RB Piranhas and live plants

[greener]

Hey, my piranhas seem to chew my plants off every once and a while... anything I can do about this? I think they do it to make debris to block out the light. I am looking for some water hyacinth or some such plant to cover the surface.
I am thinking along the right path?

[blueknight0303]

i dont think they eat plants.. its either they want to expand their territory by clearing out the plants or they are ready to mate and are building a nest. IMO, floating plants may work.

[greener]

Two are very dark in colour, so I guess they are going to mate?
How big an area do they clear?

[angelcraze]

Piranhas are in the tetra family, and although they are known for their meat eating habits, some types also eat vegetation.  I have congo tetras, (these tetras have visible teeth) and they like to eat my new shoots of anubias (not a great tasting plant, I read)  and the way I would prevent this is to supplement their diet with more vegetables.  Seaweed was suggested, but they swarm and tear blanched zucchini apart.

[blueknight0303]

be very careful... if you give them a wide open area, they can be very aggressive. you need to give them good hiding place to make them feel safe. piranhas are omnivores and can eat anything.. you can feed them vegetables if you want. i never heard of piranhas eating plants unless they are really hungry.

[angelcraze]

Agreed, I never heard of someone feeding piranha's veg either, but since they are omnivores, and there are plants in the tank, I'd guess they'd eat whatever was available to get all their nutrients.  My mistake, I just  realised they are red-belly's.  I guess not so vegetarian......

Can we get an update?  Have they spawned?

[greener]

No they have not spawned. They have been doing this some time now. The tank is/was filled with water hyssop and swords but whenever they start to get big the piranhas are trimming them down. If you look in the attached picture (sorry for the quality, my phone is awful) all the plants on the right were chewed off at the substrate. I feed them regularly and they dont seem too starved so I dont know what the issue is.

They two fish have been dark in colour for quite some time now, maybe 3 weeks and have not spawned. All the fish are very active when the tank lights are off but when on, they stay relatively concealed and dormant. Water chemistry is fine, temp is 79-80, I do weekly water changes, but they havent seemed to settle in and I have had them for over 6 months now.

Also I was thinking of turning the tank into a riparium. It is a 125 gallon and there are 5 of them so it should be enough water left for them, and that way I think it will be much more shaded overhead and they will be in a more natural environment. If anyone has built a riparium before, any suggestions?

[sas]

What about putting in some bigger wood decorations and getting some tannins in the water?
I know nothing about piranhas but just thinking about where they come from, I don't think the water is as clear as you have it in your tank. That might make them feel more secure, but not so good for us humans viewing the fish.

[angelcraze]

I don't know anything about piranhas either, but when I looked into them (for this thread) they are very cool.  What I found was that piranhas will exhibit color when they're happy or fighting.  I think that your assumption that they are not fond of the light is correct since they are from he amazon basin.  Adding black water extract or peat to the filter and some more large indestructible hiding spots might make them feel more at home.  I actually find my fish look more beautiful with a little tannin.

And, Your idea about turning your tank to a riparium is interesting, provided you left enough water for 5 piranhas.  Then you could have your live plants, and provide shade, but your piranhas still need more hiding spots to create territories.  (like driftwood or rocks, maybe)

One site recommended floating plants to lessen the amount of light, like blueknight suggested, so this riparium idea is the same concept with more choice as far as plants go.

The same site recommended large amazon sword for refuge, so idk why your pirahas are cutting them down.

Here's a link for piranhas, hope it helps........

https://www.msu.edu/~torresm2/piranhabehavior.html

Btw, I was thinking about creating a riparium in my 90g, so I'll let you know maybe how it goes when I do

Good luck with your piranhas!!!



 

[blueknight0303]

piranhas are high maintenance... sas is right, you need something big like wood/rocks for their hiding spots. they dont need very bright lights either since they are predatory fish, if you know how to apply tannins, it may bring out the true colors and make your tank more beautiful! you can try floating plants but its risky since your fish has an appetite on plants. you can try duckweed since almost all LFS i know that have them give them away anyways. im not sure if its just me but i did not see any air bubbles on your tank. do you have an airstone? i said it because a tank with a 24/7 80F temp = very low oxygen... try running 2 heaters, one runs during lights on at 80F and one that runs during lights out at 75F and add an airstone only if you dont have them.


its all up to you really. as far as i can tell, you have a very nice tank, but IMHO, for the piranhas, its like wandering an area with nowhere to hide.  if your plants were to grow and cover a certain amount of the tank, you might probably have no problems but your fish are ripping them for reasons i do not know.

good luck!