red belly piranhas and growth?

Get the same weight gain problems with beefheart too, and more besides, a lot of beefheart is taken from cows given steriods and antibiotics to promote rapid growth, and it eventually causes hepatic lipidosis in the fish, and sometimes some abnormally aggressive behaviour.

Freshwater fish in the diet of a pirahna is completely normal, but you want to avoid the oilier species. Generally mammal meat is too fatty for them in anything but extreme moderation.

Problems from live feeders generally happen because of where they are sourced. Goldies for feeders are often diseased, and subjected to terrible conditions, and fed rubbish, and this all ends up in the piranha. Lots of goldfish carry hexamita and aeromonas, and these diseases decimate piranhas much they same as they do anything else.

Key is variety, and to use whole foods rather than just muscle meat. Using live feeders may not be legal depending on where you live anyway, and its much easier to retain a vitamin balance for the fish if they will take dead foods, then you can include a range of frozen and prekilled meals, fortified with vitamins if necessary. If you must use live feeders, make em small fish so that they are snapped up quickly and not exposed to slow drawn out deaths,and long periods of pain and fear, and breed your own feeders in disease free conditions.

Why on earth would you ever want to "power" feed them. No fish that has been forced through needlessly rapid growth will be as healthy as one whos developed normally. Its not worth sacrificing their health just to make them bigger than they normally would be. Besides keep on top of the water quality, and oxygen levels to keep digestion working at optimum, and offer balanced nutrition, theyll grow fast enough.

Live fast often means die young. Overfeed them or force them to size with steroids and they will suffer premature deaths. Better to enjoy them as long as possible, yes?

First, are you really sure you have red-bellied piranhas? If you purchased them from a store in the US, I'm betting they sold you a red-bellied Pacu. The Pacu looks very similar to the piranha and is a cousin species.

The piranha can get up to 24 inches, but the Pacu can get up to 40 inches. Piranhas are mostly carnivorous while the Pacu is an omnivor. Both species have been known as 'tank-busters' due to hitting the glass either when being fed or from being startled. I'd look to get a larger tank either way to be prepared for when these little guys become big ones.

FYI, if you do indeed have a piranha, check your local laws. You may have to have a permit. The following are states that either have banned or require permits for regulation: Maine, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Virginia, Kentucky, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Washington.

don't feed them goldfish as they'll develop fatty liver syndrome and die prematurely like so many cichlids, arowanas, and other predatory fish.

instead feed the shrimp, krill, silversides, and beefheart.

and you'll want to get at least 2 more cause they are total pu$$ies if not in groups. if you really want to see them go crazy on thier food, only feed them once or twice a week.

i keep many goldfish in my tank and they only eat a few ever week they dont need to eat much but they do grow fast and very big mine are about a foot long and in only a year they grew just feed them goldfish and some lettuce every little while they like it for some reason. and theres no way to get them to grow faster

i have oscars

and i fed them goldfish, roseys,guppies about once or 2 times a week and they grew to 8 inches since november

LOl

so i would suggest feeding them like i did 2 times a week

not so much though

i would buy like 10 feeder commet goldfish and there fun to watch and your piranhas should grow very fast

you can feed them : mice, rats, meat, chicken and beef there isnt really a food to make them grow faster but the better you feed them the bigger they will get

gud luck :)