GAR, Spot, and Jaws. Hopefully we'll add 2 LNG's this summer to the collection... then wait for next year so we can get some bigger tanks to house everyone.
Gar tank.
- Thread starter MonsterMinis
- Start date
looks like the new kid in the tank is settling in well! all great specimens as Michael said!--
--solomon
--solomon
Just got home from work.. and wow! he's showing some of his stripes yet but his fins are insanely patterned. the lil' bumps on the new guy are some pellets he ate almost right out of the bag. He's swimming around like he owns the tank now.
and Just to reiterate... NEVER trust a cichlid. the lil' pike cichlid I had in the tank started flareing at him and postureing before I went to work.. so following my gut I moved her back to my old tank with my aba aba knife. 4 hours gone.. and I think my aba is lucky to be alive. and I am thankful I moved her! I didn't have enough time to set-up a tank for her before I left. I figured if anything my aba would take a bite or 2 out of her, but it was that or a bucket. She had been doing fine with the 2 floridas for a few weeks now and only got aggressive towards them if they invaded her peice of wood, but the new guy she was following around the tank.
Knock on wood but the aba should survive just fine. I literally netted her out and dumped her into the tank, the decor had been moved around since she was last in it. And she still managed to be comfy enough to terrorize.
Never trust a cichlid.. even for an hour or 2!
and Just to reiterate... NEVER trust a cichlid. the lil' pike cichlid I had in the tank started flareing at him and postureing before I went to work.. so following my gut I moved her back to my old tank with my aba aba knife. 4 hours gone.. and I think my aba is lucky to be alive. and I am thankful I moved her! I didn't have enough time to set-up a tank for her before I left. I figured if anything my aba would take a bite or 2 out of her, but it was that or a bucket. She had been doing fine with the 2 floridas for a few weeks now and only got aggressive towards them if they invaded her peice of wood, but the new guy she was following around the tank.
Knock on wood but the aba should survive just fine. I literally netted her out and dumped her into the tank, the decor had been moved around since she was last in it. And she still managed to be comfy enough to terrorize.
Never trust a cichlid.. even for an hour or 2!
Awesome gars!
It's good to hear that you saved it from a potentially deadly fight with the cichlid!
It's good to hear that you saved it from a potentially deadly fight with the cichlid!
THe 2 floridas are in the 16" range. they really slowed down alot over the winter, an I cut-back on their feeding... they where getting abit to sauage-like. and the cuban is just shy of 10" I think the filter box in the background is 5" wide. Though as I type he's sucking down frozen krill and nightcrawlers.
MonsterMinis;5131782; said:
glad to hear the CBG is settling in and eating well. just a note on the FLGs since you mentioned their feeding and that they were getting fat in the past...just as a reference (and a lot of people follow different regimes), at that size FLG i only feed them 1-2x per week...it seems like a low feeding regime, but they really don't need a ton of food at that size and in captivity. they tend to accumulate fat bodies fast, and that doesn't necessarily make them healthier...just fatter (which can lead to other issues) - we have seen this in comparative dissections. i feed a decent amount at each feeding, but there's nothing left over and the gars remain healthy. captive predatory fishes like gars just don't need to be fed as often as other species and also while in captivity.
good luck!--
--solomon
PS - i see some of that Najas grass (not sure on the spelling) in the background...how does that work out for you in your tanks? i just got a bunch over the weekend and am curious how others keep it going--
In everytank but my gar tank it grows like a proverbial weed. I originally got some for my planted tank and had it under twin T5's with 10k bulbs... I could barely keep it under control. I spread it out into a few of my other tanks with standard t8's and daylight bulbs. and it still grows well.
atm I just have glass tops on the gar tank, no lighting. and it neither dies 'nore grows really. But the gar seem to enjoy it. It just floats around and I've found left in a low-current area with enough light it forms a sort of floating matt.
alot less messy ime then hornwort and the other usual plants people use for free-floating. It will still clog an uptake tube if it gets the chance lol. It tends to congrigate around my sponge covered uptakes and is easy to brush off though.
and I have yet to find a fresh-water perameter it doesn't do well in. Our tanks at work are often over-run with it. from african set-ups to community type.
not sure how good a nitrate sucker it is but I rarely have nitrate issues even when I miss a minor WC here 'n there.
atm I just have glass tops on the gar tank, no lighting. and it neither dies 'nore grows really. But the gar seem to enjoy it. It just floats around and I've found left in a low-current area with enough light it forms a sort of floating matt.
alot less messy ime then hornwort and the other usual plants people use for free-floating. It will still clog an uptake tube if it gets the chance lol. It tends to congrigate around my sponge covered uptakes and is easy to brush off though.
and I have yet to find a fresh-water perameter it doesn't do well in. Our tanks at work are often over-run with it. from african set-ups to community type.
not sure how good a nitrate sucker it is but I rarely have nitrate issues even when I miss a minor WC here 'n there.