Florida Gars

[Soaup]

I recenetly made a post about what to feed my gar and was told basically the seafood special is good for him well since then the only thing he is willing to eat is goldfish or rosies.. I like the rosies better.. they are definatly cleaner and dont look as sick.. If that is my only alternative.. how often should he eat right now i am feeding him twice a week which is way less then the twice a day i feed all my other fish but i cant get to the petstore daily.. How often should he be fed? Am i underfeeding him??

 

[jkrekord]

i dont no the answer to be honest but i would guess 3 or 4 times a week would be fine


p.s please correct me if im wrong

 

[sharp tooth]

ive never know a gar refuse dead foods, they will eat anything. you must be spoiling him. just starve him till he will eat it. market prawn, mussels, cockles and frozen white bait. put the white bait in frozen infront of the filter out let and let it float round the tank so the gar thinks it swimming around.
it will be much better for it and you in the future.

i used to feed my gar once a day but i would say every 2 days should be ok.
how big is the gar? what size tank is it in?

 

[Soaup]

i used to feed my gar once a day but i would say every 2 days should be ok.
how big is the gar? what size tank is it in?

About 16 inchs.. 125 Gallons.

 

[sharp tooth]

i used to feed my gar once a day but i would say every 2 days should be ok.
how big is the gar? what size tank is it in?

About 16 inchs.. 125 Gallons.

every few days should be fine. how wide is the tank? you know that the tank should be half as wide again as the fish is long for a gar, because they have such a hard time turning around.

 

[Soaup]

I just measured him.. 14 inchs.. The tank is i believe 18.. I honestly dont know what to do with him when it comes to that point.. I think im gonna build a pond.. Would that be sufficient?

 

[sharp tooth]

i would say that as long as you can get him in a tank or pond that is at least 3ft wide then he should be fine. spotted gars dont get much over 2ft in captivity unless you give them a huge tank which might help them to get a bit bigger.

i kept a 17" gar in a 18" wide tank for a short time and it wasent nice for the gar as he had a bad time turning round. it was only short term as i got the bigger tank ready but it wasent good for him.

 

[Soaup]

What size tank is your fish in now.. I live in New York The summers will be ok for the fish to live in but the winters the pond will get cold and possibly freeze do you know is there anything i can use to keep the temp steady like a cooler in the summer maybe and a heater in the winter??

 

[sharp tooth]

sorry mate i live in the uk so i carnt help you out about heating an out door pond, it just isnt a very good idea over here as it would cost the earth.

i sold my gar as i dident get my big tank in time to keep it long term. the tank i have now is 8x4x2 and i would happily keep 1 or a couple in this one.

 

[nmonks]

I agree with Sharp Tooth; if a gar is refusing frozen food, then you're overfeeding him with the live stuff. It cannot be stressed too strongly that feeding mass-produced live fish (be they goldfish, guppies, or anything else) is the fast track to introducing bacteria and parasites. Don't do it! You will regret it eventually!

A gar can go without food for many days, probably weeks. I'd certainly leave him alone for three days before trying with some dead food. Go for something oily -- the smellier, the better. A bit of whitebait, salmon, or mackerel will be perfect. Just use a small piece to begin with, and it might take a while for the smell to get his attention. But if he's hungry, he'll eat it. In the wild these fish are opportunists, and they certainly do take dead food (ask any fisherman!).

Getting a predator to take dead food takes patience and self-restraint. But it is possible, and doing so is the mark of a skilled aquarist.

Cheers,

Neale

ive never know a gar refuse dead foods, they will eat anything. you must be spoiling him. just starve him till he will eat it.