Tiny Tropicals

[koltsixx]

So, one of these guys just attempted to eat

one of these guys

Things you don't want to know about me but I'm going to tell you anyway. I have a penchant for getting hurt, third-degree burns, broken back, getting metal shavings in my eyes the list goes on and generally I handle these injuries and most traumatic things in a very laid back, nonchalant almost sleepy Ben Stein manner. But if you ever want to hear me scream in a very short feminine manner let me catch one of my fish eating one of their tankmates. It has led to exes and my current better half to drop food they're preparing glasses or phones and them scrambling to see what's wrong just to get hella pissed to find out it's fish related. As was the case just minutes ago. So, I'm now getting the stink eye from my Asawa Ko.

As I'm no expert in juvenile Gar identification I wasn't sure if these little guys are Tropicals and have been giving their ID the benefit of the doubt but when a Gar tries to eat a fish their length but girthier they're some kind of special.

So to Recap my Tropical grabbed the Hybrid and did one of these

And I did one of these

 

[AR1]

So, one of these guys just attempted to eat

one of these guys

Things you don't want to know about me but I'm going to tell you anyway. I have a penchant for getting hurt, third-degree burns, broken back, getting metal shavings in my eyes the list goes on and generally I handle these injuries and most traumatic things in a very laid back, nonchalant almost sleepy Ben Stein manner. But if you ever want to hear me scream in a very short feminine manner let me catch one of my fish eating one of their tankmates. It has led to exes and my current better half to drop food they're preparing glasses or phones and them scrambling to see what's wrong just to get hella pissed to find out it's fish related. As was the case just minutes ago. So, I'm now getting the stink eye from my Asawa Ko.

As I'm no expert in juvenile Gar identification I wasn't sure if these little guys are Tropicals and have been giving their ID the benefit of the doubt but when a Gar tries to eat a fish their length but girthier they're some kind of special.

So to Recap my Tropical grabbed the Hybrid and did one of these
View attachment 1542340
And I did one of these

i took no risk with my fish after repeating the same mistake numerous times, lol. I have put a divider in my tank to keep my butti and gar separated. The butti was shoeing too much interest in it
BTW have your gar started accepting frozen, dried, etc foods?

 

[koltsixx]

i took no risk with my fish after repeating the same mistake numerous times, lol. I have put a divider in my tank to keep my butti and gar separated. The butti was shoeing too much interest in it
BTW have your gar started accepting frozen, dried, etc foods?

I totally didn't think it was a risk. I never had a Gar attack a fish so similar in size. As a matter of fact the Hybrids are girthier so it's not even a possible prey item so why they attacked one of them was a surprise to me. The Tropical latched on just above the tail and the Hybrid gave him one heck of a ride. Luckily the hybrid is okay as is the Gar. IME gars are generally strictly predators but prey on smaller fish the only exception being Alligators. Though Alligators, Cubans and Tropicals are in the same genus I had not heard of such a predatory or aggressive response except again in Alligators. Though I will admit Cuban and Tropical Gar info. is in short supply with Tropicals probably being the Gar hobbyists have the least experience with AFAIK.

Unfortunately, no they ate the crickets and the rosey reds but have ignored the frozen Krill and bloodworms. I thought the attack meant they were settled and obviously hungry and so more open to other foods but no luck. I'm still trying but again I'm very hesitant to starve them as they're young and skinny and I don't want them to get too weak. Thanks for asking AR1

 

[wednesday13]

I totally didn't think it was a risk. I never had a Gar attack a fish so similar in size. As a matter of fact the Hybrids are girthier so it's not even a possible prey item so why they attacked one of them was a surprise to me. The Tropical latched on just above the tail and the Hybrid gave him one heck of a ride. Luckily the hybrid is okay as is the Gar. IME gars are generally strictly predators but prey on smaller fish the only exception being Alligators. Though Alligators, Cubans and Tropicals are in the same genus I had not heard of such a predatory or aggressive response except again in Alligators. Though I will admit Cuban and Tropical Gar info. is in short supply with Tropicals probably being the Gar hobbyists have the least experience with AFAIK.

