New gars need help with alternative food
- Thread starter flashg
- Start date
flashg;2452708; said:
the gars are to small to start trying to get them to take prepared foods. just give them guppies or other feeder fish until the gars reach about 10" or so. they are far to small to starve and can easily starve to death in the process. but if you dont want to use feeders you can also try baby brine shrimp. as far as the pbass go, cichlids arent a great tankmate for gars. for one they eat all the food before the gars can get to it, they can be aggressive in which case meaning fin nippers, bullying, and that kind of thing. but it also may work, i kept 2 oscars with my gars for quite some time with no problems. im just giving you a heads up to keep an eye out. BTW good luck!
Thanks for the tips guys... Let's send this thread in a little different direction... So if my gars are from North America, can they take lower temperatures like many North American species can?
Oh duh... I forgot one of the most important ?'s... How often do you need to feed baby gars? Once a day? more? less?
Oh duh... I forgot one of the most important ?'s... How often do you need to feed baby gars? Once a day? more? less?
I'm not saying you should starve it, but there's no harm in seeing if it will eat dead right away. You just might get lucky. I did, but mine was already almost 10".
I figured...just clarifying LOL. It took me a minute to figure it out when I first heard that used on here.flashg;2461191; said:Cool thanks man...
BTW I knew "Market" meant grocery store!Just was wondering about the shell thing is all...
flashg;2461748; said:
yes, they can take lower temps, but this needs to be regulated. also keep in mind that young gars in the northern latitudes are growing during the summer season, when it's warm (generally) no matter where you are in the species range. therefore the young fish should not be exposed to temps lower than perhaps 65F or so.
also better to feed the young gars relative unlimited ration when they are small. this will insure proper growth at early stages, which is usually quite rapid. best thing i have found to work with young gars under 8" is to provide them with a near-unlimited supply of feeder rosies. that way they can eat as they please (and live rosies don't rot like uneaten non-live foods). obviously you shouldn't overpopulate the tank with rosies to the point where you have dead minnow everywhere, but keeping a steady number of about 8-10 in the tank should go a long way.
once the fish is around 8", start experimenting with dead foods such as frozen silversides or shrimp (raw)...once they start taking these foods you can move on to plenty of other non-live items and stop feeding live--
--solomon
If you're going to do that, you're def going to want to separate the bass out. P-bass will overeat and choke on feeders and you want them to eat one at a time directly from you, so you don't want to give them that sort of supply. I would separate them until they are both off of live food and go that way.
pwmin;2462689; said:
didn't realize the gar was in with pbass (which is already an inadvisable combo). definitely separate the fishes if you are going to try what i had suggested--
--solomon
flashg;2464075; said:
yes, those temps are fine. keep in mind rosy red minnows are better feeders than goldfish as they are easier to swallow, often healthier in condition, and don't have certain destructive enzymes that goldfish have--
--solomon
yes i believe
mine lives at 80
some people keep it colder( i wouldnt keep it much colder though just me personnally)
mine lives at 80
some people keep it colder( i wouldnt keep it much colder though just me personnally)
