Gar is a gonner soon

[johnptc]

what is the tank temp ???

I have had my Tropical Gar for over a year now and for the past 3 months he has not eaten on a regular basis and it is getting worse. He used to try to take down huge chunks of shrimp aggressivly. He went from eatiing 2-3 shrimp tails or scallops and feeders 3 times a week down to one shrimp tail a week and has to be fed with plastic tongs wiggled in his face. No he tries to swim and it looks like he is being electrocuted. Very disturbing. Now he has not ate for 10 days and cannot even swim to the top for air. He just sits on the bottom like a bag of mud. The nitrates are kept at around 40ppm (all other params are perfect) with alot of big water changes.
Someone at an lfs told e it is possible that he suffered a stroke. They say this can happen to any living creature. Hmmm... His breathing is very very slow also. Looks like this is the end for him. Very disturbing because there is no seeable reason why this would happen. The TSN in there with him is not bothering him and the Gar has plenty of places to sleep hide or just relax. Someone else on here had the same issue but not to this extent and his is recovered aslo. Very strange situation and sad.

 

[TankBuster]

Tank Temp is 79.8. If he has hit the acrylic hard I didnt see it, his snout looks fine though, his left fin does stick out while the other is against his body. He swims as though he is trying to whip himself is the best way I can describe it and he never seems to be able to get more than an inch off the bottom of the tank.

 

[Polypterus]

From the discription it does sound very much like this could be an issue with the nervous system rather than a parasitic or bacterial issue. I'm sorry but I'm not really sure how you can go about fixing this if this is indeed the case.

Sucks man....I hope for the best in this.
You never know maybe it will pull through.

 

[TankBuster]

Thanks all for the help here. He is starting to roll to one side now so it wont be long. Too bad, he was a great fish.

 

[Miguel]

I know your feeling...

 

[Dovii dude]

Really sorry to hear this,i feel for you!!!

 

[TankBuster]

28 days without food, and still alive. This is horrible. Anyone out therre have a gar that went this long without eating. Last night he sat on top of a chunk of food for a half hour then he slowly floated away from it.

 

[Deathcurl]

I had an old florida gar that didn't eat for 3 months. Didn't lose much weight at all. It just went off feed and then started up again. It's still a mystery to me as to why this happened.

 

[bacon]

the gar i have had for 9 years was kept in a small rubbermaid tub for a couple of months. no food really and no lighting. today he is as healthy as can be. gars are strong fish. ill be suprised if he dies. try tossing in some smaller feeders and see what he does. also do a large water change. this may help.

 

[vinson lim]

really sorry to hear that man, TankBuster. I had a gar, i kept it more than a year (not sure a tropika or a spotted), i fed him some gold fishes, and he dint eat it for 20 - 22 day... within the days, the little gold fish grow 1cm to 2cm in the tank wth the gar... suprizingly, he's still alive although he dint eat anything for 3 weeks. but, he still looks healthy.... he swims around too, but jst refuse to eat, i jst dun undrstnd... this happen last year. But now, he eats, and stay in a good condition too. (sory for bad grammar)