So I've had my boy for 18 days now and he's grown from 4 inches to 4.6-4.7 inches now and has gotten about 2-2.5 times as thick. He is now able to down one small sized comet ranging from .8-1 inch long. Before he was downing one 1.3 inch rosy reds, or two .7 inch rosy reds every 2 days. Anyways, I am now wondering, since he is able to take both, which fish is more nutritious? Thanks.
rosy reds vs comets
- Thread starter KillaFish
- Start date
Both are worthless. Cyprinids contain thiaminase which breaks down thiamine and interferes with tissue formation. Go with tropical species.
knifegill;4401986; said:
What would you recommend as a feeder fish? He is still relatively small so ideally, I'd like to get him up to size as soon as possible. This has also been suggested to me by other expeienced members on this board so I'd prefer not to attempt to convert him onto anything else for now.
Cyprinds are as knife said generally bad feeders for fish.... Gars being Piscivors in nature "may" metabolize this issue w/out negative effects. I have not noticed any ill effects to feeding rosy's or goldfish to my florida. That being said... Convicts make a great tropical breeders for feeding live. Also some LFS are now stocking "feeder platies" and Varatias. personally I prefer the minnows to goldfish. they tend to be heartier and being such aren't as as prone to infections. they are ultimately a horse apeice in reguards to nutrition. QTing and feeding them a high quality flake makes a world of difference in their nutritional content.
knifegill;4401986; said:
Gars normally eat the wild equivalent of rosy reds (fathead minnows) in the wild...
Comets aren't the best idea, especially if you can get similar-sized fish of a different species, because goldfish have spines on them that could cause trouble if the gar should happen to swallow them the wrong way.
A good alternative to to rosy reds and comets is feeder guppies or mosquito fish. Mosquito fish do occur where Florida gars live in the wild, so they're most likely among the items that young Florida gars eat.
Good point if it weren't for the fact that cyprinids aren't their only food source. Being apex predators, everything of suitable size would be eaten, thus rounding the diet. In captivity, we must make efforts do the same or omit the foods containing undesirable compounds as much as possible. We certainly shouldn't use the cheeseburgers among feeder species as a staple.
Agreeing on the livebearers and cichlids as excellent candidates for a feeder staple.
MonsterMinis;4402092; said:
I quarantine and gutload each and every feeder with bloodworms prior towards feeding.