Hey, so after trying some search's and reading a bunch of posts with some scattered "i feed this" and a few "remember to feed balanced diet", I was curious what everyone feeds there gars? I have a spotted that I would like to ensure its getting the balanced diet it needs now that hes taking anything i dangle in the tank for him. It doesnt seem to like scallops or shrimp though. Mostly it likes tilapia and cod. Id like to try some others like halibut and salmon but want to make sure its ok first and also would like to hear what everyone else is feeding and possibly get some more ideas that way too. Thanks!
What do you feed your gar??
- Thread starter Zum14
- Start date
Very good question.
My f/gar only eat feeders until yesterday when he took some pallets. Now im planning to have him on a diet of pallets as this is the only way that i think he can get a balanced diet.
My f/gar only eat feeders until yesterday when he took some pallets. Now im planning to have him on a diet of pallets as this is the only way that i think he can get a balanced diet.
I fed live feeders (comets and rosy reds) up until 8-10" of length.
After that, I added the following over time. Not all of my gars eat everything I list, but most of them do.
Cut raw tilapia fillet
Cut raw market shrimp
earthworms
freeze dried krill
hikari floating pellets
massivore
crickets
After that, I added the following over time. Not all of my gars eat everything I list, but most of them do.
Cut raw tilapia fillet
Cut raw market shrimp
earthworms
freeze dried krill
hikari floating pellets
massivore
crickets
And to clarify on my list, my gars still get live feeders about once a month. I think its good for them to have to physically chase a live fish for food every now and then, rather than becoming lazy only feeding on floating and sinking prepared foods.
I never tried octopus, but I feed my Gars squid regularly. They accept it, but it is my impression that they are not as fond of it as they are of fresh market fish.
As gross as it may sound, it seems like most all of my fish totally berserk out when given fish organ meat. It makes it easy for me since there is a world famous market (Lexington market) with numerous fish vendors with its own light-rail and subway stops that I transfer every day coming home from work.
To date fresh fish that I have fed include (Graded on a scale of 1 [worst] to 10 [best] based on factors including appeal to fish, filleting ease, cost and water fouling:
Tilapia - 5 (Very thick skull, heavy bones and sharp fins make it a tough cut, waste)
Spot - 8 (Extremely easy cut & a top appeal, very little waste but clouds water fast)
Croaker - 4 (Skull so thick you practically need a chainsaw to get at the brain, heavy bones, sharp finage, lots of waste)
Bass - 6 (Excellent feed other then being pricey)
Perch - 10 (perfect feed well liked, easy cut, little waste and not too messy!)
Grouper - 5 (I had the market cut fillets (for family), very bland so became fish feed)
Porgy - 8 (Easy but some sharp bone & fins need removal)
Butterfish - 9 (easy & very little waste)
Trout - 10 (perfect feed)
Mullet - 6 (extremely messy and can gag a maggot/ knock a buzzard off a meat wagon)
Flounder - 3 (Way too expensive for fish food!)
Thawed frozen and already cut varieties):
Pollack
Haddock
Swai (Not well accepted!)
Catfish (Messy and not very well accepted)
Silverside Minnows
Steakfish/ whitefish ...
As gross as it may sound, it seems like most all of my fish totally berserk out when given fish organ meat. It makes it easy for me since there is a world famous market (Lexington market) with numerous fish vendors with its own light-rail and subway stops that I transfer every day coming home from work.
To date fresh fish that I have fed include (Graded on a scale of 1 [worst] to 10 [best] based on factors including appeal to fish, filleting ease, cost and water fouling:
Tilapia - 5 (Very thick skull, heavy bones and sharp fins make it a tough cut, waste)
Spot - 8 (Extremely easy cut & a top appeal, very little waste but clouds water fast)
Croaker - 4 (Skull so thick you practically need a chainsaw to get at the brain, heavy bones, sharp finage, lots of waste)
Bass - 6 (Excellent feed other then being pricey)
Perch - 10 (perfect feed well liked, easy cut, little waste and not too messy!)
Grouper - 5 (I had the market cut fillets (for family), very bland so became fish feed)
Porgy - 8 (Easy but some sharp bone & fins need removal)
Butterfish - 9 (easy & very little waste)
Trout - 10 (perfect feed)
Mullet - 6 (extremely messy and can gag a maggot/ knock a buzzard off a meat wagon)
Flounder - 3 (Way too expensive for fish food!)
Thawed frozen and already cut varieties):
Pollack
Haddock
Swai (Not well accepted!)
Catfish (Messy and not very well accepted)
Silverside Minnows
Steakfish/ whitefish ...