Some questions about spotted gar?

[Calc]

I just bought a 4-5 inch spotted gar, have some questions

#1 what should i feed it?
#2 what ph lvl and temperature they like?
#3 how long will it take to get to like 12 inches?

Thanks,

 

[fishy_123]

1. try feeding it pellets first, its worth a try..
i feed mine fish fillets, shrimp and quarantined guppies
2. [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]72° F ph is neutral
3. depends on tank conditions, 4 months maybe
[/FONT]

 

[channarox]

1. they will eventually eat anything.
a varied diet is best,shrimp,pellets etc.
2.they are tropical fish.
my temp. is always at 31 degrees celcius.
best would be around 25-28 degrees celcius.
not very picky about ph but no extremes
3.they can hit 16 inches,sometimes more,in their first year.

 

[xander]

I just bought a 4-5 inch spotted gar, have some questions

#1 what should i feed it?
#2 what ph lvl and temperature they like?
#3 how long will it take to get to like 12 inches?

Thanks,

at this size it should be fed daily. if it doesn't accept prepared foods(which is likely), then give it a good supply of feeders. i suggest you try weaning it off live food when it reaches around 10inches.

spotted gars are pretty flexible. just no extremes and you'll be fine. however if you have a higher pH it will give you some room for it to buffer. also try to keep the pH from fluctuating. anything from 26degC to 30degC is fine. if you want a higher growth rate then increase the temp to the higher end of the recomended region.

a healthy growth rate is about 1-2 inches(could be more) per month, up to about 14inches, before growth rates slow down. i've had mine grow from 5" to 17" in 10 months.

 

[demjor19]

1. they will eventually eat anything.
a varied diet is best,shrimp,pellets etc.
2.they are tropical fish.
my temp. is always at 31 degrees celcius.
best would be around 25-28 degrees celcius.
not very picky about ph but no extremes
3.they can hit 16 inches,sometimes more,in their first year.

This is not true.

 

[Gator]

This is not true.

If its a true Spotted gar then they are native to Ohio and even further North Like Michigan and Canada . No where near tropical conditions.

 

[channarox]

oops...
i meant florida...

 

[demjor19]

oops...
i meant florida...

It's still not true. No gar found in the US is considered tropical. Most can sustain tropical conditions for a given period of time, but they are still not tropical fish.

 

[channarox]

It's still not true. No gar found in the US is considered tropical. Most can sustain tropical conditions for a given period of time, but they are still not tropical fish.

oops.
my bad...
i thought florida was tropical.

 

[Calc]

Oh, so around 1- 2 inches per month, hm...that's very hard to catch up to my silver aro and giant snakehead..lol..