Gar ID and a few questions

[tianfu89]

thank you philly i'll try it once in the morning. sadly i dun think they like the dried shrimp too much. they have taken bites but spit it out.. i'll try to starve it a few more days. how long do you think the gar can go without food? its been 2 days and their tummy look so thin :*(

 

[tianfu89]

noted joworth. i've plan to put in in this huge asian pot once it outgrown this 2'. can't bear to watch them starved.. i'll try the method you mentioned too, along with phills! thank you all!! really appreciate the quick reply! love!

 

[jworth]

thank you philly i'll try it once in the morning. sadly i dun think they like the dried shrimp too much. they have taken bites but spit it out.. i'll try to starve it a few more days. how long do you think the gar can go without food? its been 2 days and their tummy look so thin :*(

they can go a while without food. if they are hitting it and spitting it out then they recognize it as a food source and will soon eat it. wait it out a few more days.

 

[xander]

quoting off oddball in a thread not too long ago...



"I got all of my preds off of live as follows;

1. always introduce minnows at the same corner of the tank for each feeding.
2. After a few days, the fish will anticipate the feeding by congregating at the "feeding corner".
3. Drop one minnow. Then, one stick/pellet. The preds should by now snap at anything from the "feeding corner".
4. Add more sticks/pellets to their feeding schedule until they're on full stick/pellet diets.

This process took less than a week to convert all of my preds. I haven't fed out minnows in months. "

 

[jworth]

noted joworth. i've plan to put in in this huge asian pot once it outgrown this 2'. can't bear to watch them starved.. i'll try the method you mentioned too, along with phills! thank you all!! really appreciate the quick reply! love!

just as a general rule the gars arent flexible and will honestly need at least a 6'x2' tank to house long term. they grow quite fast to over a foot then slow down a bit.

 

[jworth]

quoting off oddball in a thread not too long ago...



"I got all of my preds off of live as follows;

1. always introduce minnows at the same corner of the tank for each feeding.
2. After a few days, the fish will anticipate the feeding by congregating at the "feeding corner".
3. Drop one minnow. Then, one stick/pellet. The preds should by now snap at anything from the "feeding corner".
4. Add more sticks/pellets to their feeding schedule until they're on full stick/pellet diets.

This process took less than a week to convert all of my preds. I haven't fed out minnows in months. "

this method is also very effective

 

[phillydog1958]

both of my gars went 2-3 weeks without eatig anything. they will eventually eat. they're not suicidal. they have a natural desire to survive and they will survive. keep trying silversides and dried shrimp.

 

[tianfu89]

quoting off oddball in a thread not too long ago...



"I got all of my preds off of live as follows;

1. always introduce minnows at the same corner of the tank for each feeding.
2. After a few days, the fish will anticipate the feeding by congregating at the "feeding corner".
3. Drop one minnow. Then, one stick/pellet. The preds should by now snap at anything from the "feeding corner".
4. Add more sticks/pellets to their feeding schedule until they're on full stick/pellet diets.

This process took less than a week to convert all of my preds. I haven't fed out minnows in months. "

sounds like an awesome idea. within a few days i bet the hungry gar going take on everything.

Question is.. should the pellet/dried food be floating or submersible?

if the pellet stays afloat, will the gar recognise it as food source or they will jus grab everything? from my watching of their feeding habit, they will only take food if they are moving and in the water.

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

floating works the best to get it off live. starving really shouldnt be done. gar can be gotton off of live with out starving

 

[tianfu89]

point taken i'll be trying out the method xander jus posted. you guys shown lots of love! thanks! i'll post back on the feeding once i see some results!