Haley the Cuban Gar
- Thread starter xander
- Start date
if you can post a pic i can give you an educated guess...over the years i've come to find out that their primary change in color pattern (especially to the dark olive green) is stress. normally, a Cuban gar should be the bronze/gold pattern that you see in your earlier photos.xander13;1525380; said:
substrate and other environmental changes may elicit somewhat of a color change, but it shouldn't be that drastic--
--solomon
ps-- what are your water parameters? specifically pH?
especially in keeping this species, it's important to know your pH. even seemingly minor fluctuations in pH can throw these fish out of whack. and it's not so much about what the pH is, but how it changes (pH drops over time due to degradation of water quality due to feeding, waste, etc etc). it's important to have the water quality properly buffered to maintain consistency for these fish--xander13;1525439; said:
--solomon
things'er not looking good. she just went really dark. almost olive green. much darker than in this pic.
and she's just lying on the ground. her eyes dont look too cool either. she has the spooked out look that gars seem to have when you suddenly switch on the lights. aragonite substrate you say? looks like im going shopping tmr...
and she's just lying on the ground. her eyes dont look too cool either. she has the spooked out look that gars seem to have when you suddenly switch on the lights. aragonite substrate you say? looks like im going shopping tmr...
eye issues happen with gars for some reason...we still haven't quite nailed that one down yet, but i have noticed with my own fish that the Cubans eyes stay clearest at higher pH than lower pH. i wouldn't really be too concerned with eye coloration as this fluctuates with gars and we haven't noticed a direct correlation between cloudiness and stress with these species.
as for the coloration change, it is hard to say. it's not as dark as the really stressed out Cubans in my experience, but it is a bit darker than usual. just keep an eye on her and go after that substrate. what is your filtration on the tank and how often do you change the water? when was your last water change?
as for lying on the ground...this is typical behavior with pretty much any gars at least at some point over the course of their day. i wouldn't be worried about that unless it looks like she's laying there and breathing really heavily.
i would make the substrate adjustments and provide more info on your maintenance, but overall i would expect that the fish will be fine--
--solomon
as for the coloration change, it is hard to say. it's not as dark as the really stressed out Cubans in my experience, but it is a bit darker than usual. just keep an eye on her and go after that substrate. what is your filtration on the tank and how often do you change the water? when was your last water change?
as for lying on the ground...this is typical behavior with pretty much any gars at least at some point over the course of their day. i wouldn't be worried about that unless it looks like she's laying there and breathing really heavily.
i would make the substrate adjustments and provide more info on your maintenance, but overall i would expect that the fish will be fine--
--solomon
that's a relief. for a moment i thought i would've had to stay up with another fish...filtration is a simple OHF with 3 trays of mechnical and 3 trays of biological filtration. works well for tanks up to 6x2x2. the turnover rate is 5000L/Hr. i do a 20% weelly water change. and yes i'll try and find the substrate asap.
something about my water change though. the tank is located in my room. thus everynight the water is warm(heater) while the room is cold(air-con), thus water evaporates at about 20%/week. so i just top off the water on sundays. is this any different from the normal water changes?
something about my water change though. the tank is located in my room. thus everynight the water is warm(heater) while the room is cold(air-con), thus water evaporates at about 20%/week. so i just top off the water on sundays. is this any different from the normal water changes?
