Needlenose Gar Companions

[hbdudejess]

what are some good companions for the needlenose gar, in a 50gal??

 

[nmonks]

Xenentodon do better in small groups than singly (singletons often pine away) so two or three more of its own kind would be the best companions. Otherwise, don't keep them with anything else. They aren't aggressive, and large fish frighten them, causing them to damage their snouts when they try to swim or jump away.

More importantly in the short term, your aquarium is far too small for these fish. They need a lot of space. Surface area is crucial, and anything smaller than 60 cm/2' front to back and 150 cm/5' left to right will be too confining, and sooner or later you'll start seeing damage to the snout.

They're difficult fish to maintain. One problem is feeding. It's very common for retailers (in the US especially) to say they should be fed feeder goldfish. As is hopefully well known among expert fishkeepers, goldfish are the worst possible food for them: too fatty, too much thiaminase, too high a risk of introducing parasites. Home-bred, gut-loaded feeder guppies could work, but not store-bought ones, so unless you have a big tank of guppies and can breed your own feeders on a regular basis, that isn't an option either. Wild fish feed almost entirely on insects and crustaceans, so providing these as live foods would be one option for the hobbyist, but more realistically, weaning them onto wet-frozen or fresh foods will be better. They will take small pieces of fish fillet, lancefish, shelled shrimp, krill, etc.

Cheers, Neale

 

[hbdudejess]

would dwarf puffers be an okay companion??

 

[nmonks]

No; they'd be live food.

Dwarf puffers should be kept only with other dwarf puffers. Don't buy any pufferfish expecting to mix it with another species. No widely traded freshwater or brackish water puffer makes a good community tank resident. Even SAPs, the most peaceful in terms of aggression and territoriality, are still occasional fin-nippers.

Cheers, Neale

would dwarf puffers be an okay companion??

 

[hbdudejess]

Pacu...?

 

[nmonks]

No home aquarist should be buying a pacu. They need thousands of gallons of water to be kept properly. And as tankmates for Xenentodon, they'd be a very poor choice. Pacu are predatory as well as boisterous, and they'd terrify the needlefish even if they didn't eat them outright!

Cheers, Neale

Pacu...?