Dear Diary

xander

Manjuari
MFK Member
Sep 6, 2007
8,535
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Singapore
today i realised i don't need peacock bass, arowanas or aggressive cichlids to start a major spazz out session from my gars; they can do it all on their own!

sorry guys, just needed to rant. who else has had gars bite into shrimp, believe that the shrimp was out to claim his soul, speed off in purpsuit of safer grounds, and cause tankwide pandemonium...this is really not the first time this has happened...actually happens almost every other feeding...im starting to gain insight into what richard means when he says these are not fish meant for just anyone to keep...i'm starting to get the feeling that my tank's a little too small for 3 cubans...

or maybe i'm just doing something wrong...:irked:
 

Lepisosteus platyrhincus

Polypterus
MFK Member
Nov 9, 2008
6,765
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In the caiman den
nope happens to me all the time. whats worse is i can throw in a ton of pieces but they all want the first piece. these are animals that def require devotion at times.
 

E_americanus

Penguin Lover
MFK Member
Aug 14, 2004
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primitivefishes.com
xander;3909965; said:
today i realised i don't need peacock bass, arowanas or aggressive cichlids to start a major spazz out session from my gars; they can do it all on their own!

sorry guys, just needed to rant. who else has had gars bite into shrimp, believe that the shrimp was out to claim his soul, speed off in purpsuit of safer grounds, and cause tankwide pandemonium...this is really not the first time this has happened...actually happens almost every other feeding...im starting to gain insight into what richard means when he says these are not fish meant for just anyone to keep...i'm starting to get the feeling that my tank's a little too small for 3 cubans...

or maybe i'm just doing something wrong...:irked:
do you throw the food in at the same spot? or do you throw it in at multiple locations initially? the "go for the first piece most aggressively" phenomenon happens a lot with predatory fish tanks, and i've definitely had it happen with the gars. i just throw the food in in multiple locations initially that way multiple fish can get the "first piece".

also, since gars are quite attentive, i usually wave one hand over the top of the tank so they follow it, but the hand with the actual food is on the other end, so that's where i drop it...they eventually figure it out...then, as they are swimming to the end with the food, i drop more food at the "faked out end"...therefore providing both sides of the tank with food (this is on 6' and 4' long tanks, but could be done on most sizes).

there will always be some level of overly aggressive feeding on the first bites, but this has helped decrease that aggression quite a bit in my experience.--
--solomon
 

xander

Manjuari
MFK Member
Sep 6, 2007
8,535
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555
Singapore
E_americanus;3910764; said:
do you throw the food in at the same spot? or do you throw it in at multiple locations initially? the "go for the first piece most aggressively" phenomenon happens a lot with predatory fish tanks, and i've definitely had it happen with the gars. i just throw the food in in multiple locations initially that way multiple fish can get the "first piece".

also, since gars are quite attentive, i usually wave one hand over the top of the tank so they follow it, but the hand with the actual food is on the other end, so that's where i drop it...they eventually figure it out...then, as they are swimming to the end with the food, i drop more food at the "faked out end"...therefore providing both sides of the tank with food (this is on 6' and 4' long tanks, but could be done on most sizes).

there will always be some level of overly aggressive feeding on the first bites, but this has helped decrease that aggression quite a bit in my experience.--
--solomon
i usually throw food in from 2 different ends of the tank. but at the same time. the freaking out mostly occurs when the gars try to steal food from each others mouths. today the gar that got the first bite" started freaking out for no apparent reason. i'd be sure to try out your technique thou.
 

Madding

The Ninth Holostei
MFK Member
May 11, 2009
3,628
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New York
My Florida is so paranoid about other fish getting to the shrimp before him that he goes nuts for the first piece to hit the water and swims away with it like a bat out of hell, even though nobody is chasing him anymore. :screwy:. My Black Aro used to give him some grief but now eats pellets and doesn't even look at the Florida... but he hasn't lost his paranoia.
 

Conner

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2008
4,461
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68
Kentucky
Sometimes my shortnose gars will fake each other out going for a piece of shrimp or tilapia. They'll both dive for it, both stop, both shake, then both turn around and swim away, neither of them getting the piece of food :screwy:.

I try to drop food in a couple places, then wait, then drop, then wait, then drop. I've noticed some of the gars prefer to hit the food at certain places in the water. Some try to hit at the surface, some wait for it to fall into the water column, and others will only go for it on the bottom. And there does seem to be a heirarchy as well, with the larger gars usually getting the first few pieces of food before the smaller ones will even attempt to go for it.
 
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