# anyone keep a GAR with their cichlids?



## mutnjeff (Jul 29, 2008)

I have a 125gal with convicts, jack dempseys, and venestus. was just wondering if anyone has kept a gar or moray eels with any of these fish. my LFS assured me that they would be ok so I have added 2 eels and 1 gar. my question is have you had any problems and what and how often are you feeding feeder fish for the gar and eels? I'm finding it difficult to make sure that they are getting some of them as the dempseys and venestus are much faster and outnumber them and they LOVE the feeder fish. was also considering trying to work with the gar to eat pellets - I've read that over time they will, anyone have any luck? currently I'm feeding the tank a variety of cichlid sticks, flakes, crisps as well as the feeder fish and some frozen krill, brine shrimp and silversides. Thanks!

Michele


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

Gar's are fine if you don't mind your cichlids either disappearing or having torn up fins, seems like a waste to me. Gar's are just aligator fish imo.
I have no experience with moray eels though.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

I have very breif experience with adding a gar to my cichlid tank when I was a 12 yr. old kid. My older brothers idea; it was his fault :lol: He got me to buy it; he wanted to see how it would do with cichlids and I always listened to him.

It was well over a foot long when I purchased it. Lasted all of one week in my tank. Seemed to do O.K for a couple days until my RD started paying some attention to it. Took some hard shots from the RD and got real scared and nervous -----hid in the floating plants. My RD picked the eyeballs out of it while it was still alive and it lived on for a coupld days blind, hiding in the floating plants until the RD finally killed it.

During this week a couple small fish went missing in the tank ---- a female con and something else, I can't remember. That big long snout full of teeth is very usefull in catching small fish, but 100% useless when it comes to defending itself. I don't think it's a good idea to stock it with really aggressive CA, unless the tank is huge ----- and even then, I don't think it's a very aggressive fish, nor a fish that can defend itself well from other fish, unless the fish is small enough to be eaten.


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## MidNightCowBoy (May 7, 2007)

mutnjeff said:


> my LFS assured me that they would be ok


That was your first mistake.

Always research the fish you plan to buy before you buy them. the LFS assurance doesn't count as research.


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## NY SURF RIDER (Dec 26, 2006)

I've kept a gar with my cichlids without any problems, and my cichlids were small. If you keep the gar well fed he isn't going to catch any of your cichlids. Have you ever seen one of those eat? They sit there still until a guppy or something slow and small swims close enough to their mouth. and then they have to hold it w/ their teeth and flip it around so that they bring the prey headfirst into their mouth.

The bigger problem is, the gar will grow too big and you won't want him in your tank anymore. Also, having to buy feeder guppies and goldfish twice a week to feed the Gar can be a ***************.. Especially when the feeders start bringing parasites into your tank and getting your cichlids sick.

Gars are fun to keep but I don't think they make a good long term investment.


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## con-man-dan (Aug 19, 2006)

ok....so no one else is going to mention the part about the lfs recomending MORAY EELS???? <ow i have heard as juvies they can do ok in freshwater, but thats a saltwater, 6ft long, toothy carnivore you have in the tank, 2 of them no less. Return your fish, demand a refund, then report them to the BBB. any shop that sells saltwater fish for a freshwater aquarium needs to be reported and shut down immediately. places like this perobably also "guarantee" pacu will only grow a few inches in a small tank, same with oscars. they want you to kill your fish so you will come back and buy more


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

Gars don't belong in most home aquariums... nearly impossibly for them to turn around.

-Ryan


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## dwarfpike (Jan 22, 2008)

There are brackish species of moray eels often sold as freshwater moray eels. But the cichlids wouldn't enjoy the salt for the most port.


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## phishes (May 17, 2005)

dwarfpike said:


> There are brackish species of moray eels often sold as freshwater moray eels. But the cichlids wouldn't enjoy the salt for the most port.


Yup, and the gar will love eating those convicts. I think a gar would need a larger tank. How about one of these? It is a black banded lepornious (sp?) and they get 10-12'' long. They are great w/ cichlids, and look amazing when grown. Here is mine:


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## gage (Feb 7, 2007)

what kind of gar is it? as long as fish arent eatable for them, a hujeta gar (actually a pike characin) should be fine, they are peaceful with fish that arent able to be eaten, peaceful with large fish.

the morays are probably juvi Brackish-Salt water, the only 2 eels that even resemble morays that are true fresh water are the European eel, and American eel, and if i remember correctly both attain a minimum of 5 feet.


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