Change of plans...

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demjor19

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2006
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PA/OH
First off...Pacu really are not good gar tankmates (i retract all of my previous statements). That being said...i will be keeping most if not all of my gar.

i was sitting in front of my gar tank (w/ the pacu in it) and heard a 'crunch' sound (we feed her carrots, so i didnt think anything of it at first). After a short while i looked up to hear another 'crunch' sound. This time i realized she was not eating carrots!!! She crushed the snouts on several of my gar including the tropical gar. My favorite gar (the 18" florida/spotted) got it the worst and the Trop got it pretty bad as well. I think the Tropical will make a nearly full recovery, but my Florida is in pretty rough shape. I'm so pissed right now my hands are shaking!

This just goes to show that a mix that has been working for nearly a year perfectly can prove to be a complete nightmare.

My point to this thread (other than venting) is to send a message to those of you who keep aggressive or high risk tankmates with gar and think they are getting away with it. Gar are a very delicate fish and demand very specific and special care. Without this care the fish is put at very high risk of injury or death. I am proof to this statement.

anyway...i guess you will continue to see me around. I just hope these fish heal...i have a real mess on my hands. Just what i dont need right now.
 
so sorry to hear and I will pray for a full recovery!!
 
michael;2091725; said:
so sorry to hear and I will pray for a full recovery!!

Thanks man! Let me give the shorty a little more thought and i'll get back to you on that.
 
Polypterus;2091870; said:
I know this is really callus but.... I told you so....

I just really hope others actually bother to learn from this also...

I hear you loud and clear man!

I just hope others don't think they know more than I did....
 
i of course hope the gars make a full recovery, or at least recover well enough to function relatively normally. i would also have to agree with richard's statement, but again, hopefully everyone can learn from this. i knew they were bad tankmates, but i never thought a pacu would actually go ahead and treat a gar's snout like a seed pod from the amazon!
if you're mad at the pacu i would just freeze it, chop it up, and then throw half on the grill for you and kara, and half to feed back to the gars! ...seriously, i've had it on the grill before and it's pretty good!

best of luck with the recovering fishes. you're right about tankmates...there are really a select group of fishes that make decent gar tankmates...even those can be problematic depending on the individual. keep us posted on how the fishes are doing, and if you can snap pics, i would definitely be curious to see what the pacu did--
--solomon
 
rfalvey89;2092464; said:
unless you have 500 gallons ..no pacu

Please dont litter my thread with pointless posts!

channarox;2092820; said:
thats not the point of this thread.:banhim:

sorry to hear.
hope they get well soon!

Thanks man. Like i said she lived in the tank with the same gar for just about a year with absolutely no aggression and one day she just went off on a snout crushing binge.

Solomon, as of now i have a few emails about the Pacu in to rescue facilities. I dont doubt they are good eating, but thats not for me and i'm very sure Kara wouldnt go for it.
 
I think it is an honest mistake, especially if they have been together that long without any aggression. I know I learned my lesson with a large channel cat and ended up losing 8 fish overnight after having them together for months with no aggression. I wish you all the best and hope for a full recovery.
 
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