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FAQs on Gars, Family Lepisosteidae
Related Articles: Gars,
Bowfins,
Related FAQs: Bowfins,
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Feeding Florida Gars -- To Neale
12/31/08
Hi Neale--
We corresponded a couple of months ago about
a 55 gone wrong. That tank is doing much better now (and I'll never rush cycling
again), but during correspondence I mentioned that I QT'd minnows for my two
florida gars.
You advised that I switch them to frozen or prepared foods due
to the icky nature of feeders. I took your advice to heart, and have gotten one
of my gars to eat thawed silversides. However, the other one isn't taking to it.
It's been about two weeks since he's eaten at all. I have tried the
silversides, red worms, Massivore Delite, and thin strips of thawed whiting. I'm
not sure if it makes a difference, but he only has one eye (that's how he was
when I got him). He never had any trouble competing with the other one for live
food, and always ate well. Now, though, it seems we have a problem. Do you have
any other ideas as to foods I could try, or maybe the food needs to be soaked in
something really stinky to make it irresistible, or something? Thanks so much
for your help... and Lucky (the one-eyed gar) thanks you too!
--Melinda
<Hello Melinda. It's pretty uncommon for Lepisosteus spp. gar to reject
non-feeder fish foods for so long. Usually they learn to take alternative foods
pretty quickly, as your other specimen has done. Putting aside ethical
questions, the main issue with feeder fish is their healthiness as a staple food
item; if you *must* use them, then herbivorous livebearers such as Mollies
gut-loaded with algae is the only safe approach. Otherwise, alternative live
foods you could use include crickets, mealworms and especially earthworms (what
I believe Americans sometimes call nightcrawlers). It's worth mentioning wild
Gar feed extensively on crustaceans, particularly crabs, one of their major prey
items when inhabiting brackish/saltwater habitats. So you might try things like
large freshwater shrimp or crayfish. My specimens had a particular fondness for
oily fish, particularly mackerel, but I'd not recommend using oily fish at any
time except just before a large water change: oily fish will leave an oily scum
on the water that takes a while to otherwise disperse. Hope this helps, Neale.>
Florida Gar and Pleco, comp.,
nutr. of Loricariids 7/24/08
Hi all--
I love your site, and have spent many hours reading in the last few months
since I discovered it. However, I've had an issue come up that I have not
been able to find an answer to. I have a seven-inch Florida Gar in a 125
gallon tank, with six larger-sized silver dollars and a Pleco. I am not sure
of what type he is, but he is definitely not the "common type". He is brown,
with a short, wide, compact body, about seven or eight inches long.
<Do bear in mind some of these fish will get extremely large; Gar will
exceed 60 cm and potentially 90 cm in captivity if they are among the common
species traded, such as Lepisosteus platyrhincus, the species usually sold
as the "Florida Gar".>
Lately, we have noticed him interacting with the gar in a way we had not
previously observed. He appears to be sucking on the gar. I know from
reading your site and others that this is a bad, bad thing.
<Has been reported between these species, and yes, is damaging to the Gar.
When the skin is abraded, the mucous is lost and it becomes much easier for
secondary infections to get started.>
We chase him away and offer algae disks, which he goes for (lately, he's
seemed overly ravenous, often eating four times the amount of disks that he
used to).
<People tend to underfeed Loricariidae. Understand this: they are constant
grazers and mud sifters in the wild, and don't understand the "two meals per
day" notion many aquarists prefer. You need to give them vegetable foods
such as courgette, sweet potato or carrot that they can nibble on through
the day, plus bogwood for fibre.>
My question is this: is the Pleco suffering from some type of nutritional
imbalance that we can remedy?
<Likely not an imbalance, but quite probably not enough fibre, so that the
fish feels hungry because it isn't full. These catfish are adapted to
feeding on a bulky rather than concentrated diet.>
If he's just being rude, and that's definitely possible, we can take him to
the LFS. However, due to their lack of adequate space for larger fishes, and
the fact that hideously overprice any fish that aren't tetras or mollies,
therefore forcing the fish to be there in less than ideal conditions for a
long period of time, I fear for his life. This would be a last resort.
Please help! Thanks.
--Melinda
<Seemingly no simple answers here, but very likely these fish will need to
be separated. Perhaps try offering a better (more vegetable-rich) diet, but
if that doesn't help, you will need to rehome one or other fish. Cheers,
Neale.>
Re: My Florida Gar and his Pleco Friend,
comp., fdg. -- to Neale 8/9/08
Hi Neale--
Melinda here again.
<Hello!>
You responded to my email a few weeks ago regarding our Pleco (have since found
out he is a rhino Pleco) and our Florida gar.
<Hmm... Pterygoplichthys scrophus, rather a nice catfish! Not common in the
trade, and I think quite a handsome beast.>
The Pleco was getting a little too friendly with Fluffy (the gar), and seemed to
be trying to snack on him.
