Red Belly Paranha

[Wolverines]

I bought a baby Red Belly Paranha yesterday. He is about one inch in total length. I have put him in a 10 gallon tank on his own. So far I have not seen him eat anything at all. I have put a few shrimp pellets, a few, very small, feeder guppies and a few tropical flakes in the tank since I bought him 24 hours ago. I had to take maybe 3 or 4 out of the 5 guppies out of the tank cause they died. Maybe he is eating but I have yet to see it. Im a bit worried because im so excited about getting this fish I dont want him to get sick. I do have a 14 day gaurantee from the pet store.Are my feeding this guy properly, should I buy another Red Belly Paranha for him to hang out since they are schooling fish ?

stumped in Memphis

 

[dwf73]

If its only been with you for one day, I would not worry too much. He will start eating once he is comfortable. However, it might be better (if you can) to get a larger tank, even though the fish is still small. If money is a problem, dont worry about the lights and the gravel and accessories just yet-get find the cheapest setup you can with the most size. In the end, you should have no smaller than a 50g, and even that is a liberal estimate, as they do get quite big (1 foot +). They are schooling fish, but unless you get a big group it is probably to keep it alone, because they are territorial. Good luck