he doesnt even seem to take notice of the shrimp though. just constantly swimming against the glass. he only ate 1 feeder last night so hes got to be hungry.
getting gars off feeders
- Thread starter jworth
- Start date
joworth;2582822; said:
if he's still constantly swimming against the glass it's likely environmental and less behavioral at this point. i'd point to tankmates bothering him or making him nervous. keep at the feeding attempts, but if he keeps rubbing against the glass isolation will likely be necessary--
--solomon
well that could be but i have not even seen a fish looking in his direction and no one spooks him during feedings 
got a good meal in him and not rubbing on the glass anymore. in fact i hand fed him 2 feeders. then while feeding the pbass he ate a piece of shrimp and then i got him to hit a freeze dried krill but he spit that out. a good sign indeed.
joworth;2585833; said:
Thats is indeed a very good sign. If he continues to eat shrimp and possibly krill it will be in no time at all that it shall try out and eat pellets and anything else yu throw into the tank.
Good luck-Christian
just thought i would update. Now at 10" maybe he eats tetra jumbo cichlid sticks! they are a bit messy but I am pumped. he eats anything i put in there and lives peacefully with a pbass and paratalapia!
Hi everyone! Just today I got my gar to take a thawed silverside.
Basically, I had to just stop putting in feeders (or anything REMOTELY small enough to be a feeder). Every day I skewered a thawed silverside (a small one) on a fondue stick and "swam" it back and forth. Today was day six and the gar struck it and... down the hatch. I was ecstatic.
The bags of frozen silversides are much cheaper, last longer, and I don't have to feel bad about putting fish from fresh water into a fairly highly brackish tank.
My butis butis (I have a tank full of prehistoric fish) seemed to make the transition easier and immediately took the thawed fish from my fingers.
Basically, I had to just stop putting in feeders (or anything REMOTELY small enough to be a feeder). Every day I skewered a thawed silverside (a small one) on a fondue stick and "swam" it back and forth. Today was day six and the gar struck it and... down the hatch. I was ecstatic.
The bags of frozen silversides are much cheaper, last longer, and I don't have to feel bad about putting fish from fresh water into a fairly highly brackish tank.
My butis butis (I have a tank full of prehistoric fish) seemed to make the transition easier and immediately took the thawed fish from my fingers.
Polypterus;2580130; said:
so polypterus, do you just not offer any live foods, only prepared, untill they finally do eat?
i've noticed that it is more about stress levels than what u are trying to feed the gar. if during feeding time there are more aggressive fish taking food out from in front of them, they dont try new things....its almost like gar need to think about it and size up a meal first. when they are secure in their surroundings its mostly about presenting them w/ something when they are hungry....put the food in, if they dont eat then remove it...try again tomorrow. gar are survivors. if they find that something is edible and easy to get....they will eat it. krill are a good transition because they float...being air gulpers gar do watch the surface and krill look like a food item. makes them curious. be more persistant than they are stubborn.
