Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I am currently raising 5, 5 inch red belly piranha in a 75 Gallon tank and they seem to be doing fine other than the fact the they rarely swim to the other side of the tank and stay in one corner in the back and wont eat. I bought them with the tank and the previous owner took very poor care of them, They had several different illness's and parasite. Ive finally nursed them back to health but now they dont seem to be eating. Right now ive been trying to feed them goldfish and they arent eating. One piranha also looks like it has bite marks taken out of it, Before this is had mold or something growing on it and now it seems like its entire body is rotting. What should I do to solve this? Ive tryed chemicals, Hospital tank, Small doses of salt.. Everything I can think of, The other 4 seem to be doing fine other than them not eating and the rotting piranha. What do I do?

CRH96

What was the previous owner feeding them?

I would also recommend a Mela & Pima fix combo to treat any bacterial or fungal infections they may have. It wouldn't hurt any of them that don't have anything wrong with them physically. However, I would make sure that your water quality is impeccable. Most illnesses are water quality related. The bad news is if your fish aren't eating that's not a good sign. There's nothing you can do but try to get them to eat anything.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thanks, Ill have to go and try that. I also put some stress coat in the water and I woke up the next morning and found a couple goldfish missing so I think they finally ate. As far as the fungus goes ill have to try what you sudgested. I also think I may start a large cichlid tank, Any sudgestions on what type of cichlids I should get? I have a 75 gal. for them.

Thanks, CRH96

I personally like the lake tanganyikan african cichlids. You should research which you would prefer. You definitely should not mix cichlids from different locations (i.e.: tanganyikan vs malawian or even south american). Also, you would probably want to get them younger, and introduce them all at once. Cichlids are quite territorial.
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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."