new pick up need some advice

[angryinsect]

so i ordered some gar at the lfs i work at, they came from singapore as spotted gars but i have a feeling they are floridas. they are about 5''. i brought 2 home and have them chillin in a 10g with some rosy reds atm, both seem to be eating and have settled in nicely. my question is at what size should they be before i upgrade them to my 30g and then to my 90g?

i have plenty of experience with larger gars(10''+) but i have not owned little ones before so any other tips are welcome

cheers,
Jordan

 

[Younglin]

First thing I'd recommend is not to feed them rosy reds.

 

[E_americanus]

so i ordered some gar at the lfs i work at, they came from singapore as spotted gars but i have a feeling they are floridas. they are about 5''. i brought 2 home and have them chillin in a 10g with some rosy reds atm, both seem to be eating and have settled in nicely. my question is at what size should they be before i upgrade them to my 30g and then to my 90g?

i have plenty of experience with larger gars(10''+) but i have not owned little ones before so any other tips are welcome

cheers,
Jordan

see response below

First thing I'd recommend is not to feed them rosy reds.

feeding rosy reds is just fine. best if they come from a trusted source and are free of disease though. for best health in feeding live, first keep the rosies in a bucket and feed them the small pellet form of New Life Spectrum. feed them several times a day before feeding to the gar, or feed them 1x an hour or two before feeding to the gar. this way the fish will be delivering the pellets to the gars for extra health benefits.

as for housing, 10g is fine for now...i would keep them in there until they are around 7-8", although you could feasibly move them to the 30g anytime between now and then since they are eating well.

i wouldn't bother upgrading them to the 90g until they are around 10"+. sounds like you have things generally under control and in good shape. good luck!--
--solomon

 

[angryinsect]

see response below



feeding rosy reds is just fine. best if they come from a trusted source and are free of disease though. for best health in feeding live, first keep the rosies in a bucket and feed them the small pellet form of New Life Spectrum. feed them several times a day before feeding to the gar, or feed them 1x an hour or two before feeding to the gar. this way the fish will be delivering the pellets to the gars for extra health benefits.

as for housing, 10g is fine for now...i would keep them in there until they are around 7-8", although you could feasibly move them to the 30g anytime between now and then since they are eating well.

i wouldn't bother upgrading them to the 90g until they are around 10"+. sounds like you have things generally under control and in good shape. good luck!--
--solomon

thanks solomon,
the rosie reds have been quarantined and well fed, i only plan on using them for the first week or so till i can get them on the same frozen diet my other gar and bichirs are on(smelt,tilapia,shrimp,basa,scallop). forgot to mention they get daily 30% water changes and their final destination is goinf to be a 8'x4'x30'' that i'm building this summer. their tankmates will be a larger florida gar(13''+atm), 11 large 12''+ upper jaw bichirs, 1 sal

 

[Younglin]

feeding rosy reds is just fine.

Rosy reds have thiaminase.

 

[E_americanus]

Rosy reds have thiaminase.

so do goldfish...and other minnows. gut-loading them with quality pellets should help offset deficiency issues in most ways. along with that, we haven't seen any major evidence that thiaminase actually causes serious problems in gars, you're MUCH more likely to kill your gar via breaking its back, the fish jumping out, getting eaten, etc than it dying of thiaminase issues.

at early life stages better to keep them well-supplied with live food than to starve them and go with pellets (if you can get them on pellets right away great, but with Lep genus gars this seldom works, Atract genus gars convert earlier much more successfully).

furthermore, plenty of fish hatcheries use fathead or bluntnose minnows for feeding large predators...their primary mortality issues are not from thiaminase issues. all that being said, it's also really for just early life stages anyway--
--solomon

 

[Younglin]

Thiaminase causes vitamin deficiency and stunting. Even if it doesn't kill my fish, I don't want them eating it.

 

[E_americanus]

Thiaminase causes vitamin deficiency and stunting. Even if it doesn't kill my fish, I don't want them eating it.

if you can provide evidence of it causing significant stunting in gars then at least you may have some basis for your argument...not to mention that particular vitamin deficiency causing serious problems in gars. keep in mind that different species respond to prey types differently.--
--solomon

PS-- and that being said, if you don't want to feed your fish minnows, that's fine. others should be provided with the appropriate info either way--

 

[Younglin]

A diet that consists exclusively of fish that contain thiaminase will cause a vitamin B1 deficiency. That is just a fact. In gars and every other fish. The OP said he intended to give the gar a good diet though.

 

[Polypterus]

The main issues with farmed feeder fish is not really thiaminase at all but with the chemical cocktail of meds these things are exposed to. Of which copper is a major ingredient and which Gars are known to be sensitive to.

Thiaminase issues are easily countered with gutloading the feed items. It should be noted that thiamin issues are also very present in all fish live, dead, fresh or frozen.

Both Solomon and myself over the years have conducted many a study on gars and feeding/nutrition. Results have been very consistent in that the proposed malignant effects of such "feeder" items are minimal compared to the benefits to a young and growing gar.

Enough said.....