Gar feeding habits

[Jdj211]

My baby gator gar does not seem to enjoy eating. When do they usually eat during the day or at night? I have only seen him eat 2 minnows but I'm sure he's had at least a few more. He seems to actively avoid almost all the time. Does that just mean he's not hungry?


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[Wiggles92]

It probably doesn't like eating in front of you. Do you have it in with anything else?

 

[Jdj211]

I didn't realize they were shy. He's sharing the tank with a 4" Megalodoras uranoscopus. He just sits in his tube 98% of the time. Around what size do they lose their shyness?


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[Wiggles92]

The personality varies from gar to gar, so there's no telling if it will lose that shyness any time soon although it most likely will lose it when it gets a little bigger.

 

[Jdj211]

Ever hand feed a gar? Using tweezers or some other gripping device obviously. So are they primarily diurnal or nocturnal feeders?


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[Wiggles92]

Ever hand feed a gar? Using tweezers or some other gripping device obviously. So are they primarily diurnal or nocturnal feeders?

I trained a few of my previous gars to take shrimp and tilapia using hand feeding; I just swished the food around at the surface, and they would come up and get the food. They typically will feed any time of day although I noticed that my gars would eat more at night.

 

[MonsterMinis]

Once my guys started taking pellets... they lost all sembalance of shyness. They figured out real quick where the pellets where coming from.

 

[Jdj211]

Well my gar still doesn't seem to be eating much. He doesn't seem to be incredibly thin or anything so should I be concerned? He eats maybe one or two rosy reds a day.


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[pharmaecopia]

This seems pretty low. Can you provide more information on tank setup?

 

[Jdj211]

This seems pretty low. Can you provide more information on tank setup?

His tank is about 75 gallons. I have an AC 110, cascade 300, and sponge filter running. Big piece of driftwood on the bottom. Two sets of leaves, one floating on the surface and one suction cupped to the side about halfway up. Water is kept at 77-79 degrees. 25% water change every 3 or 4 days. When I tested the water 2 days ago levels were 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 20ppm nitrate, and 7.4 pH. Apparently my girlfriend has been putting some feeders in his tank when I'm not around, so he has been eating 3 or 4 per day.