Panda Garra Info Plz

[housty29]

hi all, i bought a panda garra 3weeks ago in my lfs an thought they r a very nice fish so i bought another 2 today, all 3 r young an same size. since i introduced the 2 new 1s the day the original 1 has not stopped chasing them, it pushes them, sticks 2 ther backs an chases them round the tank. i was wondering if thats just them playing r is he trying 2 bully them? he will go an do his own thing for a min then bak at the chasin. 1 of the new 1s seems 2 lose his nice colour then wen he is left alone it come's bak. wot sort of food is best for them, wot do they like as a treat? any info would b great thanks.

 

[3BigGarras]

Hi there.

Me and the girlfriend just got 2 of these, we have 3 wild caught garra's and there big, id say around 4 maybe 5 inches, the pandas wouldnt stop chasing them and the pandas are about and inch


try bloodworm, my fish love them if not try a cucumber.


sorry if it dosnt help

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

The "greying" out of their lovely cream/black stripes is very normal when multiple Panda Garras are kept, its all to do with claiming their own bit of tank and if the tank is not big enough (think 30x30cm of floor per fish) then the weaker members of the group can get very stressed and die... Yet in the wild they live in massive groups and are rather social! If you have not already, spread out a few cave-like bits of furniture (side-on plant pots work ok), perhaps adding one or two more than the number of fish, so they can set up temporary homes in them.

Panda Garras are often sold as alternative algae control fish, but if anything they are slightly more on the carnivorous side of being an omnivore. They enjoy the odd algae wafer and will sometimes much algae on the tank walls in the current (in wild they eat the tiny creatures that live amongst the algae), but a staple of Tetra Prima and JML Catfish Pellets seemed to work well, with the odd treat in the week of defrosted bloodworms and alike. They love current and have quite a tolerance range for temperature, but I would not advise keeping them much above ~22C for more than a few months a year, giving them a cool winter period of 18C or so.

 

[housty29]

thanks folks, al try cucumber and blood worm as a treat every now an again. i should have said the tank is a 4ft tank with 9 cardinal tetras, 9guppys, 8 marygold platy, 3 pearl gourami and 2 fish i dont know wot they r they r inch and a half long grey with a silver line from tail 2 eye and red tail an dorsal, looks a bit like a scissor tail. i came home from work 2 day an the weak lookin 1 seems 2 have his lovely gold an grey colour bak. not as much chasin going on now, am gonna go get some plant pots, i already have catfish pellets an they love them and i have the current sorted. thanks very much N0body Of The Goat and 3BigGarras i will try my best 2 cover everything here over the next few days.