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RePtIcMoNiTeR Ghastly Ghastly RePtIcMoNiTeR Ghastly RePtIcMoNiTeR Ghastly RePtIcMoNiTeR Ghastly RePtIcMoNiTeR Ghastly RePtIcMoNiTeR Ghastly

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#2090861

RePtIcMoNiTeR
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5 RBP breeding group

Ill be picking up a group of 5 breeding red bellied piranha im not sure how many pairs there are but the person who im buying them from said they produced a lot not too long ago, what i would like to know is How often do they breed, How many babies make it approximately i know its a lot, and whats the best way to stimulate rainy season, i have many other questions, way too many to put here so does anybody recommend a good care sheet/information sheet, and possibly share problems and solutions so hopefully i can do this successfully?

11/01/09 11:17pm

#2091067

Ghastly
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Message To: RePtIcMoNiTeR In reference to Message Id: 2090861

5 RBP breeding group

Hi
I myself own RBP’s i also used to have a B(W)P too. The big question in breeding them is - what are you going to do with the babies? Are you sure you can sell them all to knowledgeable home’s? Do have a large enough tank a minimum of 600L (158US gallons) which is for a minimum of 4 RBP’s but a larger tank of 700L (184US gallons) is much prefered, can you keep up with all the cleaning amd general maintance? The expensive food bill for them? And it would be 10x worse if you didnt sell the fry.
Also Pirahna are nice looking fish but they arent how people imagine they do not attack your hand when put in the tank, they are not active fish unless the light is off in the tank, they need lots of plants and bogwood in the tank (pretty much a jungle), each fish can grow to 13" in length and bigger so as stated above a large tank is a must!

Ill help you further if you still wantto breed them.

11/02/09 02:00pm

#2091069

Ghastly
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Message To: Ghastly In reference to Message Id: 2091067

5 RBP breeding group

I forgot to state that they cant live (have a stable diet) on fish flakes/wafers/sticks etc nor algae wafer, despite what people say! They should be fed on fresh meat from the superstore along with live fish eg. Guppy (not Goldfish as these are fatty) frozen food such as Bloodworm from the petstore same as Brine Shrimp, Daphnia, Fruit Fly etc arent recomended. So they need to be fed at least 3x a week no more no less and you need to keep an eye on them whilst eating to make sure they all get something - if not fed reguarly or not getting enough food they will turn on eachother generally ating the fins off and leaving the fish still alive bobbing around until later.
They are a nice fish when cared for correctly but like anyother animal shouldnt be purchased to make you seem "cool" because it doesnt

11/02/09 02:10pm

#2091106

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Message To: Ghastly In reference to Message Id: 2091069

5 RBP breeding group

Yeah thanks for some information i havent been able to find much on them, ive been researching what plants are good to keep in the tank, ones that float and ones that stay planted to the bottom, i have an extra tank for fry and i plan to get more, about finding them homes, i wont know untill I try. Theres a lot of resources for selling animals in my area so it shouldnt be too hard, i probably wont try and breed them a lot i just want to experience it atleast once, they are around 4-6 inches each and thier in a 55 gallon right now so im looking for a larger tank. Im not just looking for information about breeding them but also just keeping them in a good environment. Do you have a list of plants i can use in the tank, theres also a large algae eater in there too im not sure of the exact species just a common black algae eater hes about 7-8 inches long. Apparently they dont bother each other but im keeping a close eye just incase.

11/02/09 03:11pm

#2091135

Ghastly
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Message To: RePtIcMoNiTeR In reference to Message Id: 2091106

5 RBP breeding group

Your much welcome :)

i have a L27 Royal Plec in my RBP tank, Randy (Plec) was in he tank before the P’s were so they are generally afraid of him despite he is 10" and they range from 6" - 9", they just don’t like him so much but it is good that you will keep an eye on the Plec’s safety! :)
Plant wise i would recommend what i have in my RBP aquarium as they do well for oxygen and just plain old looking nice- Engeria Densa (Giant Elodea), Micropstorium Pterius (Java Fern), Echinodorus Sp. (Amazon Sword Leaf) & Kabumba (dont know the scientific name).
The Kabumba plant is a excellent oxygen plant amd the Amazon Sword is great for decoration and in large numbers make’s good shading for the fish.
I would definetly ask around before you attempt to breed them, take note they can be bred but it is very difficult i have had managed to have 2 of my female get pregnant but they ended up loosing the babies - gaurding there nesting area.
But if you can do it then good luck but i seriously and honestly don’t keel your heart set on them breeding as it isn’t that easy due to there attitude, ritual etc.

Anymore q’s just post em :)

11/02/09 04:03pm

#2091428

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Message To: Ghastly In reference to Message Id: 2091135

5 RBP breeding group

ok thanks are any of the plants easy accessable? and in winter too? i have a few fake plants in there right now for cover but i doubt its enough they all just sort of hover around these plants, i woke up this morning and the pleco is dead, hes got a few chunks out of him, suprising because hes 12 inches long and 4 out of the 5 rbps are under 5 inches the other one is jsut over 5 inches, i guess ill just stick to an all rbp tank, and im not really trying to get them to breed but im going to make it as natural as possible so if they do breed hopefully it will be some what successful, any tips on creating it as natural as possible besides lots of plant matter

11/03/09 10:01am

#2092189

Ghastly
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Message To: RePtIcMoNiTeR In reference to Message Id: 2091428

5 RBP breeding group

Yeah you can get them in your petstore for you your best bet would be Petco, if you Google image them then you will see what you are looking for (i would upload them but i am having problems with my picture box)
for it to be natural as possible just totally plant it up but make sure you have a good 4" worth of gravel as the little critters may bring them up when they get "excited" (swim fast), have a large piece of bogwood or a couple small piece’s you can get these also at the petstore - boil them in a clean bucket overnight first as they will be dirty amd not to bring disease to your tank. Also what do you have filter wise? Pirahna need a strong flow of water, i have a Fluval 305 external filter and a Fluval 4 internal if you do have 2 filters make sure the outlet (where the clean water pours out on both filters is at the same end so the currant doesnt confuse the fish! Also make sure the external outlet is out of the water so the water breaks the surface so you can see/hear the water going in the tank wereas the internal leave that sittingunder the water.
Your water chemistry should be - Temperature: 24-27oC (75-81oF)
Water chemistry: Fairly soft, acidic water (pH 5.8-6.8) prefered, but not essential, as harder and more alkaline water is well tolerated.

11/05/09 04:41am

#2092295

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Message To: Ghastly In reference to Message Id: 2092189

5 RBP breeding group

Yeah i only have a petsmart near me, and a couple small time places, ill check out petsmart and if not ill just get fake for right now then when spring comes check out the plant stores, im not sure what kind of filter i have its one filter but with two outputs and two biowheels, my water is real foggy right now im hoping its only because they ate a part of the catfish that was in there, i pulled the catfish out and it seems to be clearing up. Should i clean the filter after it clears up or should i be ok?

11/05/09 12:52pm

#2092314

Ghastly
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Message To: RePtIcMoNiTeR In reference to Message Id: 2092295

5 RBP breeding group

Im not sure on what type of filter that is but i highly recommend the Fluval filters if you get one then get the filter above the one you need eg. If you need a Fluval 2 get a Fluval 3, if you need a 3 get a 4 etc. As unlike othe fish as i said in a previous post they need strong currant and this is the best less confusing method.
The filter may not be good enough or it could be because of the death of your fish, give the filter a good old scrub replace some of the water and give the gravel a clean with a gravel vaccum.

11/05/09 02:40pm