gar help needed

[jjollie]

I got two spotted gars on Wed. they are about 6" I can not get them to eat anything I have tried blood worms, shrimp even crickets I am trying not to feed live but if I need to I will does anyone have ideas of what I should do?

 

[bacon]

Try cut tilapia. Might take them a bit. They're still pretty young. Where did you get them? I've been looking for spotted gsr.

 

[Oddball]

Fry are always nervous of becoming a meal for larger fish, ...even their own kind. Provide them with some surface vegetation to provide them some sense of security. Then, offer live fish as food. Once they're feeding you can wean them onto floating pellets/sticks/FD foods. All of my new gars were quick to get on sticks when I placed them in with fish that already feed on floating prepared foods. They pick it up more quickly when they learn by example.
In single-specimen tanks, I got my trops onto prepared foods by feeding them live feeder minnows, one at a time and always at the same spot, before starting to introduce sticks. Then, I'd drop a minnow followed by a stick. Once they start snapping at the sticks it's a simple matter to increase the ratio of sticks versus minnows until they're completely on sticks.

 

[Siddons11]

The king of diy made a video on training fish to take non live foods a couple weeks ago. Check it out on youtube.

 

[jjollie]

Thanks for the advice

 

[jjollie]

Good news they took the live fish so I will keep them on those for a while to grow them up

 

[Oddball]

Gut-load the feeders with a good quality fish food or frozen shrimp/worms just before feeding them to the gars. The added protein will benefit the gars.

 

[jjollie]

Thanks oddball

 

[jjollie]

Fry are always nervous of becoming a meal for larger fish, ...even their own kind. Provide them with some surface vegetation to provide them some sense of security. Then, offer live fish as food. Once they're feeding you can wean them onto floating pellets/sticks/FD foods. All of my new gars were quick to get on sticks when I placed them in with fish that already feed on floating prepared foods. They pick it up more quickly when they learn by example.
In single-specimen tanks, I got my trops onto prepared foods by feeding them live feeder minnows, one at a time and always at the same spot, before starting to introduce sticks. Then, I'd drop a minnow followed by a stick. Once they start snapping at the sticks it's a simple matter to increase the ratio of sticks versus minnows until they're completely on sticks.

thanks the little gars are eating little fish like no tomorrow I am keeping the feeder fish in the tank pretty regular so they can eat at will thanks for the help I will post some pics this weekend

 

[jsodwi]

Cut tilapia into small strips. Feed them with tongs. Eventually they will hit