Stunted Growth?

[Maccoy]

Hey My little Flordia Gar is around 13 inches, Only problem is hes been that way for around 4 months......

round 4 months ago my little guy (Rupert is his name ) Had a fall from the Tank, he manged to squeek out of the 1/2 inch opening near the filter output in My 75G. When I woke up he was Dry and dusty, A terrible sight for any fish owner. I was able to keep him alive which I count as a miracle as I estimate he was out for around 6 hours. But he seems to not grow at all anymore, He is healthy and on a steady diet. Whats Wrong with Rupert?


Water is crystal clear I do 3 water changes a week and keep an close eye on all levels

Tank is not crowded only shared with a 13" comm pleco

Diet is:
Carnivore pellets
Quarantined Goldfish
Ham as a treat He friggen Loves Ham.

Heres a Pic of the guy doing what he does best


Help me please Whats wrong

 

[mqktandy]

18" is about max for fl gars. The prob prob is small space. 75 isn't that big and poor water quality. Post your water results as that may be the problem. Also at that size u may consider switching him to non live foods. Try shrimp or talipia.

 

[E_americanus]

how long have you had the fish overall? 13" isn't unusual for a young of the year (YOY) florida gar, so i wouldn't be too concerned at this point. as long as he is eating well and looks healthy, you should be fine. 75g tank is fine for a couple years give or take...however, i would advise against the ham as it can quickly pollute the water, and that much fat and salt (primarily the former) isn't good for captive gars.

good luck!--
--solomon

 

[KNH]

His diet is an issue as well as the small living quarters. I would suggest pellets/tilapia/shrimp over feeders and ham. I've found that FL gar will grow rapidly if given lots of room, clean water and a good diet. Good luck with him.

 

[E_americanus]

not sure why there are strong claims of small space for this gar. a 75g tank is fine for now, and at 13" the gar will be fine in that tank for a while. sounds like water quality is very high, and with that many water changes stunting should not be a factor.

in terms of diet, there are areas for improvement in terms of dropping the ham. if you can let us know what kind of pellet you are feeding that would also help. goldfish aren't great, but if you gut load them with a quality pellet (think New Life Spectrum) then you should actually be in good shape. without gut loading they are essentially junk food (you will note the difference in their waste products from eating goldfish as opposed to frozen tilapia or shrimp or pellets).

as KNH had also suggested, i would recommend adding some frozen food to the mix (perhaps in place of non-gut-loaded goldfish). you can also place pellets in frozen whole fish; this is a great pellet delivery system for gars and can drastically improve their condition.

13" is actually within the average size of a YOY FL gar...but it would be key to know how long you have had the fish overall, not just if it has been sitting at this size for 4 months. FL gars can reach ~17" in their first year, but this is rare in the wild and more a case of unnatural tank conditioning. keep in mind that sort of growth can often keep them smaller in the long run.

also, the common pleco tankmate is a high risk with the gar as they will suck on the slime of the gar with potentially fatal results. i would recommend separating them (plenty of threads to search on that issue). good luck, and let us know if you have further questions--
--solomon

 

[Maccoy]

Thanks for all the Input guys Ive made some changed to his diet and Im hoping to see some improvement

 

[Enemyarms]

So I have a concern. I have a guy offering to sell me a 3 year old Gar, that is 13 inches. I have fed my fish goldfish in the past and have stopped will this far jotted any larger now, for the time being, he will be in a 55gal and as soon as my red bellys are sold, he will get my 120gAl. And gods willing, A 240ish gal.