BG
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hoover, Jan J ERDC-EL-MS" <Jan.J.Hoover_at_erdc.usace.army.mil>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2004 1:52 PM
Subject: RE: NANFA-- Gar growth: was "Redfin pickerel"
> Gastropodman asked:
> >>>Will any gar/pike/pickeral ever except dead food? Also, do you think a
> spotted gar would fit in a 125 gallon tank?<<<
>
> Ray responds:
> >>>spotted gar should work fine. They do get just over three feet in the
> wild.
> However, I kept several for around ten years atleast, and the largest one
I
> think was 21 or so inches long. Well fed to boot....Start them out small,
> and gars will take to floating pellets. Then its as
> easy as pie to keep them fed. A big bag of fish chow is cheap by unit
> price.<<<
>
> Jan adds:
>
> Some of my gar eat frozen fish chunks within days of capture; others
refuse
> to accept anything except live crayfish and fish (and some of those are
> fussy about the kinds of live food they will eat). It all depends on the
> species, age of capture, individual behavior, and your set-up. Ray is
> certainly correct that some gar will feed readily on floating pellets.
> Several Florida tourist attractions sell generic pellets from "gumball"
type
> machines. Gar, tilapia, and koi seem to thrive on them.
>
> A 125-gallon tank seems like very good starter-size tank for your gar.
Like
> Ray, I have found that captive gar (and bowfin) do not always get as large
> as specimens in the wild. In the lower Mississippi Basin, young-of-year
> gar and bowfin occur in shallow, floodplain pools that are warm (26-30 C)
> and packed with fish -- their metabolism is in high gear and fuel supplies
> are almost unlimited. When those fish are moved to cooler water and
feeding
> become less frequent, growth rates (and ultimate size) may be reduced.
>
> Still -- gar enthusiasts can spend a lot money and time buying and
> collecting feeders, building, and maintaining jumbo-size accomodations.
>
>
> Its not incumbent on the fish to adapt to the conditions provided by the
> aquarist. Its the responsibility of the aquarist to accomodate the needs
of
> the fish.
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