I have 4 spotted gar in a 500 gal greenhouse pond, appox. 8-10 " long. I had several koi and a few gold fish around 5-6 " that were in with them. Since the koi get to the dry food first i stock rosy reds for them to eat, but sometimes run out for a few days. all the koi/gold fish have disappeared, but i figured the gar werent big enough to eat them. there is no chance predators could get in. would the gar kill them and tear them apart?
Koi eaters?
- Thread starter aquanutty
- Start date
My gar has surprised me numberous times, i give him baby bluegills from the river in the summer when there are thousands. Every once in awhile i throw one in that looks a little big and he always goes for that one first. Koi and goldfish are probably the perfect shape to fit down their gullet. Sry about your loss.
Duh, i know that. Do they only swallow prey whole or will they tear them into bite size pieces?
I've never seen a gar tear anything apart. Probably just choked 'em down, it's surprising how they can eat extremely large prey.
I've seen my floridas tear goldfish apart a few times.. though my cuban is the most aggressive about it. he will ram and drag a fish across the glass. With multiple gar it's possible they tore them up and ate them. I'm actually curiouse if they will twist as alligators do to disable a fish if more then one where to take a large fish. They are certaintly designed to be capable of it.. have yet to see it but they don't have a whole lot of extra room in their tank atm.