Unfortunately, no they ate the crickets and the rosey reds but have ignored the frozen Krill and bloodworms. I thought the attack meant they were settled and obviously hungry and so more open to other foods but no luck. I'm still trying but again I'm very hesitant to starve them as they're young and skinny and I don't want them to get too weak. Thanks for asking AR1

IME trops are 50/50 for attacking tank mates. Their either super placid or just straight terrors lol… seems to be the same for growth rates as well. They blow up quick or just never seem to grow. Had one for 10-12 yrs that ate exceptionally well but stayed at 20-22” for that entire time. Seen a couple reports of them hitting 2-3’ in a few yrs. Pretty comparable to gators IMO. There was an influx of trops around 09-10’… id say they were more often kept and available than cubans.

 

[Hao]

IME trops are 50/50 for attacking tank mates. Their either super placid or just straight terrors lol… seems to be the same for growth rates as well. They blow up quick or just never seem to grow. Had one for 10-12 yrs that ate exceptionally well but stayed at 20-22” for that entire time. Seen a couple reports of them hitting 2-3’ in a few yrs. Pretty comparable to gators IMO. There was an influx of trops around 09-10’… id say they were more often kept and available than cubans.

Yeah, in my experience, Cubans are a lot more like the gators than tropicals are in terms of aggression but as long as you keep everyone well fed, they don't really touch their tankmates (unless it's giving off prey vibes ) Tropicals are definitely more often kept and available than Cubans like you said.
As for their size, I've seen Tropicals as large as a tiny bit over 3 ft (usually 20+ years old) but on average, they tend to max out around 24"-30". For Cubans, I've seen people say 3 ft (The Cuban pair that Big Aqua of Indonesia uses to breed) but I haven't actually seen one taped that big. Biggest Cuban I've seen taped is 33", I would imagine they could probably get to 3 ft but extremely rare (genetic outlier). On average, I'd say their max is around 24"-28". The number of times that I've seen a 30"+ Tropical gar is much more than the number of times I've seen a 30"+ Cuban.

 

[AR1]

I totally didn't think it was a risk. I never had a Gar attack a fish so similar in size. As a matter of fact the Hybrids are girthier so it's not even a possible prey item so why they attacked one of them was a surprise to me. The Tropical latched on just above the tail and the Hybrid gave him one heck of a ride. Luckily the hybrid is okay as is the Gar. IME gars are generally strictly predators but prey on smaller fish the only exception being Alligators. Though Alligators, Cubans and Tropicals are in the same genus I had not heard of such a predatory or aggressive response except again in Alligators. Though I will admit Cuban and Tropical Gar info. is in short supply with Tropicals probably being the Gar hobbyists have the least experience with AFAIK.

yeah sometimes fish can be very unpredictable, but it's always part of a learning experience.

Unfortunately, no they ate the crickets and the rosey reds but have ignored the frozen Krill and bloodworms. I thought the attack meant they were settled and obviously hungry and so more open to other foods but no luck. I'm still trying but again I'm very hesitant to starve them as they're young and skinny and I don't want them to get too weak. Thanks for asking .avatar--xss { width: 21px; height: 21px; line-height: 21px !important; margin-right: 2px; } AR1 @AR1

At least they are eating, thats a releif. You can always try when they bigger.
BTW you welcome.

 

[koltsixx]

Minor update, I'm mostly posting to pose another probably dumb question. The Tropicals are eating frozen bloodworms now, but I wanted to know what's the likelihood of cannibalism if I housed the Cubans and the Tropicals together? Cubans are 7 inches the Tropicals around 5 inches.

 

[AR1]

Minor update, I'm mostly posting to pose another probably dumb question. The Tropicals are eating frozen bloodworms now, but I wanted to know what's the likelihood of cannibalism if I housed the Cubans and the Tropicals together? Cubans are 7 inches the Tropicals around 5 inches.

Any updates on the little gars koltsixx

 

[koltsixx]

Any updates on the little gars koltsixx

Thanks for asking AR1 . They're doing okay, one eats much better than the other and both still refuse krill but they are eating Rosies, Crickets and the Frozen Bloodworms so at least that's cool. How about you bro? Get yours onto pellets by any chance?

 

[AR1]

Thanks for asking AR1 . They're doing okay, one eats much better than the other and both still refuse krill but they are eating Rosies, Crickets and the Frozen Bloodworms so at least that's cool. How about you bro? Get yours onto pellets by any chance?

Good to hear that your gars are doing good. Mine is still refusing to accept pellets but eats dried krills. He is growing more in girth than length and has become a lot more bolder too. Thanks for asking!