past.

I hope this helps.

Keep us posted ?
 
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I did have a minnow in with him up until a few days ago, when I decided to switch to frozen. At this point, he hasn't eaten in about a week now. Every day or two, I put a piece or two of tilapia or shrimp in the tank and leave them for a while to see he'll eat them when I'm not by the tank...no such luck yet. I figure once he gets hungry enough, he'll eat whatever I put in there.
 
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