HELP weaning Florida gar off live food onto pellets/frozen

[Yayforjay]

Hi all,

Any tips for weaning a juvenile Florida gar onto pellets/frozen?

I got a tiny pencil of a Florida gar (4 inch) a couple of months ago. The dealer was feeding him guppies only.

He is about 7 inches now and getting much thicker. He has a voracious appetite for guppies and will eat as many as I provide to him

I’d really like to get him onto pellets or frozen food. But he refuses to take any form of frozen food (prawns, basa, mussels, sprats etc) - whether I wiggle it drop it in. And he won’t touch any floating or sinking pellets.

He showed a tiny bit of interest in some sprat I dangled once (followed it in the tweezers). But he lost interest and swam off.

Any tips? It feels like he’s too small to starve at this age. But I’m going to go broke buying guppies!

Thanks in advance.

 

[tlindsey]

Any tips?

Don't feed for a couple of days and try small pieces of fish.
You can't have any guppies in the aquarium while traing off live.

 

[AR1]

my bichir used to do the same

Don't feed for a couple of days and try small pieces of fish.
You can't have any guppies in the aquarium while traing off live.

agreed. my bichir was also used to live fish. i kept it hungry for few days, then gave him floating pellets. i increased the flow of water in the aquarium. the pellets started to move around randomly, making the bichir think they were fishes. he immediately bagan to chase after them and devoured them all. now he is used to eating pellets.

 

[Yayforjay]

Thanks guys. I’ll stick with it and keep trying!

 

[jjohnwm]

Some fish require a bit more "outsmarting" than others. With superfast aggressive feeders like carnivorous cichlids, pikes, snakeheads, etc. it's easier because once they get hungry you can drop in a live feeder...GULP...a live feeder...GULP...a dead feeder...GULP...a piece of frozen/thawed krill...GULP...

You get the idea. Once they are accustomed to hitting the food item as soon as it touches the water, you can get them to eat just about anything. Gar are a bit different in their approach to food; the fastest, most aggressive gar is still pretty slow and methodical compared to those speedsters, which gives the fish more time to re-consider as it approaches the food. So, rather than just literally throwing in the food and hoping to elicit a lightning-quick strike, it works better to present it in some way that fools the fish and keeps it fooled right up until it hits the item.

Gar are also more sight-triggered feeders, rather than scent-triggered like catfish. This is neither good nor bad in terms of your strategy, but it does help determiine what you do.

With these slower-feeding predators, I have resorted in extreme cases to putting one or two live feeders into a clear glass or plastic container and floating them in the tank. There can't be any other feeders in the tank at any time! When the fish comes over and shows interest, try offering a dead feeder with the forceps, jiggling as necessary, while the fish is already worked up by the sight of the live ones. Having the fish already accustomed to the presence of the forceps, even if they aren't actually holding food, is a good idea. Be careful not to let the fish actually grab the forceps themselves, as striking a hard object like that can turn them off immediately.

The longer you spoil your fish by giving him only live foods...the more difficult it becomes to get him off of them. Sounds like your fish is already very spoiled! You must have more patience than he does to prevail. And once you get him going on the food of your choice, it will only take a few feedings for him to accept that item without hesitation and without any monkeying around necessary on your part.

Life will also be easier for you if you get the fish eating several different types of foods: various pellets, f/t krill, silversides, tilapia strips, etc. This keeps him more versatile and willing to eat anything you offer. In some cases, if you feed strictly pellets and then one day you run out and need to feed something else for awhile, you might find that the fish is fixated only on that one food. Yep...spoiled again!

 

[Yayforjay]

Some fish require a bit more "outsmarting" than others. With superfast aggressive feeders like carnivorous cichlids, pikes, snakeheads, etc. it's easier because once they get hungry you can drop in a live feeder...GULP...a live feeder...GULP...a dead feeder...GULP...a piece of frozen/thawed krill...GULP...

You get the idea. Once they are accustomed to hitting the food item as soon as it touches the water, you can get them to eat just about anything. Gar are a bit different in their approach to food; the fastest, most aggressive gar is still pretty slow and methodical compared to those speedsters, which gives the fish more time to re-consider as it approaches the food. So, rather than just literally throwing in the food and hoping to elicit a lightning-quick strike, it works better to present it in some way that fools the fish and keeps it fooled right up until it hits the item.

Gar are also more sight-triggered feeders, rather than scent-triggered like catfish. This is neither good nor bad in terms of your strategy, but it does help determiine what you do.

With these slower-feeding predators, I have resorted in extreme cases to putting one or two live feeders into a clear glass or plastic container and floating them in the tank. There can't be any other feeders in the tank at any time! When the fish comes over and shows interest, try offering a dead feeder with the forceps, jiggling as necessary, while the fish is already worked up by the sight of the live ones. Having the fish already accustomed to the presence of the forceps, even if they aren't actually holding food, is a good idea. Be careful not to let the fish actually grab the forceps themselves, as striking a hard object like that can turn them off immediately.

The longer you spoil your fish by giving him only live foods...the more difficult it becomes to get him off of them. Sounds like your fish is already very spoiled! You must have more patience than he does to prevail. And once you get him going on the food of your choice, it will only take a few feedings for him to accept that item without hesitation and without any monkeying around necessary on your part.

Life will also be easier for you if you get the fish eating several different types of foods: various pellets, f/t krill, silversides, tilapia strips, etc. This keeps him more versatile and willing to eat anything you offer. In some cases, if you feed strictly pellets and then one day you run out and need to feed something else for awhile, you might find that the fish is fixated only on that one food. Yep...spoiled again!

Thanks so much for your incredibly detailed response. It’s really helpful. Lots of useful background info and practical tips. I will give it a go and be more patient than he is!

Do you think there are any risks with him not feeding for 3-4 days at such a young age/small size?

 

[jjohnwm]

Thanks so much for your incredibly detailed response. It’s really helpful. Lots of useful background info and practical tips. I will give it a go and be more patient than he is!

Do you think there are any risks with him not feeding for 3-4 days at such a young age/small size?

No, at 7 inches he's more or less past that delicate fry stage. And I doubt that it will take even 3 or 4 days for you to have him eating non-live food.

 

[Yayforjay]

No, at 7 inches he's more or less past that delicate fry stage. And I doubt that it will take even 3 or 4 days for you to have him eating non-live food.

Thank you! Just to let you know, using your method I convinced him to take a good size piece of mussel yesterday, which he swallowed down! I was thrilled. Thanks so much for your advice. Going to try to make it a habit now. Thanks again!