View Full Version : the biggest gar
Neo Baron
05-02-2005, 4:46 PM
ive seen some big gars in my time but can anyone top the aligator gar i saw in texas it was about 9 feet, it made my 2 foot florida gar look like a feeder fish.
I've seen some big gars in public aquariums. Nothing close to 9 feet though...
redtailfool
05-03-2005, 10:31 PM
wow havent seen one that big.. not even in pictures..
Vitaliy
05-03-2005, 10:43 PM
wow havent seen one that big.. not even in pictures..
http://www.earthwave.org/gars/treegar.jpg
http://faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/hugegar.jpg
:22_yikes:
redtailfool
05-03-2005, 10:45 PM
m-m-mMOnstah!!
Thanks Vitaly.
Very cool pics, book says they hit 3 meters and over 150 kilos. biggest I have ever seen was almost 6' in louisiana, someone had hit it with an outboard.
Neo Baron
05-04-2005, 10:19 AM
in my opinion they are the true monsters of the fw.
krielikieli
05-13-2005, 10:36 PM
Silly question, given that size, do they eat people? I'm just imagining when people swim or fishing, suddenly this gar will jump out the water and snap like crocs... :hitting:
I heard stories like that in some remote southeast asia that giant catfish does this to villagers when they go fetch water in rivers.
aapl76
05-14-2005, 4:31 AM
http://www.earthwave.org/gars/treegar.jpg
http://faculty.evansville.edu/ck6/bstud/hugegar.jpg
:22_yikes:
:omg: thats big........ :22_yikes:
marshy
05-14-2005, 4:42 AM
A 9 foot alligator Gar would really look like a real alligator minus the legs!
Silly question, given that size, do they eat people? I'm just imagining when people swim or fishing, suddenly this gar will jump out the water and snap like crocs... :hitting:
I heard stories like that in some remote southeast asia that giant catfish does this to villagers when they go fetch water in rivers.
No, but I was told(grain of salt) about a motorized canoe flipping over when hitting one. Meanest fish in U.S. are baby blue gill, they try to pluck you.
fire999
05-14-2005, 6:24 AM
Are Alligator Gars readily sold in fish shops in the States?
If so, what is the current market price for them?
They are definately some monsters I'll avoid swimming with... ;)
zeroneox
05-15-2005, 4:59 AM
Hi guys, I am from Singapore. Go check this out for gar lover... www.garfishing.com I got 2 gar.. keep them since they are 7-8" now it is almost 3 feet in my 5 feet tank. They eat alot so I go to the supermarket to get fish for them.. cheaper then small goldfish.
Caveman
05-15-2005, 5:04 AM
I think the biggest Gar I have ever seen wasnt even over 12". :(
E_americanus
05-15-2005, 12:45 PM
alligator gars, at least the juveniles, are seasonal in the US and should be showing up in the next couple months. most are collected in the wild, although aquaculture efforts are being started in some areas. the standard price for the juveniles (3-6") when they are available is around $50 USD. they get big faster than any other gar species, and are generally more aggressive than other gar species, even those with their own genus (Atractosteus, which contains the Cuban and tropical gars as well).--
--solomon
rayman45
05-15-2005, 3:54 PM
at the cabela's in handberg(sp.) pa.
thay ha a 55,000 native tank
18+ inch blow fin
and 3+ foot gars
I have kept a 'true' alligator gar before. I have never kept any other gars before that, or after that, but if the other gars are anything like the alligator, no wonder you guys love 'em.
I knew full well that these guys get way too big. I TRIED to keep mine small. Kept him with a 9" tiger dat and some 7-10"inch Tall mono Sebaes. This thing can eat everything...
I started only feeding pellets, and he would eat tons of pellets. I switched to tiny pellets and hand-fed my Dat - he ate tons of small pellets. He would even skim the surface of the water eating the smallest little flecks of pellets..
People told me Oscars are the fastest growing fish. No, no...Snakeheads are...yep, beat the oscars..No, no...RTCs are...yep...way faster than the snakehead!...
Well, Alligator Gars are the FASTEST fish I have EVER witnessed getting big. From me 'holding back trying to stunt him', he grew to 15" in a 90 gallon (wouldn't dare put him in my 230 as he would kill most of everything there) in less than a year. LESS THAN ONE YEAR!!!!! And I was TRYING to keep him small.
By the way, he as soon as he was a bit bigger than the rest of my fish, he kept biting my other fish repeatedly. Lots of scratches across most of my fish.
This is a REAL monster. U guys with the 2000gallon + arapaima tanks should try one of these out!
sharks
05-21-2005, 5:07 AM
I have seen some large alligator gar at Sea World Orlando, but they were not 9'. They were housed with Astronotus, Pangasius, Snook, Plecos, and manatees
now it is almost 3 feet in my 5 feet tank.
??? Pics please
llin6715
05-22-2005, 8:31 PM
You have any of your fish posted.. like to chk it out..
lil_lara
05-27-2005, 3:21 PM
you can get gars many places in the US. Any fish over 6" I wont' sell to anyone unless they are over 18. Well let me correct that statement. any fish over 6" with teeth. I want to make sure the person has a big enough tank and knows what they're getting into. I don't want a fish dying beacause I didn't ask enough questions before selling it.
e!o!z!
05-27-2005, 4:45 PM
Here in Alabama Alligator gars are everywhere if you go fishing in any of the larger lake you will find them especilly around the dams. Meanest looking fish you can imagine close up.
netobeto
05-27-2005, 5:49 PM
what would be the smallest pond you could keep this monster?
piranha45
05-27-2005, 9:29 PM
you can get gars many places in the US. Any fish over 6" I wont' sell to anyone unless they are over 18. Well let me correct that statement. any fish over 6" with teeth. I want to make sure the person has a big enough tank and knows what they're getting into. I don't want a fish dying beacause I didn't ask enough questions before selling it.
