Gar ID and a few questions
- Thread starter tianfu89
- Start date
but i am currently using it to get some stubborn fish off live. usually my florida gars go for prepared food without much encouragementhere's an interesing point that i'd like to make on my new-gar-feeding methodology. i noticed this a few weeks ago. i originally purchased my first gar from a lfs. it was about 4 months ago. there were only 2 gars in hte tank. they both looked about the same size and appeared to both be in a similar state of health. i told the lfs guy to give me which ever one he could catch first and that it did not matter. i took my gar home. he would not eat for nearly 3 weeks. i tried everything. he was housed in a tank with several other greedy and agressive fish and seemed a tad bit intimidated. there were only him and his other gar buddy in the lfs tank, so he was not comfortable with a new crowd. the lfs fed them rosy reds. eventually i got him to eat a silverside, which i thought, resembled a rosy red. eventually he tried freeze dried krill. i have yet to get him to eat a pellet. i went back to the lfs a few weeks later and noticed that the lone gar was still there. i felt sorry for him, but would not buy him. i went to the lfs about 3 months later and the same lone gar was still there. this time, i bought him. I got him home and tossed him in with the rest. as soon as he hit the water, he and his old friend had a reunion. they actually seemed to remember one another. that's what i tell myself, when it was probably just two fish of the same species just checking one another out. they probably did not remember one another, but who really knows what the memory capacity of fish is? i had to go through the same method of getting this new gar to eat. it took about 1.9 weeks, much less than it took the other to learn. that was because the new gar learned from his buddy. i actually saw this learning process taking place. the point i want to make it that, both gars were originally the same size when they were at the lfs. now that both were in my tank, my original gar was bigger. he outgrew the other gar that stayed at the lfs for a few more months. i guess i'm doing something right. my gar outgrew the second gar, while it was at the lfs. and on top of that, my original gar fasted for almost 3 weeks. they're about the same length, which is about 8 inches, but the original gar has so much more girth. it's easy to notice. this is just a little food for thought, no pun intended.
updates:
the two gar grew bout a centimeter each! wow all thru hand feeding! everytime i wiggle a dried shrimp in the tank, they will swamp to me
haha scary sight.. i got bitten a few times..
interesting note, they will feed on anything if you starved them for a few days (1-2 days, try not to starve it for a long period of time.. you get hungry.. so do your gar )
if you are curious, i have been trying out oddballs (above reply) method! If you are having trouble getting your gar to go off live.. i would recommend that.
on a side note.. i introduced two senegal bichir (about 7 cm) into the tank, i wonder if the gar would attack it.. its been a week now and one of the senegal is limping with a damaged fin.. should i continue to keep my senegal with the gar? or i can introduce more hiding space for them?
the two gar grew bout a centimeter each! wow all thru hand feeding! everytime i wiggle a dried shrimp in the tank, they will swamp to me
haha scary sight.. i got bitten a few times.. interesting note, they will feed on anything if you starved them for a few days (1-2 days, try not to starve it for a long period of time.. you get hungry.. so do your gar
)if you are curious, i have been trying out oddballs (above reply) method! If you are having trouble getting your gar to go off live.. i would recommend that.
on a side note.. i introduced two senegal bichir (about 7 cm) into the tank, i wonder if the gar would attack it.. its been a week now and one of the senegal is limping with a damaged fin.. should i continue to keep my senegal with the gar? or i can introduce more hiding space for them?
Bichirs are usually very good tankmates for gars. How big are the gars? If the goby is still in there I'd think he might have damaged your senegal, but it could be the gar.
can anyone tell what type of gar i have? it said spatula gar where i purchased him but i would like to know exactly since i cannot find that name online..
and also if i use ick cure from api in my tank due to one of my clown loaches scratching against gravel is a sign of it so im sure he will be getting it soon lol
sucks but im a lil over stocked. but back to question will it affect gar since ive read that gars are sensitive to meds?
and also if i use ick cure from api in my tank due to one of my clown loaches scratching against gravel is a sign of it so im sure he will be getting it soon lol
sucks but im a lil over stocked. but back to question will it affect gar since ive read that gars are sensitive to meds?ok damn should i remove loaches to other tank i have sitn there? i was gonna break it down but i can prob use it for meds? and can i use any water clarifiers to clear water up ?
Lepisosteus platyrhincus;3720392; said:
the loaches should be gone unless u want to lose them!! salt and a warm temp is all u should do to treat gar. i wouldnt use any chemicals for the tank the gar is in. just WCs. he is gonna be huge quick. start a new thread. we will discuss there
Alligator Gar are tough as fu** man, no need for meds AT ALL.
Just bump up the temp and add some salt... maybe a water change too.
Please trust me man, I've had my Alligator Gar for almost 2 years now and he always repairs himself.
Just bump up the temp and add some salt... maybe a water change too.
Please trust me man, I've had my Alligator Gar for almost 2 years now and he always repairs himself.
