Diet change: pellets and fillet training

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yngggru

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jun 6, 2013
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Philippines
So today Im going to start changing my 16"+ gar's diet. Before I got him, all he was fed were feeders and goldfish. I was planning on training him to eat pellets and pangasius fillets. My plan is to start out by feeding him some big carnivore pellets. The lfs said they feed these to kois, oscars and some other big carnivores. Any tips would be much appreciated!


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What is he housed with? Is he housed with anything that might become food? that's pretty relevant to know before we give advice. :)

Also, what kind of gar is it? I don't want to draw assumptions...
 
I removed my senegals and some small swordtails from the tank before I started. I left him in the tank with my common pleco which is too big to get eaten. Theyre pretty much the only ones in the tank now. I dont think he notices the pellets so I tried feeding him some fillets and he also doesnt notice them. He has not eatin in about a week now.

Here's a pic of the two of them a few days ago. :)


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I would feed him live... let him eat good for a few days until he runs out.. then offer floating foods like pellets, freeze dried krill, ect. most gar can go weeks w/out food but starving never really worked for me. Keep him fed so he doesn't get sick.. but hungry so hes willing to try new foods. also be wary of the pleco I have had commons go nutters and kill tank-mates more then once and they can and will kill a gar w/ their slimecoat sucking... if you notice the pleco being interested in the gar or the gar avoiding the pleco.. time to move the pleco before you loss your gar.
 
MonsterMinis said:
I would feed him live... let him eat good for a few days until he runs out.. then offer floating foods like pellets, freeze dried krill, ect. most gar can go weeks w/out food but starving never really worked for me. Keep him fed so he doesn't get sick.. but hungry so hes willing to try new foods. also be wary of the pleco I have had commons go nutters and kill tank-mates more then once and they can and will kill a gar w/ their slimecoat sucking... if you notice the pleco being interested in the gar or the gar avoiding the pleco.. time to move the pleco before you loss your gar.
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Got it! I'll place some feeders again later. :) I hope my pleco doesnt go nuts. Ive had her for generations (literally, my dad had her before with several fish in several different aquariums) and never encountered any problems. She's more afraid of my gar than my gar of her and they've been together since the day I got my gar. Haha. But still I'd take your advice and will remove her as soon as she shows any interest. Also, do you think he'd accept floating carnivore food? Thanks!


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floating food is going to be more readily taken in general then sinking.. but I would try a variety, the krill is suggested as its like a treat and once they realize anything floating is food.. they convert very easily in most cases... some suggest the starve/fast method but I found it didn't make a difference as once my gar got use to pellets ect.. live foods where to much work lol.. they will generally go for the pellets first now and only eat the feeders when they are hungry ( One of the ways I keep my more aggressive gar from attacking/eating my smaller gar) So if hes only got a handful to chase around he'll go for the pellets more readily. Once hes use to the pellets I found feeding chunks of fish easy as well as sinking pellets... though with the gravel I wouldn't be as keen to feed him w/ sinking as they don't seem to have good sight/maneuverability and might accidentally ingest gravel ( they are smart and almost always spit it out but imo its still a risk)

Once he IDs your hand w/ food you can easily toss him chunks of fish he will snap up before it even gets 1/2 way down the water column. This is how I "hand feed" my gar w/out risking getting bit and it works well for foods like fillet you don't want sitting around the tank. Its time consuming but you know hes eating.. I always feed until they stop wanting more.

This method tends to take longer.. a few weeks or even months for some really stubborn fish but as you know w/ your fathers fish its a long-term dedication. Ime at the end you end up with a fish that will eat readily and just about anything you offer ( each fish is different and some just don't like certain foods which is why try a little bit of everything and work from what they seem to like the best to broaden their food acceptance) compared to other species I've kept/keep my gar are the easiest to get to eat foods as long as its fresh/quality. my one florida is a snob.. hes been raised to well and spoiled on the good stuff so he won't eat koi pellets ect or other non-ideal foods... but loves salmon/tuna and massivore pellets ( the 3 most expensive foods I buy)
 
Haha! You seem to be an expert on gars! If I have any trouble with Gar-y (my 18" florida gar) I'll be waiting for you answers lol.

I added some feeders again and he immediately ate about five before he settled down with a large bump on his belly. :D But he still doesnt notice the pellets. I'll just try dropping some whenever he's near the surface? I've really been looking for those massivores but really cant find any. I dont think they sell those here. :/


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Not even close to an expert lol but I am very passionate about them and keeping them, so I have been learning from the experts for years and the guys here get the credit for my knowledge, they set me on the right path to begin with. gar just are different then your "typical" fish and once you accept it and learn how to "meet their needs" they are some of the heartiest fish I've honestly kept. They aren't cichlids... and most of what we learn in keeping fish from "the beginning" centers around housing tropical community fish and/or cichlids... and gar are very different animals altogether.

let him finish off his feeders.. then offer pellets the next day at his size he'll eat every day to every other day. when the feeders are gone for a day or 2.. offer pellets... the next am give him a few more feeders... wait a day or 2... keep this as your reg feeding routine and in as little as a week he'll be eating both w/out issue ( sounds like he may take a few though lol). I would also try softer pellets at first like hikkari, or the freeze dried krill. also ere on the side of smaller pellets. I also will toss the pellets in and go do something else and come back an hour later and remove anything uneaten... I had one for the longest time would eat pellets... but not infront of me, I also found as I increased my gar troupe that the older gar already eating pellets taught the new ones sometimes in a matter of a day or 2 to eat pellets, some would be finicky and only eat the live for weeks.. so just be persistent and keep trying different things.
 
you can try the bloodworms but I would be light on feeding them as ime bloodworms can bind up most fish.
 
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