Saddly im working out of town for 9 weeks and my fish always get sick with the lack of attention. My new alligator gar (about a foot long give or take some, only had for a almost two months) has began to i guess go bent or crooked. He was stright wheni got him, bu tlast time i went home, a lil past halfway on the back end of the fish it begins to bend downwards. Alot, id say maybe liek 20-30 degrees or so. Ill try to post a pic. Saddly im super limited on interent so haven't had time to search forum for stuff. Anyone know what it is? sick? calcium? lack of enough food? bad diet? id love to make sure he lives. Thanks again everyone.
My gar isn't so stright anymore
- Thread starter Tokay
- Start date
2 things that can cause a bending of the spine. One is malnutrition which is unlikely in this case since there wasn't enough time. The other likely cause, and most common cause, is that he was spooked and rammed into a wall of the tank breaking his spine. If he has movement in his anal and caudal fin, he may survive albeit with a permanent bend in his spine. If he's lost motion in the rear part of his body, the only recourse is euthanasia.
Timpon - THANKS!!! I should have expanded that statement myself. The gar may have only bruised himself or shocked his spine. It'll take a week or two to discern whether or not he'll recover from the blunt trauma. If paralysis sets in, the gar's caudal features will atrophy and droop. This is indicative of euthanasia being the usual recourse. If the gar appears to recover balance, swimming control, and posterior movement, then chances are he bruised and is recovering.
Good Luck.
Good Luck.
Actually....I asked this same question a few months ago here, and you were the one that told me to give it time.
thanks for all the info guys, ill be sure to check the water quiality, increase the quality of diet and cross my fingers. I believe it still has movement in the tail, i only have him in an 80 gallon till he is big enough to live in my 210 with the larger fish. Thanks again
This just happened to my florida gar. It happened once before and just happened again. I would hope it is not malnutition he eats a steady diet of shrimp, tilapia, and beefheart. Maybe it is trauma. The last time this happened, he was upside down for a while, I went back to scoop him out and he was back to normal. Appitite is still there so I guesss thats good
dodgefreak8;467599; said:
water quality can indeed cause curvature of the spine, but every case i've seen that was water quality related seemed to be more gradual and towards the middle or front of the spine. i would suspect a spinal injury is the cause here.
