my RBP and Oscars ?

aponte · New member Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: CALI

i have 2 RBP and they arn't as aggressive as i would like whats up with that i mean i have a small RBP and a bigger one my oscar ? is why are they so dirty every time i clean the tank 3 days laterits all foggy well some one give me advise

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

How big is the tank?
How big are the fish?
What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?
How often and how large are your water changes?
Are the RBP's and the oscar in the same tank?

-Chelle

aponte · New member Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: CALI

no my oscars and RBP are in diff tanks and i change all the water in the tank i feed theP gold fish but y arn't they like all mean and stuff

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

How big are the tank?
How big are the fish?
What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?
Are you breeding your own feeder fish or quarantining them?
What are you feeding (both the RBP's and the oscars) besides feeders?
How often are you changing all the water?
What do you do with the fish when you change all the water?

-Chelle

Fish Addict · Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:08 am Post subject:

we can't really answer you with out you tell us this stuff^

kc5gvn · Moderator Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 1147

Hi aponte, First, RBP's aren't really very aggressive. They are a timid fish. If you corner one you will most likely get bitten, but other than that your not going to get to see the frenzy and swirling, churning water that you expect from watching all the hyped movies. Second, completely changing the water and the following cloudiness most likely indicates that you are not allowing the tank to complete the nitrogen cycle. Without the information requested (readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) it is impossible to make that determination for certain.

aponte · New member Joined: 01 Feb 2006 Posts: 5 Location: CALI

I have never taken any of those reading before so sorry and when i clean the tanks I move the fish that r in the tank im cleaning into the other tank then vice versa and i feed the oscars these little pellets and the P's are in a 3o gal and one is about 1 inch and the other is a lot smaller but he's been in there for bout 3 months and hes been doing alright so i just recently got advise that my problem is that im taking out all the water from the tank when i clean it im just suppossed to tak eout like 20% of the water is that true

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

You have several potentially major problems.

You really need to get test kits for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte and report back with the results.

100% water changes are extremely stressful for fish so yes, smaller ones are better. The exact amount of water & how often to change will depend on your ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte levels (that's why it's so important to have those tests). And the levels of ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte will depend on if the tank is properly cycled or not and how overstocked it is.

Although your tank may not be overstocked right now (the piranhas are still young), you will be in serious trouble when they get bigger. RBP's get around 12" long so for 2 of them, you're looking at needing at least a 75 - 90 gallon tank. 30 gallons isn't going to be anywhere near big enough. Also, like kc5gvn said, piranhas are normally timid fish. If you keep one or two, they tend to hide all the time. They really should be kept in groups of at least 6 (which would mean a tank well over 100 gallons) and even then, you're not likely to see the kiler fish they portray in movies (piranhas are actually scavengers, btw).

You should also stop feeding them goldfish. Store bought feeders are a really great way of introducing all kinds of nasty diseases to your tank. Piranhas (like most fish) do not actually need live food. So pellets would actually be a better diet. If you're still set on feeding feeders, you need to either breed them yourself or if you're going to get store bought ones, quarantine them for at least 2 - 4 weeks.

The cloudiness, like kc5gvn said, is probably because the tank isn't properly cycled. Tanks that aren't cycled have high levels of ammonia and/or nitrIte. Both of which are highly toxic to fish and will kill them (again, you really need those tests so you know exactly what's going on).

How many oscars do you have and what size tank are they in? How big are they?

-Chelle