How Do I Get My Spotted Gar To Eat Pellets?
- Thread starter Young_Fish_Keeper
- Start date
by that I suppose you mean the older the fish get, the harder to get them off live? in reality, I found it easier to get older gar off live than younger fish, and it won't hurt to starve them for that since they can survive winter with no food
would you guys recommend starting him off quarantined feeders, or try pellets right off the bat?
getting feeder minnow from bait shop is pretty easy and that is what they normally eat in the wild. Try to keep feeder available in the tank all the time and feed him some pellet or dried krill once a day or so to see if he will take them.
Some feeder might die before he eat them but if he eat the dead feeders it will be easy to switch him to pellet later on.
Some feeder might die before he eat them but if he eat the dead feeders it will be easy to switch him to pellet later on.
I just got success on getting my gar to eat tonight. I dropped krill by his mouth and then he snatched it right up. After that the hunt was on. He was prowling around the tank for more. Feeling much relief.
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I dropped a piece of krill one at a time with about 10 seconds in between each piece of krill. I did this right by him and on the third one he snatched it. Now he is not being so shy.
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I feed ghost shrimp to my stingray, when the shrimp died my Tropicals would gladly eat them off of the bottom. Eventually, I threw a couple pellets in and one of the Tropicals just took them, the other Tropical examines them but doesn't eat them.
I think the main trick is if you feed them floating pellets, feed them off them something more tasty like floating fish or shrimp (anything they'll eat which will float) and then just keep throwing floating pellets in after a while. Once they get used to the idea of taking food in a certain condition (surface of the water or off the bottom) they should, but they may not, eat pellets from that condition. This is how I conditioned my Tropicals with the dead shrimp.
My one Tropical readily takes floating pellets also, the other one just examines them, but that's what the Tropical who eats the pellets now did also.
Repetition, allow them to be comfortable eating the food.
I think the main trick is if you feed them floating pellets, feed them off them something more tasty like floating fish or shrimp (anything they'll eat which will float) and then just keep throwing floating pellets in after a while. Once they get used to the idea of taking food in a certain condition (surface of the water or off the bottom) they should, but they may not, eat pellets from that condition. This is how I conditioned my Tropicals with the dead shrimp.
My one Tropical readily takes floating pellets also, the other one just examines them, but that's what the Tropical who eats the pellets now did also.
Repetition, allow them to be comfortable eating the food.
To get my gars to eat pellets was simple. You start with live minnows until they get used to seeing you feed them and begin to go up to the front glass. Then you switch to frozen minnows like silversides or something. Once they begin eating those add a few pellets (carnisticks) in with them. Do not starve the fish as you have no need to. They will adventially eat pellets given time. I mostly feed fish fillet anyways. If I tap the lid to the tank they all come up to feed now you just have to give it time but do not starve them
