Whats wrong with my gar?

[spwd]

Hi guys ive posted a few posts about my florida gar in the past,when i bought him in jan 08 at 6" hes only grown to 8 and 3/4 which is pretty bad growth rate. And he is now in a small tank with 5 neons and they have been in there for 3 days and hes not shown any interest in them,all he eats is blood worm, ive tried every kind of food and hes always seemed to have a problem keeping his ass down when hes trying to get to the bottom of the tank,also another member on here bought hers from the same place at the same time and hers were about 13 inches now possibly more.so whats wrong with him

Cheers steve

 

[spwd]

Anybody?

And hes still not had any of the neons?

Cheers steve

 

[famous323]

he probably has his growth rate by his genetics, i'm kind of new to gars too but mine seem to like a lot of decor and prefers temp in between 78-82 degrees, they eat like pigs do you have drift wood in the tank, when my fish seem a little stressed or not eating well wood helps a bit, g.l. with your problem bro!

 

[xander]

Hi guys ive posted a few posts about my florida gar in the past,when i bought him in jan 08 at 6" hes only grown to 8 and 3/4 which is pretty bad growth rate. And he is now in a small tank with 5 neons and they have been in there for 3 days and hes not shown any interest in them,all he eats is blood worm, ive tried every kind of food and hes always seemed to have a problem keeping his ass down when hes trying to get to the bottom of the tank,also another member on here bought hers from the same place at the same time and hers were about 13 inches now possibly more.so whats wrong with him

Cheers steve

i do not have any experience with stunted gars so i'll do what i can to try and clarify the problem. try pming E_americanus or emailing him. i heard he's busy these days and wouldn't be popping on boards so much.

how big is the tank? what are your water parameters? eg ammonia, nitrite, pH. and what's the water change and feeding shedule like? does the fish have any tankmates? if so what size? when was the last you fed bloodworms? what do you mean by "seemed to have a problem keeping his ass down when hes trying to get to the bottom of the tank"?

ps: at 10months your friends fish should also be a lot more than 13".

he probably has his growth rate by his genetics, i'm kind of new to gars too but mine seem to like a lot of decor and prefers temp in between 78-82 degrees, they eat like pigs do you have drift wood in the tank, when my fish seem a little stressed or not eating well wood helps a bit, g.l. with your problem bro!

genetics is not the problem here. his fish is not what you'd call normal anymore, it's stunted and guys with only limited experience with gar(myself included) shouldn't be giving him half baked advise. just food for thought

 

[spwd]

Hi guys, thanks for the replies,in answer to the questions,he was in a 200L tank with a 4 inch ornate and a 3 inch plec but as soon as the poly started growing,he started nipping the gar,at this stage the gar was 8.5 inch and the poly 4" but the gar just swam off when he had a go.
Anyway,all the parameters are fine,and the other fish are fine,hes just always been like this.ive tried not feeding blood worm for about 6 weeks but as far as i know he didnt eat anything as i didnt see him anyway,also to start with he used to eat meal worms but dont touch them now,he will eat blood worm every day,but thats all!
He sometimes swims like hes got a bubble inside him near his tail and he has troublegetting his back end down,if you know what i mean? He just looks awkward but all his fins work etc?
Cheers steve

 

[spwd]

Forgot to add hes now in a smaller tank with just 5 neons to see if he will have any of them. And the water changes are usually every 4 days or so.

He has tried crickets before but then one day i put one in and it seemed to scare him because it moved so he swam off and hes never eaten another?
Ive tried pellets and all the frozen food and lance fish,prawn etc etc etc.
I know you get runts in most fish but i didnt think he would be this small,but he does eat,but he just aint growing!

The trouble is i cant put him in with my aro etc and i cant put him in with the poly because the poly would nip him again and i dont think he would last 5 minutes in with the aro etc
Cheers steve

 

[spwd]

So i take it nobody knows whats wrong with him then or how to get him to grow?


cheers steve

 

[city_of_evil6661]

i dont really know why he wont eat but it has been stated that the reason your fish wont grow is because it is stunted.

 

[demjor19]

So i take it nobody knows whats wrong with him then or how to get him to grow?


cheers steve

If all he eats is blood worms, then he's probably not growing because his diet sucks! What is your friend feeding theirs? Fish need a varied diet to be healthy and grow properly. Gar can be stubborn, but they can always be persuaded to eat a variety of foods as long as one is willing to put forth the effort.

Also...we dont know any of your water parameters or your tank setup (in detail)...that could also be a factor.

i dont really know why he wont eat but it has been stated that the reason your fish wont grow is because it is stunted.

How do you know and for what reason?

 

[Gator]

First of all 200L is WAY to small for a gar. Just for comparison my longnose I bought at the end of June at 4" is now 13". A varied diet in fish as stated by Jordan and others is crucial just like any animal. Bloodworms are not an only option, everyday meal for any fish. From the sound of it the ornate was stressing him, the small tank was stressing him and now the move and an even smaller tank is adding tons of stress all on top of a very poor diet and a weakened state that he might not recover from.