Florida Gar won't eat :(

[HungDang]

OP with 2400+ posts starts a thread about gar with other type fish and not feeding feeders and no flaming, whereas when I say no feeders I get flamed hard

But that aside, just keep trying Water.
It took me a few days from getting the gar to converting to pellets, try the Hikari foodsticks!
Will also be better if you have the gar with other fish that is eating the type of food you are trying to convert to! (I had a small aro, rocket gars and a pike characin that ate foodsticks)

Goodluck mate

well, his fish is 13'' so it should be about 1 years old while your fish was a lot smaller! older fish can go without food for a way longer time!

 

[Water]

Do some water changes and switch to feeders and see what happens that should work.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

I have a thing with using feeders.. I tried Ghost Shrimps.. I think they're a bit too fast for him.

Don't give up it will eat the shrimp or smelt. The gar is used to eating feeders. I go through the same thing with a new fish fed on feeders when switching to frozen.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app

Will do.

try and hand feed instead of throwing the shrimp in. hold it at the top till he takes it. i was lucky with my gar it took to pellets right away.

My Gar doesn't stay at the top. It stays mostly in the middle.. I tried dangling shrimp and tilapia on a piece of fishing line.. He's interested.. He just doesn't take a bite at it. Pretty sure he's getting close to breaking though.

OP with 2400+ posts starts a thread about gar with other type fish and not feeding feeders and no flaming, whereas when I say no feeders I get flamed hard

But that aside, just keep trying Water.
It took me a few days from getting the gar to converting to pellets, try the Hikari foodsticks!
Will also be better if you have the gar with other fish that is eating the type of food you are trying to convert to! (I had a small aro, rocket gars and a pike characin that ate foodsticks)

Goodluck mate

Your Gar is smaller than mine.. I wouldn't call it flaming, just harsh criticism. I was kinda just looking for people's input since I have no experience with Gars. Figured I was on the right path, just wanted some tips/confirmation. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Wiggles92]

Try getting it to accept freeze-dried krill before trying pellets; the krill is similar in color to the pellets and will help ease the transition. If you just want it to start feeding, then try swishing around a long strip of fish/shrimp at the surface. I have used both methods for converting gars to pellets and pieces of fish, respectively.

 

[Water]

At this point I've tried all types of foods besides feeders. He doesn't even look at the krill. Tied tilapia/shrimp to a piece of fishing line.. Dragged it across the surface was well as dangling it near him and "wiggling" the bait a little to get him interested. He swims up, touches it with his snout, then swims away. I can see him swimming away and adjusting his jaws like he wants to bite something lol. At this point, it's either he eats or starves to death.

 

[HungDang]

At this point I've tried all types of foods besides feeders. He doesn't even look at the krill. Tied tilapia/shrimp to a piece of fishing line.. Dragged it across the surface was well as dangling it near him and "wiggling" the bait a little to get him interested. He swims up, touches it with his snout, then swims away. I can see him swimming away and adjusting his jaws like he wants to bite something lol. At this point, it's either he eats or starves to death.

like arowana, gar can go without food for a long time! so a few weeks without food is fine for gar that size!

 

[Swarsh]

Personally I'll go with foodsticks~
It will just be easier on the long run to get it on foodsticks first, since its only been a few days it shouldnt be at the "danger zone" yet~
I believe that if you feed it only one type of food then it will accept it whereas if u give it too many variety it will become picky and not eat the food you want it to!

 

[MonsterMinis]

I feed live and pellets... if your other fish eat pellets shoudln't take your gar much to figure it out. I disgaree with the stock your keeping it with, imo you'll have problems. BU liek you said it's your tank and you know it's dynamics. Have some patience. gar at 12"+ can go a few weeks w/out food.. but personally I wouldn't allow it. I don't believe in intentionally starveing fish when I am aware of a food they will eat.

Gar have no health related issues associated with live feeders, only with what live feeders may carry as far as parasites and diseases. They are Piscivores, they eat fish. Evolution designed them that way, so feeding them fish is not only logical but ideal. My gar get pellets only because the feeders they eat aren't wild, so do not have the wide variety of nutrients in their own digestive systems from eating other things, pellets give them those extra nutrients. Feeders get such a bad rap because people feed other species of fish that aren't true piscivors strickly poor healthed feeders and wonder why their fish are in poor health. Gar are the exception to this rule.

I have seen one to many fish die because people try to force them to eat what they deam they should eat, instead of working with what they will eat. BTW bloodworms are even worse nutritionally then even the worst quality feeder fish ever is, turn the box over and look at the nutrition content...

 

[Water]

Personally I'll go with foodsticks~
It will just be easier on the long run to get it on foodsticks first, since its only been a few days it shouldnt be at the "danger zone" yet~
I believe that if you feed it only one type of food then it will accept it whereas if u give it too many variety it will become picky and not eat the food you want it to!

I can't really feed one type of food because I have fish of all different sizes.. The Aro gets mostly Hikari Sticks and the Gar doesn't even pay attention to them.

I feed live and pellets... if your other fish eat pellets shoudln't take your gar much to figure it out. I disgaree with the stock your keeping it with, imo you'll have problems. BU liek you said it's your tank and you know it's dynamics. Have some patience. gar at 12"+ can go a few weeks w/out food.. but personally I wouldn't allow it. I don't believe in intentionally starveing fish when I am aware of a food they will eat.

Gar have no health related issues associated with live feeders, only with what live feeders may carry as far as parasites and diseases. They are Piscivores, they eat fish. Evolution designed them that way, so feeding them fish is not only logical but ideal. My gar get pellets only because the feeders they eat aren't wild, so do not have the wide variety of nutrients in their own digestive systems from eating other things, pellets give them those extra nutrients. Feeders get such a bad rap because people feed other species of fish that aren't true piscivors strickly poor healthed feeders and wonder why their fish are in poor health. Gar are the exception to this rule.

I have seen one to many fish die because people try to force them to eat what they deam they should eat, instead of working with what they will eat. BTW bloodworms are even worse nutritionally then even the worst quality feeder fish ever is, turn the box over and look at the nutrition content...

I have other fish that may tackle the minnows and I do NOT want my other fish to get sick. This is why I didn't want any recommendations of using feeders in the first place because I know what I don't want my other fish to be eating. I'll give this guy 2 weeks, if he doesn't eat, I'll just transfer him into my friends pond.

 

[B3Master]

i got a 20 cm gar, when i first bought him i got him two gold fish as big as he was for tank mates... little did i know at the time that he would still mess around with them. I tried many different food till he finally ate a frozen shrimp that i broke up with my hand and thawed it, that was the first thing he ate, it hardly fit in his throat yet he ate it, later he got used to hikari pellets medium sized, also he loves tetra shrimp sticks although he makes a mess since it breaks up to flakes as he eats it, but he can immediately smell it and goes for it. u have to have patience they are used to being predatory if something is given to them with ease they would eat it, he wants to sneak up on it. his tank mates got sick since he keeps scaring them and eating their tails and fins till i took them out of the tank, they are too big for him to eat. one eventualy died other survived with medication after losing an eye.

 

[B3Master]

first thing he ate in his new home was the frozen shrimp, secondly he ate Sera frozen shrimp, little tiny ones, then hikari pellets and tetra shrimp sticks. now i give him a feeder fish once a week. The problem with tank mates was they would gobble up everything before he has a chance to take a snap at it.