My new pet
 

Ok well its not really new. Ive had it for 3 weeks now but thats still new compared to how long it will live for. It is a true Black Diamond Serrasulmus Rhombeus(Black Diamond Piranha). Ive been looking for a real one for a whyle. Ive kept other piranhas for a few years now but finally got the one i really want. It is about 4"-5" so its almost a year old. They grow to 6" their first year then about 1/2" a year up to the 18"-20" mark. He is in a 55 gal aquarium for now by himself since it wont tolerate any other fish in there. There are 2 crayfish in there but they hide under the rocks all the time. Here is a pic from when i first got it.

RE: My new pet
 

Cool pet! ;)

RE: My new pet
 

Nice pet! Don't try petting him though!:D

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He si actually very skiddish. If i put my hand in the tank he is on the other side of the tank as quick as possible. Its kinda funny because you see all the movies and shows about how a Piranha will eat you alive and they are nothing like that. This is one of the most aggressive species of them and it terrified of me but if you put another fish in there it has no chance to live more then 1 min after he sees it.

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What do you feed it? Other fish? Would get kinda expensive no?

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Actaully i do feed it live food sometime. Small crayfish and fish but mostly i feed ti stuff like shrimp and white meat fish from the grocery store. It only cost about $5 a month to feed it including giving it live food some. I gave it live food last night and ill take some pics of the mess when the lights coem on in the tank this morning.

RE: My new pet
 

Here's my baby eating his mouse :) I used to have some red-bellied eating machines, but they outgrew their tank and I just couldn't keep up with them. I used to feed them deer legs, beef, fish, etc. Pretty much anything meat.

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They do get big quick dont they? Mine is in a 55 gal for now and im in the process of setting up a 150 gal for just this one fish.

RE: My new pet
 

hg, how often do you feed your snake? i have a buddy who has a snake, i dont know what kind but he says he only feeds it about once a month and it sheds everytime he feeds it. is that about right?

RE: My new pet
 

I miss my pet snake; haven't had one since he (was garden snake) was killed by this girl when he got out of his tank during school.

RE: My new pet
 

I feed him one hopper once per week.

It all depends on the age of the snake, type of snake, sizeof snakeand what he's feeding it. Mine is still a baby, he's only about 7 months old and about two feet long. Once per month seems a bit scarce, but if his snake is healthy and showing no signs of ill-health or isn't thin then I guess its ok. Every snake I've ever had has eaten once per week, or once every other week at most. Those snakes were the larger carpet pythons ~19 feet in length and were eating two whole chickens at every feeding.

The shedding schedule could be normal, however if its a python or a boa it seems a bit much. Most smaller snakes shed once per month. The nice thing about snakes is that you don't need all of that fancy humidity equipment, just some water poured into a good coconut substrate will suffice. Make sure that the snake is getting enough water and the tank has about 80% humidity with a temp around 70-80 unless it is a desert snake. The true way to know if the snake is healthy is not by how often he is shedding, but by how complete his shed is. If its coming off in chunks or basically just not in one piece than it isn't healthy. The humidity should be increased (again only if not a desert snake), more water offered, and the snake should be taken out and allowed to soak in a bowl of luke-warm water for about 20 minutes or as long as tolerated.

Hope it helps ;):) How long has he had the snake?

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i guess hes had it about a year maybe?? i wish i could remeber what kind it was! i poured a cloor for him a couiple saturdays ago and he had it out showin me, from a distance.....but i know he said he feeds it two mice once a month

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Yeah, I've experienced that too with Piranahha's (don't own one, I prefer Cichlids and Bettas :P). They're vicious as all get out when you put something in the tank, but if you look at them, they freak out and hide. Bit odd [8D]

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deer legs?! how big did those things get?!

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If my wife would let me have a pirana i would. The are so cool. As it is im lucky to get away my 2 oscars. There both albino tigers and realy cool. Ive only just got them though so there still small. Cant wait to start feeding them live fish. I did have a channel cat I used to feed minnows all the time but he died on me [X(]

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The one i have will be about 18" when its fully grown in the aquarium. In the wild they are know to hit 26+"

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Im going to recomend not feedin live fish. They carry alot of diseases. I lost a Oscar i had from that. If you are set on feeding live then try feeder guppies. You will be surprised on what will fit in an oscars mouth. Mine was 4" when it died and was eating 1.5-2" long goldfish feeders. It would swim around for hours with the tail sticking out of its mouth trying to swallow the fish.

RE: My new pet
 

Sorry to hear you lost an oscar. I hear they can live 10-15 years. Whats the expantency on your pirahana? Is there anything suitable for a tank mate other than other pirahanas?

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With this one nothing is a suitable tank mate. Not even other Piranhas. I dont know exactly how long it will live for but they have been known to live for 20+ years in a tank. They grow to about 6" in the first year and then about 1/2" a year after that. So when mine hits 18" it will be about 25 years old.

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What size of a tank is he in? Just curious...

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Rihgt now a 55 gal but he is moving to a 150 gal in a few months.

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When you get that 150 up and running id love to see a photo of it.

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Ill post pics of it. Its really not that big. Its only 60"x24"x24". Its going to look like its in the wall so your really not going to be able to tell how big it actually is. Im just going to need a tank that sized when this fish hits 18" so it can turn around.

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Ahhh....the things I would do with a 150 [8D]

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Lol. Im going to have a fish that when you walk in the room your like wtf is that.

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I think a they would be a nice fish to look at, but I dunno if I'd want one. I think I'd go for a bigger Cichlid like a Jaguar or something different like that. Or maybe salt....Oh I hope this 55 gallon deal I have going on goes through.....;)

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I had a living 50 gallon saltwater tank for the better part of 5 years. Once I got it up and running it was very easy to maintain and beautiful to look at. However, you have to be very picky about your fish. I made the mistake of getting one from a shady store that infected and wiped out my entire tank. I was heartbroken, so after that I packed it up and put it away for a few years. I'm thinking about getting it back out again, but smaller and probably freshwater.

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I learned that too :( A $30 Quaratine set-up (tank, filter, heater, no substrate, maybe a fake plant) can save a lot of heartbreak later on.

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HG - You just lost points from me on that post! I'd be flingin lead like a madman if I saw that thing! LOL Did I ever mention that I HATE snakes with a passion....:D

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i hear ya man

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Man I got home from town and my catfish "sparkles" was doing fine. A little later I turn around he is sidesways on the bottom of the tank [:o]Only had him a few weeks but I love catfish. My last one got real big, i was hoping he would to. My oscars dont mess with him as they are all smaller, so im not sure what happened.

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I like Catfish too. I was going to get a Red Tailed Catfish for in my Piranha tank since they live together in the wild but i found out they grow to about 3 feet long and need atleast a 200 gallon tank in the first 3-4 years.

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do u want to hear a creepy storyabout those kinda snakes
this is true
so some chick had one and she slept with itand it stopped eating at night it would stretch outwhen itslept so when she to it to the vet the vet told her that it was stretching out to eat her i dont really like snakes

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one time i brought home a baby rock bass from the lake it survived a 12 hr car ride home in a water bottle and when i put it into its tak it lived like 6 months it was awesome

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Grammer and punctuation would have helped your above two posts. I didn't bother to understand either of them :eek:

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she slept w/ her snake in her bed??? ide say she has otherissues to go along w/ being eatin' by her pet snake:eek:

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fine but youll be sorry

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Definite issues if she is sleeping with her snake. Who in the right mind does that? Was it a ball python?

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What do you expect from a kid who drives a Chevy?????? Can't expect a whole heckuva lot!

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thems are fightin words [:@]:D