Hal the alligator gar

[Jakdarippa]

Heres a story thats quite old but thought-provoking..
A gator gar named Hal, who was at Belle Isle Aquarium (Detroit) for more than 23 years (1982 - 2005) died while being moved to another location. Polka-dotted Hal was 100 lbs plus and somewhere between 40 and 70 years old. Check out the size of that tank...:nilly:
I'm going to need a major upgrade soon..

[ewurm]

It was in that tank?

[Jakdarippa]

It was in that tank?

Yup, for decades

[Bsixxx]

Yup, for decades

way too small for that old of a gator gar has to be stunted or younger
:cry:

[demjor19]

the gator gar in which you are speaking of is the one richard (polypterus) cared for at that aquarium.

[Polypterus]

way too small for that old of a gator gar has to be stunted or younger
:cry:

That fish was not hardly stunted and the tank fit it fine. You can not see from the photo but the tank is very wide and had the dimensions around 15 x 20 foot.

R.I.P. Dude I miss you :(

[Vicious_Fish]

That fish was not hardly stunted and the tank fit it fine. You can not see from the photo but the tank is very wide and had the dimensions around 15 x 20 foot.

R.I.P. Dude I miss you :(

Thats a huge fish. How long was he when he died?

[demjor19]

what a cool fish. i would love to have the chance to work with such an awesome fish!

[evilxyardxgnome]

whata beast

[arosvios]

Very nice big guy!

[Fish_are_fishfood]

Sad for him to go while being transported to a new home :(

[jloos1988]

belle isle thats right near grosse point where some of my familys at, i was there a lil while ago fishing...is the aquarium still there? my cousin told me belle isle has gone to shi* lately

[Dread]

belle isle thats right near grosse point where some of my familys at, i was there a lil while ago fishing...is the aquarium still there? my cousin told me belle isle has gone to shi* lately

Belle Isle aquarium was closed for some reason. I used to go there almost every weekend with my Dad and Mom as a kid. Figured, as soon as I get into the aquarium hobby, the best Aquarium in the state closes. Now I have to go to Toledo Zoo for a good aquarium, or Chicago for the Shedd.

[FishyFry]

The tank was actually much longer than shown in the picture. The aquarium was closed because the Mayor of Detroit decided to cut costs (silly man). The aquarium was the oldest in the country. I visited when I was a kid and my Mom, Sister and Nephews visited just before the aquarium closed. Here are some photos we took in .pdf slideshow format.

http://www.pandk.org/Trip%20to%20Belle%20Isle%20Aquarium%20Michigan.pdf

[Polypterus]

The aquarium was closed because the Mayor of Detroit decided to cut costs (silly man).

It was a bit more complicated than that but thats good enough.....
If I watch that slideshow of yours again I'm going to :cry:

the best Aquarium in the state
:) Why thank you... I like to hear from people that understood the value of that little aquarium and knew that it was World class and 'Like nowhere else'..

my cousin told me belle isle has gone to shi* lately
Well what would one expect when you give Roger Penske free reign to screw up things Illegally.

But I would not say it has all gone to Shi*. A number of very important projects are underway to fix up and preserve various parts of the Island.

[ShadowBass]

Beautiful fish. Looks like you and whoever else was involved in his care did a great job :)

Sad that he went like that though :(

[FishyFry]

It was a bit more complicated than that but thats good enough.....
If I watch that slideshow of yours again I'm going to :cry:

Poly, I would love to hear the real story, if you have time.

...yeah, I watched it myself again just before I posted and felt teary eyed..and now again as I am writing this. Hal was my oldest nephew's fav from that visit.

My brother gave me a piece of Pewabic tile from the namesake Pottery for my birthday. That is one thing I loved about that aquarium, was the tile, along with the other impressive architectural features. My last visit to the aquarium had quite an effect on my idea of decor. I now incorporate more concrete and tree branches in my tanks. I loved those setups!

[Polypterus]

Sad that he went like that though
Only time in my adult life I have actually cried was on hearing the News that fish Died in transit...He was old though and an honest mistake by part of the transit staff was too much for him. He already was weak and not really fit for transport but not much could had been done about this. Really it was move him or put him down..It was better to try and fail then to not try at all.

[Polypterus]

Poly, I would love to hear the real story, if you have time.

...yeah, I watched it myself again just before I posted and felt teary eyed..and now again as I am writing this. Hal was my oldest nephew's fav from that visit.

My brother gave me a piece of Pewabic tile from the namesake Pottery for my birthday. That is one thing I loved about that aquarium, was the tile, along with the other impressive architectural features. My last visit to the aquarium had quite an effect on my idea of decor. I now incorporate more concrete and tree branches in my tanks. I loved those setups!

Lets just say politics sucks....

I do still have this profile chart from that tank as well as a few of the famous tiles from around that tank. (I quite literally keep that on my computer desk so the pic was just made)

[FishyFry]

I do still have this profile chart from that tank as well as a few of the famous tiles from around that tank. (I quite literally keep that on my computer desk so the pic was just made)

All keepers for sure! :grinyes:

[demjor19]

Lets just say politics sucks....

I do still have this profile chart from that tank as well as a few of the famous tiles from around that tank. (I quite literally keep that on my computer desk so the pic was just made)

man you guys are killing me. :(

richard if you dont mind me asking...where was Hal being transported to when he passed?

do you have any other pictures of Hal? i always see the same photo of him and would love to see more. that fish would be any gar keepers dream :) be happy you had the opportunity to work w/ him.

[Polypterus]

man you guys are killing me. :(

richard if you dont mind me asking...where was Hal being transported to when he passed?

do you have any other pictures of Hal? i always see the same photo of him and would love to see more. that fish would be any gar keepers dream :) be happy you had the opportunity to work w/ him.

He was being transported to Colorado, the Landry aquarium in Denver..They still have a number of fish from the BIA including a few Longnosed gar and sturgeon. If I remember a bunch of big cats such as the Jau and Psudeo. niger went there also.

I'll have to dig up some old pics..I really never took many that did not look much like the one shown (Hell I could swear that is my pic actually)...

[Jakdarippa]

He was being transported to Colorado, the Landry aquarium in Denver..They still have a number of fish from the BIA including a few Longnosed gar and sturgeon. If I remember a bunch of big cats such as the Jau and Psudeo. niger went there also.

I'll have to dig up some old pics..I really never took many that did not look much like the one shown (Hell I could swear that is my pic actually)...


Definatly did a great job caring for him Richard, how long did you work with Hal, and damn what did you feed him, cant make out the words on the profile chart. The tank looks amazing btw, if you can please tell us the actual dimentions and size in gallons?.. would love to replicate it. An article stated the cause of death as liver problems but im sure it took a crane net to lift this guy ... that in itself could have resulted in injury.. someone once mentioned that captive gators dont look mean at all... this guy definatly looks like a gentle giant, any aggression observed while caring for him?

[killerfish]

i was about to say that tank looks massive i don't think it would get stunted in there but wow nice fish so old to i wounder what the oldest fish in captivity is and how old