You rock! :headbang2 :cool:
piranha45
05-27-2005, 9:30 PM
what would be the smallest pond you could keep this monster?
I think a 20'x10' pond would be reasonable, if still a bit on the small side.
Redtail_Watcher
08-29-2006, 2:59 AM
want monstah pics mahn??lol!:ROFL:
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Fishbox 360
08-29-2006, 9:14 PM
Those are freaking enormous.:popcorn:
Fishbox 360
08-29-2006, 9:26 PM
Heres my contribution
most all of em are 250 and over
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Redtail_Watcher
08-30-2006, 3:07 AM
more peleasss!!......:drool: :drool: :drool:
Merlin Aldous Espinoza
08-30-2006, 7:45 AM
man, its big.
katienjoi
07-11-2007, 12:35 AM
Can you imagine swimming with that thing in the water!!!
katienjoi
07-11-2007, 12:39 AM
Do people eat these things???Or is it more for sport?
demjor19
07-11-2007, 7:35 AM
people do eat them, but i would consider it for sport. i have heard people say they arent bad eating though.
madmac82
07-11-2007, 3:59 PM
i think swimming with them wud be COOL, mine is hand tame, i would swim with mine once i sety my pond up, i think lol
Nabbig2
07-12-2007, 5:22 PM
I have kept a 'true' alligator gar before. I have never kept any other gars before that, or after that, but if the other gars are anything like the alligator, no wonder you guys love 'em.
I knew full well that these guys get way too big. I TRIED to keep mine small. Kept him with a 9" tiger dat and some 7-10"inch Tall mono Sebaes. This thing can eat everything...
I started only feeding pellets, and he would eat tons of pellets. I switched to tiny pellets and hand-fed my Dat - he ate tons of small pellets. He would even skim the surface of the water eating the smallest little flecks of pellets..
People told me Oscars are the fastest growing fish. No, no...Snakeheads are...yep, beat the oscars..No, no...RTCs are...yep...way faster than the snakehead!...
Well, Alligator Gars are the FASTEST fish I have EVER witnessed getting big. From me 'holding back trying to stunt him', he grew to 15" in a 90 gallon (wouldn't dare put him in my 230 as he would kill most of everything there) in less than a year. LESS THAN ONE YEAR!!!!! And I was TRYING to keep him small.
By the way, he as soon as he was a bit bigger than the rest of my fish, he kept biting my other fish repeatedly. Lots of scratches across most of my fish.
This is a REAL monster. U guys with the 2000gallon + arapaima tanks should try one of these out!
Faster growing than an oscar? That must be so fast, you can see it grow.
demjor19
07-12-2007, 6:03 PM
Faster growing than an oscar? That must be so fast, you can see it grow.
LOL!!! an oscar doesnt even come close. you almost can watch them grow.
my tropical gar for the first 5 weeks grew 5-6 inches. he has since slown down a little, but still growing steadily.
loki11
09-24-2007, 12:36 AM
payara is the real monster fish?
pirarucu319
09-24-2007, 5:53 AM
once been bitten..you'll FINISH..
any cases that these monster attacked people??
no wonder if somebody ripped apart their arm,
take a closer look at these monster teeth..
uuuuhhhhh....never ...
ANCIENT MONSTER RULEZ :arapaimag :asianarow
DownUnder
09-24-2007, 7:21 AM
monstrous!
demjor19
09-24-2007, 7:44 AM
payara is the real monster fish?
then post somewhere else!!! this is the gar forum!
swissarmy26
02-10-2008, 10:33 PM
I personally have caught two really big alligator gar with rod and reel by IGFA regulation. One was 104lbs and the other was 159lbs which was two world records in the IGFA book. The 159lbs fish was about seven feet in length and I got in the water and held it and swam with it, it was pretty cool.
Chris006
02-13-2008, 4:46 PM
Yes people do eat them are there are online cooking tip for gars. BUT note that the eggs of gars are toxic.
E_americanus
02-13-2008, 5:07 PM
I personally have caught two really big alligator gar with rod and reel by IGFA regulation. One was 104lbs and the other was 159lbs which was two world records in the IGFA book. The 159lbs fish was about seven feet in length and I got in the water and held it and swam with it, it was pretty cool.
pictures?
demjor19
02-13-2008, 6:32 PM
pictures?
i would love to see pics as well!
where did you catch these monsters?
swissarmy26
02-13-2008, 7:13 PM
I caught them in the trinity river in texas.
Tsuji_Monster
02-13-2008, 7:20 PM
Silly question, given that size, do they eat people? I'm just imagining when people swim or fishing, suddenly this gar will jump out the water and snap like crocs... :hitting:
I heard stories like that in some remote southeast asia that giant catfish does this to villagers when they go fetch water in rivers.
those rumors are about the mekong catfish, those things get huge
swissarmy26
02-14-2008, 4:37 PM
in the mekong river the cats get 600lbs. They are highly endangered, in captivity I believe the biggest ones are about 200lbs. They fight like hell, the biggest one I have caught was 78lbs.
swissarmy26
02-14-2008, 4:38 PM
I forgot to add, if any of you want to fish for Mekong's the place to go is Bung Sam Lan Lake with Jean-Francois Helias. He is an IGFA representative and a very knowledgeable guide. They also have siamese giant carp, chao phraya cats, and pirarucu in the lake.
DoctorSamson
03-29-2008, 6:49 PM
I've never heard of one getting to 9 feet. the World record is 8 foot 2 inches, so maybe that one should have been measured. I have no doubt however that they can get that big and bigger. I just haven't seen it.