Tropical Gar!!!

[demjor19]

My little tropical gar just came in this morning. I thought we could all share pics and updates every so often to see the different growth rates. Include information such as diet, tank size, and water change schedule. Also it would be nice to see how they all act. Look forward to hearing from all of you tropical gar owners out there. Here are pics of mine. He has not yet eaten but he has only been here about 2 hours now. We're starting him out in the 30 with the baby longnose. A he progresses we'll update pics.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN0057.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN0054.jpg

[AnDr3w]

How big is he?

[demjor19]

sorry he is currently 6".

[davo]

Nice colours.

[ani-mal-lvr]

Nice pickup!!! I wanted one so bad! But with the espense of my daughters graduation, I just couldnt swing one atm.
I'll just have to live vicariously through your pics and updates. So keep em comin.

[Crazy Taco]

wow thats a great looking gar!

[jopbgon]

Do tropical gar live in Costa Rica?, nice gar too, how big do they get?how many gallon do they need?

[csx4236]

Looks great Jordan try some small floating pellets in a day or so thats what they were eating for last few days. I will post some pictures of my 20" and also have 32" that i will get some pictures of from another customer it's crazy big.

[demjor19]

Looks great Jordan try some small floating pellets in a day or so thats what they were eating for last few days. I will post some pictures of my 20" and also have 32" that i will get some pictures of from another customer it's crazy big.

your trop is beautiful! i cant wait til mine starts eating. earlier today i was wiggling a small piece of krill on top of the water and he swam over and took it, but spit it out after chewing it for a bit. im sure he will start eating soon though. what brand of pellet were they eating?

i would love to see a 32"er! please post a pic of him if you can!

thanks again mike! it was a pleasure dealing w/ you!

[Polypterus]

The coloration Jordan will change markedly as the fish calms down and relaxes. These fish normally take about anything food wise so I would not worry much about feeding...

Good luck with him and I'm glad you got one!!!!
you can get a hold of me on CLO if needed....

[Bsixxx]

very nice gars
:D

[demjor19]

The coloration Jordan will change markedly as the fish calms down and relaxes. These fish normally take about anything food wise so I would not worry much about feeding...

Good luck with him and I'm glad you got one!!!!
you can get a hold of me on CLO if needed....

he just took food for the first time! he seems to have relaxed alot and is doing great! ill be sure to get hold of if i need some insite. i haven stopped by CLO in a while, but i will be sure to. im really excited about this guy! thanks!

[csx4236]

The coloration Jordan will change markedly as the fish calms down and relaxes. These fish normally take about anything food wise so I would not worry much about feeding...

Good luck with him and I'm glad you got one!!!!
you can get a hold of me on CLO if needed....

Hey Richard your and Salomon gars are going out tomorrow thanks for everything man and let me know when get them how everything went. Thanks mike

[Polypterus]

Hey Richard your and Salomon gars are going out tomorrow thanks for everything man and let me know when get them how everything went. Thanks mike

I'm sure they will come in nice and happy..I'll let you know how things go.
Thanks Mike

[demjor19]

anyone else on here get some of the trops from mike? lets see and hear about them.

richard and solomon. id like to follow the progress of yours. what do you guys plan on feeding them and what tank are you going to start them out in.

[Gr8KarmaSF]

ummmm who got the platinums?!?!?!? would love to see those pictures....

[demjor19]

ummmm who got the platinums?!?!?!? would love to see those pictures....

i was thinking the same thing...did Neo get one?

[bacon]

where did you get your tropical gar and how much? i want one!

[demjor19]

where did you get your tropical gar and how much? i want one!

i got mine from CSX4236 @ H2O custom aquatics. it was $120 plus shipping. i think it came out to like $180.

[demjor19]

now that my trop is all settled in i have been noticing him being much more aggressive than my florida gar. he eats anything! he eats pellets, krill, crickets, and even steals live feeders out of the longnose's mouth that i am keaping him with. He actually attacked the longnose gar...i am not sure if he was mistaken for food or if it was aggression. other than being aggressive he seems to be very calm and not jumpy at all. now that he is calmed down and i got him all fattened up i will post some new pics tomorrow. the trop is becoming quite the monster fish.

