please help..

[xander]

my 2 spotted gars were on floating pellets for a while, but gradually stopped eating it.
first it was like they bit the pellets, then spat it out cause they didn't like the taste. then it declined to the fish just nudging the food, and finally they've just ignored it. this went on for abt a month, and they lost so much weight, so i threw in a feeder, they snapped it immediatly, but spat it out! it seemed like they couldn't get the fish down..so i quickily threw in a couple more, and they did the same to about 7 fish now. either they bite, then seemingly too lazy to swallow they just let it go, or they bite, and when any part of the feeder goes into their throats, they quickily spit it out. what's wrong with them?!?!

 

[demjor19]

both gar are doing this? i dont think it's a big deal. i think it is almost a type of biological timeclock these fish run off of...it's sort of telling them that winter is comming and it's time to start slowing down. keep offering a varied diet and they will eventually start taking food again.

hope this doesnt come across as crazy!

edit: do you have any pics of these fish? i'm just curious as to how much weight they did lose. thanks.

 

[E_americanus]

what are your water parameters, and when was your last water change? how frequently do you do water changes? usually the main factor that will cause a gar to stop eating is water quality (higher ammonia/NH2/NH3 - to a lesser extent).

if you haven't done so already, do a big water change, give them a day and then try feeding again. sometimes fishes will go on fast, but usually gars won't do this for a month outside of winter conditions--
--solomon

 

[demjor19]

what are your water parameters, and when was your last water change? how frequently do you do water changes? usually the main factor that will cause a gar to stop eating is water quality (higher ammonia/NH2/NH3 - to a lesser extent).

if you haven't done so already, do a big water change, give them a day and then try feeding again. sometimes fishes will go on fast, but usually gars won't do this for a month outside of winter conditions--
--solomon

i figured checking the water parameters was a given. since he said the fish would grab food, but not follow through w/ eating it i thought maybe it was just going through a seasonal change.

 

[E_americanus]

i figured checking the water parameters was a given. since he said the fish would grab food, but not follow through w/ eating it i thought maybe it was just going through a seasonal change.

sometimes with gars, if there is a WQ prob they may still swipe at food given instincts, but not really take it down or keep it down. gars react to water quality in unusual ways sometimes, even appearing to have broken backs when really it's a 'sagging' effect due to the WQ. it's safer not to take anything for granted, especially since gars will normally not fast for this long without temperate climate effects--
--solomon

 

[demjor19]

sometimes with gars, if there is a WQ prob they may still swipe at food given instincts, but not really take it down or keep it down. gars react to water quality in unusual ways sometimes, even appearing to have broken backs when really it's a 'sagging' effect due to the WQ. it's safer not to take anything for granted, especially since gars will normally not fast for this long without temperate climate effects--
--solomon

thats funny you mention this...when the lfs first got my smallest florida gar in he appeared to have back problems. i went back about a week or two later and it looked fine. that may have been a factor.

back on topic...i agree w/ you...it is better to be safe than sorry. i never really have feeding issues w/ any of my gar (other than when i moved them from my old home in PA to OH). water quality could def. be your culprit. it's very important to keep up on water changes and monitor the tank params.

 

[xander]

haven't checked yet, normally i do a 50% water change weekly, but last week i only did a 25%, due to very quickly approaching major exams, but i'll do a 75%, just before my tropicals arrive, which is hopefully tomorrow or this week.

 

[xander]

okay i did a 75% water change and my gars are still not eating, they killed two feeders but didn't eat them(again). further more my 10" endlicheri died in there, and there was like pus coming out of it's eyes, plus it was rolling around(like a crocs death roll) the previous night. and that did it. i changed the entire tank, the gars are still waiting for me to set up the new one while holding out in a critter keeper for the night.

 

[E_americanus]

okay i did a 75% water change and my gars are still not eating, they killed two feeders but didn't eat them(again). further more my 10" endlicheri died in there, and there was like pus coming out of it's eyes, plus it was rolling around(like a crocs death roll) the previous night. and that did it. i changed the entire tank, the gars are still waiting for me to set up the new one while holding out in a critter keeper for the night.

what do you mean by "changed the entire tank"? you mean changed all the water or got rid of filtration media or what? making that drastic of changes is dangerous for any fishes, and can put them into shock.

also, doing a bigger water change to 'make up' for a missed one is not a good idea, if the WQ has dipped quite a bit since the previous change, its better to do a SMALLER water change so the fish aren't shocked quite as much. then you can do another water change some brief period of time after your initial smaller water change.

the endli death roll does not sound good...could be something bacterial in there, but how long have you had the gars in that tank, and how long have you had the endli in that tank? what is your filtration and what is the size of the tank? how big are the gars/endli?--
--solomon

 

[xander]

gars are 8" and 10", both have been in there for about 3 months. endli was in there for abt 4 days. i'm just worried that insectiside from health sprayings got in the water.(govt goes around spraying **** cause of the sudden population explosion in dengue mosquitoes.) anywaya i put them in another tank with cycled water. oh yes they did this abt a month ago, abt the time the gars stopped eating.