Tropical Gar : The Singapore Order
- Thread starter xander
- Start date
xander;5062029; said:managed to get my hands on a couple more t-gars
newest, smallest specimen @ ~4-5". a good 1" smaller than the largest specimen.
Awesome tropical gars! How many does that put you at now?
Goodness Alex! You really love these guys a lot. Where'd you get the new two from? Angus as well? I would've thought all the T-Gars from the import are gone by now.
hi all,
just wanted to add a few notes as you raise up your first TPGs "together" through this order.
first off - xander, great job putting it together, and very impressive pics of the new fish! i'll be in touch about some LEP.net stuff if i ever get around to updating in the next 6 months
secondly, and IMPORTANTLY:
PLEASE keep in mind this isn't necessarily (and shouldn't be) a competition for growing out your fish. it is definitely understandable that you all want to get them eating and healthy, that is most definitely important. however, whoever grows theirs the fastest doesn't necessarily "win".
just some points on growth of TPGs that we have observed firsthand over the past 6 years (how long it's been since we first brought them in) :
- those that powerfed their fish (i did this with some of mine, but i had two size classes) did not really observe the greatest overall growth with their specimens.
- powerfeeding (feeding as much as possible, higher temps, etc) resulted in fast initial growth, but max size was less. this is often the case when fish speed up somatic growth and then switch over to reproductive growth, in other words they get to a "safe" healthy size fast, so their system then diverts energy from "regular" growth to growth of the gonads and maturation. this often causes fish to mature a bit earlier, but at smaller sizes.
- those who had a more regular feeding schedule (water changes are always good though) often ended up with giant TPGs in the long run (these are the 18-20"+ specimens).
everyone's system will be slightly different, so don't be disheartened or worried if your fish isn't experiencing the same growth you are reading about in the threads. if your fish is eating regularly and your water quality is good (and frequent water changes) your gar will be just fine. they are durable little beasts.
best of luck, and if there is any further info we can provide please feel free to post/ask/etc...it's very exciting to see everyone able to keep these fish for the first time!--
--solomon
just wanted to add a few notes as you raise up your first TPGs "together" through this order.
first off - xander, great job putting it together, and very impressive pics of the new fish! i'll be in touch about some LEP.net stuff if i ever get around to updating in the next 6 months
secondly, and IMPORTANTLY:
PLEASE keep in mind this isn't necessarily (and shouldn't be) a competition for growing out your fish. it is definitely understandable that you all want to get them eating and healthy, that is most definitely important. however, whoever grows theirs the fastest doesn't necessarily "win".
just some points on growth of TPGs that we have observed firsthand over the past 6 years (how long it's been since we first brought them in) :
- those that powerfed their fish (i did this with some of mine, but i had two size classes) did not really observe the greatest overall growth with their specimens.
- powerfeeding (feeding as much as possible, higher temps, etc) resulted in fast initial growth, but max size was less. this is often the case when fish speed up somatic growth and then switch over to reproductive growth, in other words they get to a "safe" healthy size fast, so their system then diverts energy from "regular" growth to growth of the gonads and maturation. this often causes fish to mature a bit earlier, but at smaller sizes.
- those who had a more regular feeding schedule (water changes are always good though) often ended up with giant TPGs in the long run (these are the 18-20"+ specimens).
everyone's system will be slightly different, so don't be disheartened or worried if your fish isn't experiencing the same growth you are reading about in the threads. if your fish is eating regularly and your water quality is good (and frequent water changes) your gar will be just fine. they are durable little beasts.
best of luck, and if there is any further info we can provide please feel free to post/ask/etc...it's very exciting to see everyone able to keep these fish for the first time!--
--solomon
E_americanus;5062651; said:hi all,
just wanted to add a few notes as you raise up your first TPGs "together" through this order.
first off - xander, great job putting it together, and very impressive pics of the new fish! i'll be in touch about some LEP.net stuff if i ever get around to updating in the next 6 months
secondly, and IMPORTANTLY:
PLEASE keep in mind this isn't necessarily (and shouldn't be) a competition for growing out your fish. it is definitely understandable that you all want to get them eating and healthy, that is most definitely important. however, whoever grows theirs the fastest doesn't necessarily "win".
just some points on growth of TPGs that we have observed firsthand over the past 6 years (how long it's been since we first brought them in) :
- those that powerfed their fish (i did this with some of mine, but i had two size classes) did not really observe the greatest overall growth with their specimens.
- powerfeeding (feeding as much as possible, higher temps, etc) resulted in fast initial growth, but max size was less. this is often the case when fish speed up somatic growth and then switch over to reproductive growth, in other words they get to a "safe" healthy size fast, so their system then diverts energy from "regular" growth to growth of the gonads and maturation. this often causes fish to mature a bit earlier, but at smaller sizes.
- those who had a more regular feeding schedule (water changes are always good though) often ended up with giant TPGs in the long run (these are the 18-20"+ specimens).
everyone's system will be slightly different, so don't be disheartened or worried if your fish isn't experiencing the same growth you are reading about in the threads. if your fish is eating regularly and your water quality is good (and frequent water changes) your gar will be just fine. they are durable little beasts.
best of luck, and if there is any further info we can provide please feel free to post/ask/etc...it's very exciting to see everyone able to keep these fish for the first time!--
--solomon
so reGARding the diet/feeding regime, we should ensure they have access to food 24/7 till ~8" before implementing a more scheduled feeding regime?
thanks for the tips!
really need to use/stick some of this info asap...
xander;5063224; said:haha thanks. have 5 in total now
So does that mean you're gonna' be getting a tank upgrade? Or will you be letting some of your current stock go? What IS your current stock anyway?
Cheesetian;5066957; said:
haha, as long as they are past the size of predation danger from the other gars, he could easily keep them all in the current tank (obviously out of their pen)...it's well-filtered and bioload would be manageable (i have more gars in a smaller tank currently
) ----solomon