[E_americanus]

all our t-gars (10) came in safely and are settling in nicely...they are currently eating hikari floating carnivore sticks, and that's after less than 24 hours in the tank (as expected from pellet-raised farm bred fish). will post pics sometime in the near future. thanks mike!--
--solomon

[Miguel]

Wow, awesome Gar Jordan! Envy you!

[E_americanus]

better pics to come, but here's a really quick snapshot taken the day they arrived:

[demjor19]

solomon thats awsome! mine is eating fd krill like it is going out of style. he doesnt seem interested in the hikari sticks.

miguel...thanks for the compliments! this fish is awsome!
he is so chilled out and relaxed. he just floats around gulping air, eating, and pooping. lol!

[Polypterus]

Just a hint about feeding....
http://www.silvercup.com/
Trout formula...Find a local distributer... it is gold...

[csx4236]

Hey salomon glad fish are all doing well and yeah they do poop alot lol

[demjor19]

these guys grow at an awesome rate! mine has probably already doubled in overall body mass! it has only been a little more than a week! he hasnt tried eating any tankmates lately.

[suckerfish]

mine grew 10" in the shipping bag!!!!!:WHOA: he's 16" now.
no, this is my current one and receiving 2 tonight on SWA. wooooooo, come on 8:00. i'll post some pics tomorrow after the all night drip.
thanks again to mike and sol.
when the cubans come in again, put me down for a few as well.
J

[demjor19]

awesome! be sure to post pics. is your current trop still growing quickly or is he slowing down?

[demjor19]

here are some newer pics of my little one. these were taken late last week.

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/punkjbaby/Tropicalgar7.jpg

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e320/punkjbaby/PeacockBass5.jpg

[me_wee_todded]

Thats an awesome gar man

[suckerfish]

i think mine has really slowed down in growth now, but eats more than ever.
thanks me__we( if you were talking about mine).
interesting thing i just remembered. when these were first brought in, there were 2 color morphs. 1 was "jaguar" pattern and the other was "normal"?? my current one is the "jaguar" morph and these look like the "normal" pattern??
any insight on this Mike or Sol?

[suckerfish]

kind of trippy, but, my current one's back 1/4 is white. camera doesn't show it good. maybe part xanthic. i wish

[demjor19]

hes really cool! if im not mistaken xanthic is yellow?
what do you feed yours?

[E_americanus]

jaguar, tiger, and normal "morphs" are all the same. these fish are highly variable and the initial 'sorting' of the sub-adults based on pattern means virtually nothing at all. any one of the smaller 'normal' gars that were brought in can develop any pattern, and as stated, this species is highly variable.

the fish pictured above has a nice pattern, but this isn't necessarily unique. t-gars will commonly seen with patchy white on them, or they can be all dark, or spotted, etc etc. a couple of the individuals i had from the first order had white blotches, and some of them from the new one do as well. again, highly variable fish. that's part of the fun with these fish as no two look identical :) --
--solomon
ps-- great looking fish by the way!

[suckerfish]

thanx demjor19. he eats everything. but mostly whole shrimp and floating pellets. definately a bootm feeder though--waits till food hits the ground.
Sol, thanks for the clarification. and yes these fish are great and not to spastic compared with other types i've had.
any more cubans? ever again? ever? if weren't for your hard work the first time, i'd never of known the joy.
and 1 more time, many thanks to Mike for making this happen again.
J

[demjor19]

definately a bootm feeder though--waits till food hits the ground.

i have never seen mine eat off the bottom. he only eats surface food. once it sinks he loses interest. does your gar spent most of its time on the bottom or top? he seems to be on the bottom in all of the pics.

[suckerfish]

he spends 90% on the bottom, just chilling or pestering the wolf i have with him. matter of fact, i've never seen a fish pester another fish so much. no biting or anything, but touching, rubbing, and he always lifts the wolf to the surface with his snout(funny stuff). why? i have no idea, but the wolf isn't bothered to much by it?? sometimes the wolf will smack his side to stop it.
my 2 new ones came in last night, i'll get some pics today

[demjor19]

COOL! can't wait to see them.

