gar?

[ameza45]

im interested in a gar that is 12"....will it eat pellets or dry food?

[mistahoo]

Depends on the source. If it's WC then definitely not. If it's someone else's gar and they already pellet trained it, then yeah it'll eat pellets.

Most likely you're gonna need to pellet train it. If you plan on starving them (I usually take this route), it can take a few days to months and training them is extremely stressful on the fish if they don't take the food right away and they can die.

[ameza45]

what do you mean by WC?

[mistahoo]

wild caught

[mistahoo]

Either way gars are piscivores (fish eaters). Most will probably eat fish only until you train them.

[HERM]

I have one about a foot long, I've been trying to pellet train it for over a moth. After not eating for a week or so, it will take the pellets but just spit them out. I just broke down and fed it 40 rosey reds today.

[ameza45]

not wild caught....thanks for the info

[mistahoo]

I had the same problem with a largemouth and a peacock bass. I kept breaking down after about a month. The trick is to not give in. Toss in a pellet each day as an attempt. If it doesn't eat it after about 2-3 minutes, remove the pellet so it won't foul the water. I did this for about a month and a half and I got the largemouth bass to eat pellets, but the pbass was still fighting me. He'd swim fast to the pellets and then stop when he sees it. They'll chew it for a taster and spit it out because it's not the same taste as fish. Just be persistent with it and eventually they'll eat it.

I find the type of pellets also helps to get piscivores pellet trained. Something softer and smelly works well. I used floating pellets since it would somewhat resemble prey swimming around compared to a sinking pellet that falls straight down. I tried using sinking pellets and it didn't work too well. I did get the fish to eat sinking pellets after they were eating the floating pellets since they were similar in taste and smell. I used Hikari Jumbo Carnisticks and Hikari Massivore. You could use whatever you plan to feed your fish.

There are other methods to get them pellet trained such as feeding them frozen fish or shrimp with pellets stuffed inside if the fish accept frozen foods. I've tried this method for about a week or two and having to individually stuff each piece of fish or shrimp with pellets got old. I went back to the starving method in the end. Worked for the largemouth but the pbass died from aggression in the tank before he even got pellet trained although he was almost there.

Also another tip. The more you break down and feed the fish live feeders, the harder the whole process will get. If you feel necessary to feed it, try to feed some frozen fillets instead of the live foods. If they don't take it, get some fish guts and mash it all up with some water and soak the frozen fillets in it, they'll eat it!

[barrettsline]

gar?

If it's WC then definitely not. If it's someone else's gar and they already pellet trained it, then yeah it'll eat pellets.

You really need to watch how you throw the "definitely not" phrase out. My 14" gar is wild caught and eats pellets. So do all the other WC natives in my pond.

[HERM]

You really need to watch how you throw the "definitely not" phrase out. My 14" gar is wild caught and eats pellets. So do all the other WC natives in my pond.

What's your trick? Bro

[barrettsline]

gar?

It's simple. Offer the food source readily available in the body of water where the fish is caught (native minnows, guppies, etc.). After watching the fish for 2 weeks, start using silver sides along with pellets. After another 2 weeks of feedings the fish realized the only way they would eat is when I fed them. I started feeding exclusively pellets after one month. All fish except the gar ate the pellets. The gar finally started eating pellets after the 5th week. It's not hard to train a fish on a food source as long as your provide a pattern of stability and offer what they know as food. I've done this many times with fish I've caught ever since I first started keeping natives 15 years ago.

Another method is to introduce them into a tank with other fish(that won't pick on them). You still may need to supplement a natural food source, but eventually they will exclusively eat what you offer. I used the method with 15 bream 10 years ago when I introduced them to an established mbuna colony. The bream quickly(1 week) realized what food was and thrived in the tank.

Experience is key. You have to experience something before you give advice. You can't read everything and think its second nature or that you know it.

[supadave]

Experience is key. You have to experience something before you give advice. You can't read everything and think its second nature or that you know it.

+1

[allysangels]

for me, i have found that keeping these "finicky fishes" with others who eagerly accept pellets makes them more eager to do the same. the predatory instinct in the others brings it out in them as well. good luck!

[Geral]

You really need to watch how you throw the "definitely not" phrase out. My 14" gar is wild caught and eats pellets. So do all the other WC natives in my pond.

+100000

If something didn't work for you don mean is not gonna work
For him give it a try by yourself and see how that work for you not all the fish are the same even the WC ones

[allysangels]

all fish are different, even 2 WC specimens from the same location will behave differently. thats why its so awesome that we can all come together and share our own personal experiences...