[thomisdead]

I woke up this morning to find the new red belly I had bought a week ago was ripped in half. My 4" Red rippped it to shreds last night. And it was 6"! It kinda surprised me because I had been watching them pretty close and there was no fighting at all. The 2 of em swam around everywhere together, no fin nipping or anything. Now my girlfriend says no more P's. She wants this one to die, so she can get some Parrotfish.
:sad:

 

[o snap its eric]

Oh no! Not the parrot fish!

You shouldnt have mixed piranha at just a big size difference and plus it isnt advised to have only 2 piranhas in a tank because of dominace issues.

If you can handle just having one piranha in your tank then your gf wont be getting a new fish for a while because red bellies can live over 15 years hahaha. Once she realizes the piranha is not gonna die anytime soon she will give up and you can start your pygo collection again.

 

[thomisdead]

Ya, I know about the dominance issues. I was worried at first about only having 2, but I watched them closely for a week and there was no fighting. The thing is, I looked at them at 5 am this morning, and when I woke up at 10:30 there's the big one (well, half of it) floating. I was surprised that it wasn't the big one that ate the smaller one. At the LFS when I purchased it, there was 2. The 6" I purchased and a 8" one. The 8" one was tore up really bad. so I kinda thought this new one would be viscious. But I guess I was wrong about that.

I think it's gonna be a long time before the other one dies, so no parrotfish for me!!

Unless she makes me by a new tank. But, I suppose parrotfish are cool looking.

 

[pcrose]

so sad to hear about your loss

 

[JesseD]

sucks to hear about your fish.

what size tank were u keeping them in?

 

[mantis]

tough break man :sad:

any pics?

 

[Petzl88]

Sorry about that man. These things happen when you keep p's.

But please, don't get a parrotfish.

 

[InSinUAsian]

A lost fish always sucks.

~Dj

 

[Piranha King]

sorry about your loss.
wes

 

[scarfish]

Buy some rope and a parrotfish. Tie your girlfriend to a chair in front of the aquarium. Throw the parrotfish in with the remaining red. She will learn not to make suggestions.

 

[s2k2sti]

sorry to hear about your loss. im down to 3 reds now because my fourth one totally disapeered. im thinking the other guys ate him whole, but there should be something left right? other then that he is gone.

 

[smb]

Having a 6" and 4" in the same tank shouldn't ever be a problem. What are your tank dimensions?

If the tank is too small, then the the last one in loses. What and how often did you feed them?

2" when it comes to P's is nothing and should never become a problem unless it's fry.

And yes, please never get a parrot fish!

I'm not against hybrids, but these guys can't even open their mouths can they?

If a hybrid is what you/your gf wnts, get a FH. If not, then get a Midas. The greatest fish there is. imo.

Let us know the answers we have all asked and keep us informed please.

 

[GIR]

Sorry to hear about your dead RBP. If your surviving needs any help through these tough times I am sure a counselor can be found for him.

GIR

 

[smb]

sorry to hear about your loss. im down to 3 reds now because my fourth one totally disapeered. im thinking the other guys ate him whole, but there should be something left right? other then that he is gone.

Sorry, didn't see this post when I replied...

Most of the time, the head will be left. I've heard otherwise, but in 17 years of keeping P's have never personally seen them eat everything, so I could be wrong.

If you want 4 P's, start out with at least 6, if not 8, if they're young.

 

[thomisdead]

They were in a 30 gallon tank. I feed them twice a day. Krill, frozen Sea Monkeys, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, and mosquito larvae. Whatever I feel like tossing in at the time.

I didn't think 2 inches would be a big deal. I'm kinda surprised that the smaller one was the killer. He doesn't even have a nip taken out of him.

GIR: I don't think he needs any counseling, I think he just wants some more food.

My girlfriend won't let me tie her up. At least not in the dining room, maybe elsewhere.

Neither she nor I know anything about parrotfish. She just saw them and thought they were cute. But, I suppose that is a decent reason to buy a fish. I think she realizes that she is gonna have to wait for a while before the other Red dies though. When I bought the new one she was afraid that he would get eaten. She is slowly becoming attached to it.

 

[thomisdead]

Sweet, Parrotfish are saltwater, I could have sworn they were in a freshwater tank at the LFS.
Woot! No parrotfish for me!

 

[smb]

Sweet, Parrotfish are saltwater, I could have sworn they were in a freshwater tank at the LFS.
Woot! No parrotfish for me!

After you said parrotfish were saltwater, I was thinking you meant a blood red parrot and thought maybe you just said the name wrong.

Anyways... parrotfish are cool ,but blood red parrots aren't, imo.

A 30 is a little small, but if you want to keep some p's and can buy a bigger tank soon, I would get about 5 more p's and put them in. I wouldn't try to just put 1 or 2 in.

 

[thomisdead]

I'm not allowed to buy another tank. I gotta save cash to support my girlfriend while she goes to college. And I really need to save up a down payment for a house. I may build a tank this summer.

I would really like to have a nice little school, and I'm sure she would like to have a tank with some tropicals in it.

I never actually intended to have piranhas, but I took one from a friend to save it. She got tired of buying it fish everyday. So, I took it. It was in a 2.5 gallon tank and barely had enough room to swim. But now, he has grown about 3 inches in the last 4 months and doesn't have to eat fish all the time.

Gotta give props to everyone who contributes to this website. Otherwise my P would probably be dead, and I never would have even thought about getting a 2nd one.

 

[smb]

I'm not allowed to buy another tank. I gotta save cash to support my girlfriend while she goes to college. And I really need to save up a down payment for a house. I may build a tank this summer.

I would really like to have a nice little school, and I'm sure she would like to have a tank with some tropicals in it.

I never actually intended to have piranhas, but I took one from a friend to save it. She got tired of buying it fish everyday. So, I took it. It was in a 2.5 gallon tank and barely had enough room to swim. But now, he has grown about 3 inches in the last 4 months and doesn't have to eat fish all the time.

Gotta give props to everyone who contributes to this website. Otherwise my P would probably be dead, and I never would have even thought about getting a 2nd one.

3" in 4 months is kind of slow for a p that small.

You don't have to feed p's fish.

It's actually best if you don't. I have always done that and will always will, but fish are pretty much worthless as nutritional value if fed that alone.

Kind of like us humans with rabbits...

If we all ate rabbit everyday we'd all die of starvation because we would use up more calories consuming it than we would get back.

 

[thomisdead]

Nah, I don't feed him fish very often at all. Only once or twice a month. I know it isn't all that nutritious, I just do it because he probably enjoys it.