[demjor19]

to those of you who got the trops this time around...what kind of growth are you observing? mine is at just about a foot now. he is eating shrimp, krill, floating pellets, and the occasional gutloaded feeder. i just took new pics today. i will upload them and post them sometime today.

thanks,

[demjor19]

here are some pics from today.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN1357.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN1362.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN1365.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN1366.jpg

[Polypterus]

Looking very good Jordan :headbang2

[CTU2fan]

Nice looking gar. I hope these are around next year when I have the space for one...I definitely want a gar and the trop seems like the one to get.

[demjor19]

Looking very good Jordan :headbang2

haha! thanks! does this growth seem healthy or normal to you? he looks and acts very healthy, but his growth is crazy. he is far surpassing my florida gars growth. what size are the ones you and solomon got right now?

[Polypterus]

haha! thanks! does this growth seem healthy or normal to you? he looks and acts very healthy, but his growth is crazy. he is far surpassing my florida gars growth. what size are the ones you and solomon got right now?

Growth looks very good and typical...Mine are currently in the 6 to 7 inch range and growing rapidly...

[csx4236]

There all looking good guys the ones i have left at the store are at the 6-7" range also i feed them everytime i walk past the tank pellets. There like dogs see you and go right up to the glass begging for food. They are truly awesome gars. My large guy at home will eat anything you drop in the tank off the bottom or top doesnt matter to him. Best of luck to you all. Mike

[ZOO YORK 207]

There all looking good guys the ones i have left at the store are at the 6-7" range also i feed them everytime i walk past the tank pellets. There like dogs see you and go right up to the glass begging for food. They are truly awesome gars. My large guy at home will eat anything you drop in the tank off the bottom or top doesnt matter to him. Best of luck to you all. Mike

How much is the one in your store going for? I might have Nic pick it up for me.

[AliceInChains]

very nice. whats the damage

[csx4236]

There $120 ea

[suckerfish]

i've got mine eating the large pellets already, and they're doing great!!! thanks again mike. one is a spaz, and may not make it to adulthood with a straight back. the other is mellow man like my big one.
one thing i noticed is: the two new ones i got don't have a trident, not even a shadow of a trident. these two are getting to the size of my original trop. gar and he always had a trident and still does at 18" bl. kind of weird.
J

[E_americanus]

t-gar is looking great jordan, good to see all the updates.
mine are currently doing well also; they are all right at about 9.5-10" and eat like pigs. i mix things up with (primarily) chopped shrimp, pellets (earthworm sticks & even veggie sticks), and occasional rosies.

will post pic updates sometime when i get the chance--
--solomon

[demjor19]

t-gar is looking great jordan, good to see all the updates.
mine are currently doing well also; they are all right at about 9.5-10" and eat like pigs. i mix things up with (primarily) chopped shrimp, pellets (earthworm sticks & even veggie sticks), and occasional rosies.

will post pic updates sometime when i get the chance--
--solomon

cool! i'm glad to hear yours are doing well! i am looking foward to your pics since they all seem to have such different markings and colors.

mine is pushing a foot long and i just put him in my 180 a few days ago due to him killing one of my cichlids while he was trying to eat it. he is doing awesome in there too.

[jopbgon]

great gars, you people pay to get a tropical gar and here I can fish them for free. I haven't go out for some t-gar yet but i'm thinking about do a nice trip to collect some natives (including t-gars, it's ilegal but they don't mind if I get only a couple), I have to take advantage of gars breading season( i think its in this month...or not?)

[ESJBond007]

how did u get a tropical gar i heard they are very rare

[demjor19]

There $120 ea

csx4236 brought some in.
he is a vendor on here.

[demjor19]

The trop is finally big enough for the 180 with my Florida gar. I put him in there about 2 weeks ago and so far things are going great. The trop. is growing steadily and is catching up to the Florida more quickly than I expected. I had an official measurement yesterday and he is at 11-1/4"

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN19366.jpg

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t244/KaraJ0/Monster%20Fish/DSCN1938.jpg

[DrZacharyus]

cool, looks like a cow kinda. i cant believe how fast that lil thing is growing

[demjor19]

i know! i was very suprised by his growth. cant wait to see him in a few more months!

[Infblue]

very nice! yours sure is growing fast!

[Juan Abarca]

So wehat happened with all of your gars?