how hard would it be to change my tank...

[ames8534]

i have a 55 gallon tank with 2 irradescent sharks 2 bala sharks and an agel. the tanks been set up a good year now and i only had problems once with ich last year at the very begining but all is good now. what i want to know is how hard would it be to change the tank to a perranah tank. my uncle use to have them and ive always wanted them. so if you could jsut give me some general information on what id need and all that good stuff. my birthday is comming up so i plan on putting all the money i get from that towards this.


thanks in advance...aaron

[fishfreaks]

First and foremost you would have to find a lfs or friend to take your current fish

[Dez]

well u could keep the tank the way it is really then get a pirahnah or 2 n put them into the tank. but they do prefer dimmed lighting and java moss is also a gd 1 2 put in wiv em n all. should be a quik n easy job

[fishfreaks]

ID sharks get too big for a 55 gallon

[ames8534]

i already have a lfs that is willing to buy them...and am already getting ready to sell the irradescent sharks because one is about 10 inches long


how would i get the dimmer light?

would i have to get a certain filter or anything

[DUSTIN323]

I don't think you would need a special filter I'm sure they are messy though, wha type of filter do you have now? As far as dimming light goes there's a bucnh of different ways to go like Dez said you could just put java moss and let it float or anyother floating plant like anacharis, cabomba, etc. but java requires the least attention or you could get fake floating plants. Also just to make sure you are wanting a true piranha or a pacu?

[ames8534]

the filter i have now is a cascade 200 (kind of a cheaper one but it works).
ya i want a true piranah, ill prolly go with the red belly

[DUSTIN323]

Personally I would probally upgrade the filtration I would go with a Fluval 304 or a HOT Magnum or any good canister filter or an Imperor 400 for a power hob filter. I've never kept these fish but I know they're really messy and I've had an oscar before and I had a Fluval 404 on my 75 with one oscar and 2 huge plecos

[amelia]

pirranahs get too big for a 55 gallon too, just like your sharks. They can reach amazing sizes.. Better suited for a VERY large tank. Last I remember reading, they get upwards of 24-30 inches? 36 sometimes?

[Fishfirst]

Doesn't anyone know how to spell "piranha?" LOL (just pookin fun guys)

that is one species of piranha amelia, black piranhas grow 24" long or larger (which is why a 180 gallon should be minimum for those guys. Red bellies rarely get larger than 10 inches, however mine are closely reaching that and I want to get them a larger tank (75 gallon). They are "messy" but not as messy as oscars (especially if you don't feed feeders too often). I have 2 filters on mine, a whisper 60, and a marineland penguin biowheel. I do 50% water changes on the tank every other week and I feed my 3 every day. They love fish from the super market such as catfish, walleye, tilapia, pollock, and perch. Beef heart, shrimp, clams, krill, and squid should be part of their diet too, and if you want to feed feeders once in a while, then quarenteen them for at least a week prior to feeding all the while checking for disease, and then gut load them with flakes during that time.

[ames8534]

what do you mean by quarenteen the feeders.
where do you put yours when your doin the waterchanges

[DUSTIN323]

You quarenteen the feeders by keepin them in a seperate tank. You check and make sure they are diesease free and you feed them alot

[fishfreaks]

When you do water changes you leave the fish in the tank

[DUSTIN323]

I've got a question when I had my oscar I only fed him live fish everyonce in a while due to the I only had them now and then since they were babies of my platies. But I see that ya'll say you should only feed live fish every now and then. Is it fine to feed them say a regular diet on live fish if you do like I did and feed them healthy platies raised your self??

[Fishfirst]

raising live fish especially a variety of fish you can... however, a lot of the time, you would need about 20X the amount of water for breeding these fish than the volume of the main tank to keep piranhas fed enough solely on feeders... as far as it being cheaper than buying feeders at the store or buying fresh fish at the store... its WAY more expensive to raise your own feeders.

[DUSTIN323]

Oh yeah I realize that I was just wondering if live fish in general didn't have good nutritional values.