help....

[stephat]

im new here and i had piranas before but they passed on and i got 2 baby red bellys tonight and i have oxygen bubbles on and they swim downwards in them... is that normal??? they r the size of dimes and i have them in a 30 gallon tank.. they told me to feed the flakes right now but i was thinkin of gettin guppys for them.. anyone have any ideas?? im kinda a nervois mom!! lol *GOLDFISH*

 

[YahooFishKeeper]

sounds like your an impulse shopper! i am too. we need to work on researching fish before we buy them. i'll do it if you will.

 

[FroggyFox]

very good advice yahoo.

As for fish playing in the bubbles...yes totally normal You might want to go do some research, as I know I dont know much about them, but they do best in large tanks in as large a group as you can get. They grow pretty big, so planning is a must.

 

[scubadude]

The air stone really isn't necessary, it will circulate the water better so you can get the most out of your filter, but the filter alone will provide enough oxygenation for them. My RBP's responded best to live food (little rosies when they were the size of quarters) but to do it right is more than twice thw work. I recomend a 2 week quarentine to check for disease/parasites before feeding. One thing i am worried about is your tank size. They will out grow it within the year. You need at least a 55 with 2 lights on it. The more cramped they are the more prone they will be to fright responses, this is the only time that they pose a threat to you. The method i use to keep my fish and myself in our comfort zone is to only turn the light on when i am working on the tank and only turn 1 light on at a time. Your fish will quickly learn to go to the dark side of the tank when a light comes on, but you still have to move slow and respect the RBP's personal space. I have flung water on the celing several times.

 

[Dennis-Pir]

If they are the siz that you say they are, i recommend not feeding them flakes, but go and buy some bloodworms or something, and they should be fine

 

[VirgoWolf]

Nice, good luck, I hope they do well for you. I would LOVE to have some piranas. My sister in law's boyfriend has a single black one in I think a 40g tall, maybe I can talk him into buying a tank and getting a few more? Can you mix different types? (I have never owned any before) He said his friend paid $50 for the black, so I am guessing he isn't going to want to buy 5 more at a price like that. LOL

What would you all recommend? I could probably fix him up with a 70g and get a free snake out of it, would that be big enough? How many could he fit in that?

 

[VirgoWolf]

Humm, I actually read that the blacks do better alone, true? I also read that they get up to 20", also true? Wow, it suggests a 60"x20"x20" tank for him! LOL

 

[Dennis-Pir]

Yes blacks are pretty much solitary ones, if you put anything in with them. there's a good possibility 99% lol that it'll get eaten, with red bellies they are better if you buy them all at once, For example you want 3 of them buy all 3 at the same time, instead of trying to introduce them seperately... they enjoy being together.. blah blah blah etc,.. etc.. if that all makes sense

 

[VirgoWolf]

Do you think a 70g would be suitable for a black? I know they suggest 100g plus, but with good filtration and frequent water changes, would a 70g be enough?