is he growing properly??

[Mampam]

ok, ok, i was wrong...... thank you

 

[michael]

grew my cuban from 3" to 12" in about 2 1/2 months. Was powerfeeding just about everyday with high proteins!! Now he is finally in the bigger tank with the 16-20" gars!!

 

[E_americanus]

im wrong ok?? whatever, i just didnt make sense to me, thats all, i dont care anyway, at least he IS growing (i can worry about a larger tank much later)

it must be something with the water, cuz my yellow bullhead grew only 2in in 8months, (1in to 3in) idk how big he is now, cuz hes in the pond, so its probably the same reason for the gar

it could just be the fish, cuz iv been told by many other ppl (with many yrs of experience) that some individual fish grow rapidly, and some grow slow ass hell

example: someone from another forums yellow bullhead when i was told, was 3yrs old, and only 7in

the bullhead should have also grown much larger than that in that much time...which suggests it may be a water quality issue (as you had alluded to). how often do you do water changes on the tank? what is the pH of your tank? how often do you feed the small gar?
the case of your gar is not a genetic difference in growth rate, it is a stunting issue due either to inadequate feeding or inadequate water quality conditions. even with genetic anomalies the growth would not be this slow.

***

started this post earlier but ran out of time...cutting it off here--
--solomon

 

[E_americanus]

all gars have the same growth when they are that small.

that isn't entirely accurate, and is only somewhat generally true. all gars grow quickly when they are small, but some definitely grow quicker than others in their first year, and of course grow to larger sizes than others.

factor in powerfeeding and this also can throw things off as some species have the capabilities of growing much larger faster when under certain conditions.

that being said, beware of powerfeeding, this can cause abnormalities with the fishes--
--solomon

 

[xander]

Can I have one?

i only have chocolate ones left, i really love the butter ones!

no but seriously. i only have chocolate ones left...

there was an old thread about problems w power feeding right? did you guys come up with a conclusion?

 

[Mampam]

i feed him twice a day, as much as he can eat, so its the water, i do water changes every month or so

if hes growing slowly whatever it doesnt matter as long as he is growing, that just means i can worry about a larger tank much later, as long as it doesnt affect his life span or overall health

my bullhead is stunted like i said, and is just fine (hes a murder of a few tank residents, so i took him out) but aaaaaahhhh...... he was growing slowly in the pond too, so idk

 

[E_americanus]

i feed him twice a day, as much as he can eat, so its the water, i do water changes every month or so

water changes, for a gar that small being fed that often (what are you feeding exactly?) are far too few and far between in your present schedule. i would say AT LEAST every other week, but really every week 1/3-1/2 water change should be done. at your present pace the fish is probably dealing with a fair amount of ammo tox.

if hes growing slowly whatever it doesnt matter as long as he is growing, that just means i can worry about a larger tank much later, as long as it doesnt affect his life span or overall health

growing that slowly that early will very likely affect its lifespan...it may even have unseen problems right now. using this technique so you 'can worry about a larger tank much later' is irresponsible fishkeeping in this case. the fish should be given at least appropriate conditions (frequent water changes, appropriate food, etc). i would at least make an attempt to get it back on track.

my bullhead is stunted like i said, and is just fine (hes a murder of a few tank residents, so i took him out) but aaaaaahhhh...... he was growing slowly in the pond too, so idk

bullheads shouldn't be kept with any tankmates really...perhaps in a pond, but not in aquaria. this comes back to researching the fishes too (which i realize we all skip out on from time to time, but keep in mind this sort of info is readily available). AND, if the bullhead is still growing slowly, it may reflect it's early life stage condition as well.

obviously there is nothing to do to change the past here, but i would suggest bumping up the water changes in order to get the fish closer to a healthy growth rate and condition, then you'll likely be much more pleased with the specimen as well, and it's obviously better for the fish.--
--solomon

 

[Mampam]

" using this technique so you 'can worry about a larger tank much later' is irresponsible fishkeeping in this case"

lol, cuz im really doing it on purpose...... it was just a factor

"but i would suggest bumping up the water changes in order to get the fish closer to a healthy growth rate and condition"

alright, ill do that, thanks, i hope it works

 

[03ltrain]

I don't know if this will help you but here is how my gars are growing. I caught them on June 21, 2008 at about 3/4" to 1". They were so small that I could not tell if they were gars or pickerel. A half portion (1 teaspoon) of brine shirmp would last a week with them getting stuffed twice a day. I have had them a few days short of 9 weeks and the biggest is right at 6". I am tring to get some girth on them before I put them in a my 125gl tank with a 8" pickerel and several 3-5" LM Bass. I am no expert but would expect there to be moderate growth rate differences between fish in the same species. Habitat, food, and genetics would contribute to these differences. The way I care for my fish is not to be the biggest, fastest growing, ect. I am aiming to develop a happy and healthy fish and let it grow at its own rate. Managing the water quality and feeding are the basics of fish care and should be closely maintained with all species. A sick fish will not thrive.