Piranha Crunch

Feeding Piranha – Live Food vs. Dead

Admin — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:32:42 +0000

Many people ask the question whether it is necessary to feed their piranha live food. While piranha do enjoy the occasional mouse or fish, they can survive on pellets and cooked meats. Some people find it cruel to feed piranhas live food. There are some live food which are great for your piranha, such as worms, insects, spiders, and other small, high protien foods. Piranha fish can also be trained to eat dead food, such as dead mice, insects, and other small things, although you may need to splash it around the water to mimic live behavior. Piranha fish are not particularly picky, and will eat just about anything that you throw in your piranha tank. There are some drawbacks to feeding piranha live food, including the risk of disease, and fouling of the piranha tank.

Check out this video of piranha eating live food:

When feeding your piranha dead food, it is important to use a mix of high protien foods, such as red meat and carnivore pellets, as well as other treats, such as fruits and vegetables. Piranhas are omnivores, which means that they will eat just about anything. Make sure to quarantine any live animals before you feed them to your piranha. This will ensure that only healthy foods are being fed to your piranha.

What do you think? Is it better to feed piranhas live food?

Piranha Tank – Setting Up

Admin — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 19:15:47 +0000

After you have gathered all of your items together, you can begin to fill your aquarium tank with water. Remember to use only fresh water. Tap water can be used, but it must be treated to remove all of the harmful chemicals before any fish can be kept. To do this, you must buy a chlorine remover. These are usually small, inexpensive bottles, and can be found in any pet store. Make sure to follow all of the instructions located on the back of the bottle to ensure a proper de-chlorination process.

After you have filled up your tank with water, it is now time to setup your aquarium equipment. Begin by setting up your Aquarium Filter. Every filter is different, so refer to the instructions which came with your aquarium filter.

Next, insert your Aquarium Heater into the aquarium tank and let it rest for about an hour. Then you can set the proper water temperature (76-83 degrees.) You can make sure that the water temperature is correct by examining your Aquarium Thermometer.

Now that you have placed your aquarium heater and made sure that the water temperature is correct, you can begin inserting your aquarium decorations inside of the aquarium tank. Remember to arrange your aquarium decorations in a way where your piranhas can easily hide. Piranhas need ample hiding spaces or you risk causing them stress. Also, make sure to follow any instructions that came with your aquarium decorations, such as rinsing or boiling, before placing them inside your aquarium tank.

After you have completed all of the steps above, it is now time to test your aquarium water’s PH levels. This can be done by purchasing a PH Test Kit , which is an inexpensive necessity. Refer to the kit’s instructions on how to conduct and analyze your water’s PH levels.

Cycling Your Piranha Tank

After you have finished setting up your tank, the next important process you must complete is the nitrogen tank cycling process.

Basically, the tank cycling process involves the establishment of beneficial bacteria on your filter to remove the harmful toxins created by your piranhas. Your filter will grow bacteria that turn ammonia into relatively harmless nitrate. Although high levels of nitrates are not good for healthy piranhas, weekly water changes should remedy this problem.

you can begin the tank cycling process by purchasing a bunch of small, hearty fish. Goldfish, zebra danios, or white clouds are some good choices. All you have to do is take care of them long enoughfor the benificial bacteria to grow on your aquarium filter. Make sure to do weekly 10% water changes. After a few weeks, check your ammonia and nitrite levels. This can be done at your local pet store for a small fee or even free. If your aquarium water is found to be at acceptable levels, then congratulations, you are now ready to place your piranhas in their new home.

Red Bellied Piranha

Admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 22:40:45 +0000

The Red Belly Piranha is one of the most common type of piranha kept in captivity. They can be found in the tropic rivers of Brazil, and the Amazon river basin. Red belly piranhas are commonly perceived as violent, bloodthirsty, aggressive fish. Quite the opposite; Red belly piranhas are skittish fish, and can be frightened very easily.

Red belly piranhas have distinctive features such as a reddish color stomach and sharp teeth, and should not be mistaken for their close counterparts – the Pacu. Because of the similarities between the red belly piranha and pacu, many pet shops try to pass them off as piranhas.

Red belly piranhas use their teeth to rip and tear their prey apart.

Red belly piranhas can grow to over a foot in size, and can live up to 12 years. Red belly piranhas are shoaling fish, and it is advised to purchase at least 3 when keeping them in a tank.

A red belly piranha diet includes Small mammals, frogs, fish, Insects, and worms. They can be trained to eat almost anything. It is generally not advised to feed your red belly piranha live feeder fish from pet shops or stores , as sometimes they are not properly cared for and can transfer diseases to your tank.

Black Piranha

Admin — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:55:26 +0000

Scientific Name: Serrasalmus Rhombeus

Lifespan: 4 – 10+ Years

Size: 20+ inches

Tankmates? No

Minimum Tank Size: 100 Gallons

Temperature: 70-82 degrees

PH Range: 5.8 – 7.5

Temperament: Aggressive

Diet: Live food, dead food, cooked food, pellets

Black piranha are extremely aggressive fish, and should be kept in a solitary tank. Minimum tank size should be 100 gallons. As with most piranha tanks, excellent filtration is required to keep the water clean. The black piranha can be an extremely messy fish, as it uses it’s sharp teeth to rip and tear at it’s prey. A wet/dry system is preferred, but canister filters can work as well. This size of the filter should cycle the tank 2-3 times per hour. Black piranha are carnivorous fish, and should be fed a good amount of protien, although they will eat the occasional fruit or vegetable. You can feed black piranha live food, but make sure that they are not carrying any diseases that may transmit to your piranha. Buy your feeders from healthy, reputable petshops, and quarantine them for a while – just to be safe. Small Rodents, goldfish, lizards, insects, worms, and spiders are all acceptable food for the black piranha.