documenting my Alligators growth rate (w/pics)

[E_americanus]

Ah, okay. Just sounded like you were suggesting that he should feed them mainly meat rather than pellets and/or seafood. I don't know if the vegetables are necessary for gar considering that they are carnivorous therefore they can survive and thrive on fish, shrimp, etc. for food

doesn't matter, ground beef should not be fed to gars or other pet fishes. it really shouldn't be fed to many pets at all! if you can get fish and shrimp and all that other stuff like he says, then go with that. ground beef adds nothing that they fishes can't get from other sources (other than extra waste matter and fat).

to the OP - i assume you have plenty of other options for feeding your gator gar, so i hope you go with those. best of luck with your fish!--
--solomon

 

[Polypterus]

Ah, okay. Just sounded like you were suggesting that he should feed them mainly meat rather than pellets and/or seafood. I don't know if the vegetables are necessary for gar considering that they are carnivorous therefore they can survive and thrive on fish, shrimp, etc. for food

I think there is good evidence for Gars needing their veggies. As much as it has been found out that Lungfish need veggies, we quickly found out so do many other species.

Look closely at what gar prey eat.... This has a direct affect on captive fish.

 

[E_americanus]

I think there is good evidence for Gars needing their veggies. As much as it has been found out that Lungfish need veggies, we quickly found out so do many other species.

Look closely at what gar prey eat.... This has a direct affect on captive fish.

agree on the vegetable matter (didn't even read that part as i was mainly dealing with the stupid ground beef discussion).

if you can get your gar to take algae wafers (tropicals and gators seem to like this, and the Croc II also scoops them up), that will go a long way. if not, then try to get your feeders to take vegetable matter or just put such pellets into the food you feed to your gars. definitely can help, and doesn't do harm!--
--solomon

 

[xander]

Awesome progression, hope more members would do this!! Am going to extract bits of the diet discussion for a new thread too if that's ok

Posted on mobile.monsterfishkeepers.com

 

[Wiggles92]

I think there is good evidence for Gars needing their veggies. As much as it has been found out that Lungfish need veggies, we quickly found out so do many other species.

Look closely at what gar prey eat.... This has a direct affect on captive fish.

agree on the vegetable matter (didn't even read that part as i was mainly dealing with the stupid ground beef discussion).

if you can get your gar to take algae wafers (tropicals and gators seem to like this, and the Croc II also scoops them up), that will go a long way. if not, then try to get your feeders to take vegetable matter or just put such pellets into the food you feed to your gars. definitely can help, and doesn't do harm!--
--solomon

Interesting, I've never heard of giving gars algae wafers, or any vegetable matter for that matter, before. I'm guessing that in the wild they get the plant matter in their diet from the stomach contents of their prey, or do they actually seek out and eat some plants and algae?

 

[Madding]

I think there is good evidence for Gars needing their veggies. As much as it has been found out that Lungfish need veggies, we quickly found out so do many other species.

Indeed about the lungfish... in fact my Australian lungfish likes chewing on the algae on the driftwood when it gets thick.

Interesting about gars. Mine readily eat veggie pellets but I figured it was only because it was something hitting the surface (usually I feed the non-massivore pellets to the catfish but the gars catch them). The tropicals love any pellets/wafers actually.

 

[E_americanus]

XANDER - feel free to move any of my diet discussion (other the "i'm against 'wheres the beef' points) to the proposed new thread

Interesting, I've never heard of giving gars algae wafers, or any vegetable matter for that matter, before. I'm guessing that in the wild they get the plant matter in their diet from the stomach contents of their prey, or do they actually seek out and eat some plants and algae?

ryan, in the wild they get it from their prey items...incorporated up the food chain. this is also why whole fish are great to feed to gars so they get a lot of the nutrients lost via cooked food items, cleaned items, etc. pellets usually have these items as well.

Indeed about the lungfish... in fact my Australian lungfish likes chewing on the algae on the driftwood when it gets thick.

Interesting about gars. Mine readily eat veggie pellets but I figured it was only because it was something hitting the surface (usually I feed the non-massivore pellets to the catfish but the gars catch them). The tropicals love any pellets/wafers actually.

yeah, if the lungfishes ever develop lateral line erosion, the vegetable matter really seems to help them bounce back (water changes too, but the vegetable matter seems to be the key factor). for some reason those tropicals are like garbage disposals, and that's good since they seem to be most susceptible to "face erosion" compared to other gar species.--
--solomon

 

[spwd]

Great thread and fantastic growth,keep the updates coming.

Steve

 

[Dloks]

i wished my spotted gar grew that montorous

 

[mqktandy]

Finally back from south America and boy was I surprised when I saw the gar. And the rest of the tank inhabitants. My rtc alone seams to have gained at least a lb. The gator gar is ATLEST 18" he has surpassed my Florida in length. More though he has gotten much thicker and his skittishness has demenished slightly. When I lean over the edge he comes right up to the surface to c if u r food. Lol. I'll post pictures soon. A little busy at the moment to get some decent ones.

So in recap in 3 months and 22 days he has gone from 2-3" to 18". That broken down is about 5" a month or .16" per day avg. That is in comparison to my rtc a well recorded fast grower that went from 2" to 24" in 6 months. Or 3.6" a month avg. 28% slower growth than a alligator gar. Just something for the average gar enthusiast to consider before purchasing a small one.