My 3 florida Gars, All dead in 3 weeks...WTF happened?!?!?!

[IRONWOOD]

tough loss

 

[E_americanus]

really? you think it was because the gars were getting beat on? I would have never of thought that. I mean the silver and my one gar grew up together. If I have ever thought for one second the aro's were beating up on the gars, I would have removed them.

that being said, I know gars and arowana's are VERY common tank mates.

responses to RED highlights:
1- this doesn't matter in the slightest...these are primitive predatory fishes kept in a box that is a fraction of the size of their homes in the wild...ALSO, these fish would never encounter each other in the wild. instincts will play out, and just because they grew up together doesn't mean they will definitely be less likely to fight. aggression and other behaviors develop further as the fishes grow. think about how the behavior of many many animals changes as they develop/mature. we can't really extrapolate to mammals as effectively, but consider a painted turtle and alligator snapper being raised together...eventually the snapper will have a high likelihood of eating the painted turtle (or think of snakes, lizards, amphibians, other fishes).

2- again, this often occurs when you are not there to see it. unless you are watching your fishes literally 24/7, you can't expect that just because you don't see it happening, doesn't mean it's not potentially happening during the other many hours you are not staring at your tank.

3- AND, just because they are commonly kept together doesn't mean this is the best scenario for the gars (your case in point) and that they SHOULD be kept together. we're trying to progress fishkeeping by making improvements in husbandry, not stagnating with the less responsible and more volatile practices of the past.

actually damnit. I COMPLETELY forgot about this. I dont know why.

when my biggest gar died, he had a "clear, slimmy" film just on his head.

that was the only gar that had that when he died.

richard addressed this already, and i would add that more slime is often exuded post-mortem near areas of damage. if something grabbed the gar by the head you may see this effect. either way, just a possibility.

nothing more can be done for the gar obviously, but if you were to replace them i would HIGHLY advise against keeping them in the environment you kept those previously--
--solomon

 

[SSmokinn SS]

thanks for all the info.

I will not be replacing them. Maybe in the near future when I get a house and I can set up multiple tanks in the basement, not not while I am here at my apartment.

 

[Sik.10a]

Sounds like a combination of stress from tankmates, not enough water changes and taking out ur plants in one go ruined the fragile system u had goin there.

Stress, tankmates, an poor water quality kills, sound like u had all 3.

Ul never know cos u never test, its too late anyway cos there dead juz test ur water more often n u won't wonder why next time.

Time to move on n change ur ways a bit, we all learn from our mistakes- me included!