<Can happen; not commonly, but does happen.>
You suggested feeding a variety of fiber-rich veggies, but predicted we'd
eventually need to separate the two. Well, Dino (the Pleco) had no intentions of
eating any of my tasty veggie offerings. In any case, we have separated them.
<Let's see if this helps. If not, then back to the drawing board. I suppose you
could try offering her some meaty food. My Panaque is ostensibly a vegetarian,
but she enjoys raw mussels in the half shell, partially shelled shrimp and other
such delicacies. You may be able to tempt your cat to eat these things instead
of her tankmates...>
Thank you for your advice.
--Melinda
<Good luck! Neale.>
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Gar With Sores On His Head - 09/07/06
I have a spotted gar that has developed some type of disease. It has
white film and ulcers, deterioration, on it's head. I have been treating it
with Maracyn-two. Following the directions for the 6 day treatment. Not much
improvement. Since their skin is not the typical fish type, would this be
the correct treatment? Also, by putting aquarium salt for freshwater fish in
the tank harmful to him? Could this cause a problem. Thanks.
< Gars are actually pretty tough critters. There could have been some damage
to his head as he tried to jump out and now they got infected. I would try
Nitrofuranace. It treats a wider range of parasites and it also has some
antifungal properties. Salt wouldn't harm him unless it was an unusual
amount. Do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. This
medication may harm the good nitrifying bacteria so watch for ammonia
spikes.-Chuck>
FW/BW Mis-mixes - 03/26/2006
First off, I just wanted to say that I love your site and you all do a great
job. I was just wondering what you thought about the mixture of fish I have in
my 90 gal tank. I currently have 2 red devils, 1 Florida gar,
<Neat fish... illegal in many States... get way big>
1 green terror, 1 tiger Oscar, a small Pleco, 1 figure eight puffer, and 1
dragon goby.
<These last two... are increasingly brackish with age, size... should they
live...>
The biggest so far is the red devil at about 7 in.
<I'll bet! Some of these are really devils!>
So far I have had the tank for about 4 months with no casualties. Everyone seems
to be getting along swimmingly. I am worried though that with this size tank
there will not be enough room for all species when they reach their full
potential.
<To put this mildly>
I have gotten so attached to them all I can't bare to let one go. (Unless it's
for their own good.)
<You need at least two more tanks... and a lake if you're going to try raising
the lepisosteid>
I do weekly water changes, vary their diet, etc.... and treat them all with the
care they deserve. What do ya think? Thanks - Steve, MI
<A brackish tank, an easier going cichlid tank.... See WWM re these species
systems, compatibility... Bob Fenner>
Gar fish
I thought about what you said from the last e-mail and I just want to go with
one gar fish. I just need some basic knowledge about them first.
<Unfortunately I wasn't the person who had answered your previous email. So,
I'm not sure which Gar you are referring to. There are many different
species. Just to be on the safe side I'll give you a run down on the typical
ones found in the aquarium hobby. Gars appreciate the following water
conditions: a pH between 7.0 to 8.0, slightly hard water, and temperatures
between 70 to 80 ºF (23 ºC).>
What size tank would I need? What should I feed it? What diseases should I look
out for?
<Short Nose Gar (Xenocara dolichopterus) grows to about 2 feet long in the
aquarium, I've read that they are found as long as 4.5 feet in the wild. so
they need a tank that can accommodate a long fish. They like the temperature of
the tank to be 75-80 degrees. They do fine in small schools and are not to
difficult to care for. These are surface dwellers, and will only eat tankmates
it can fit in it's mouth. Other fish are said to be okay with it. These are
hard to get to eat anything but live foods.
Alligator Gar (Lepisosteus sp.) These get to be very large (±8 feet). I have
seen these be as long as 15 inches in the home aquarium, and were still
growing. If you should go to any fishing website you will be amazed to see some
of the monsters that people catch while fishing. These need massive tanks when
they are adults. These will snack on fish in the tank unless they are as large
as it is. I have seen them with Large Oscars and Snake heads. They seem to
leave Plecos alone. Alligator Gar are much more likely to eat frozen and
prepared foods than others. These are much easier to care for, the only problem
is you need a large tank with nice filtration.
Needle Nose Gar (Xenocara dolichopterus) These fish are the smaller Gars, and
are readily found in the aquarium hobby. These get 12 inches long when full
grown so they need a smaller tank than their cousins. These are surface
dwellers and will feed on live foods such as guppies, They are harder to get to
eat the dry foods but with persistence they are said to take krill. They do
well in groups and can be kept with fish of similar size. They also like the
warmer water conditions.>
Anything else that you can throw in will be helpful too. Thanks
<They are interesting fish, but not very active. They often times are just
floating near the surface waiting for food. Good luck. -Magnus>
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