spotted gar/ florida gar

njackson · Jan 13, 2009

hi

i thinking of building a tank 6ft x 3ft x 3ft or 8ft x 3ft x 2ft tank , but i think i will build 6ft tank becuase it is cheaper , so my qeustions how many spotted or florida gars i can have my 6ft or 8ft tank and can the live in coldwater.

xander · Jan 13, 2009

imo up to 10 full grown spotted gars, but not in cold water.

E_americanus · Jan 13, 2009

xander13;2640194; said:
imo up to 10 full grown spotted gars, but not in cold water.

just curious as to how you came up with this number...10 full-grown spotted gars would be far too crowded in most cases (think 10 x 18-20" individuals). there would be a good amount of fin shredding, plenty of aggression leading to potential broken backs. you're better off figuring on 5 "full-grown" Florida/spotted gars +/- 1--
--solomon

xander · Jan 13, 2009

justink's tank. lol, it's really hard to give a "right" answer for these kind qns? so i said what i think i might have done. obviously if i had at any point in time deemed the tank too crowded i would remove some gars, and not add anymore. i trust that people should have the common sense to do the same, and not continue doing something that is working really badly just cause someone on the net said it should work.

E_americanus · Jan 13, 2009

xander13;2640400; said:
justink's tank. lol, it's really hard to give a "right" answer for these kind qns? so i said what i think i might have done. obviously if i had at any point in time deemed the tank too crowded i would remove some gars, and not add anymore. i trust that people should have the common sense to do the same, and not continue doing something that is working really badly just cause someone on the net said it should work.

expecting people to have common sense is unfortunately not a luxury we have...it's evidenced in every day life as well as on forums (fish or otherwise...just look at the morons in youtube videos).

that being said, although growth rates and max sizes in captivity can be variable, you have enough info with the tank size and enough info from people who have kept these gars for years and years that 10 full grown gars in a tank is NOT a wise decision (at least with the dimensions he's listed). look at your tank...you have about 5 right? it's not even within the realm of reason that you should double the number of those gars at the same size. my big gar tank currently has only 4 gars in it, ranging from ~17"-25"....the footprint is the same as the initial poster's suggestion...10 gars would be insane and irresponsible.

only take these criticisms somewhat personally, as given your growing experience, there will be more expected of you (and your answers) as well

--
--solomon

E_americanus · Jan 13, 2009

PS -- just looked at justink's tank you had mentioned. those are not fully-grown gars and i doubt they will all make it to full-grown. that tank is overcrowded and far from appropriate for that many gars plus other tankmates...wolf fish and oscars with gars is a combo advised against over and over. the tank will not maintain stability for an extended period of time by any means. looks amusing at a glance though--
--solomon

xander · Jan 13, 2009

E_americanus;2640593; said:
expecting people to have common sense is unfortunately not a luxury we have...it's evidenced in every day life as well as on forums (fish or otherwise...just look at the morons in youtube videos).

that being said, although growth rates and max sizes in captivity can be variable, you have enough info with the tank size and enough info from people who have kept these gars for years and years that 10 full grown gars in a tank is NOT a wise decision (at least with the dimensions he's listed). look at your tank...you have about 5 right? it's not even within the realm of reason that you should double the number of those gars at the same size. my big gar tank currently has only 4 gars in it, ranging from ~17"-25"....the footprint is the same as the initial poster's suggestion...10 gars would be insane and irresponsible.

only take these criticisms somewhat personally, as given your growing experience, there will be more expected of you (and your answers) as well --
--solomon

i have 4(17"-22"), but i plan on having 4-6(2 cubans and the rest spotteds/trops) eventually. in retrospect, i realised i should have been clearer in giving my opinion, and by not doing so i gave pretty poor advise.. i meant that 10 was the highest he could/should go with the 8' footprint tank. correct me if i'm wrong but i am still inclined to believe that one could have 10(maybe a little overkilled, perhaps 8?) spotted gars in the 8x3, mainly because even at 20", they're not nearly as stocky as atractosteus gars? i cannot really visualise it as the few tanks on forums that are dedicated to keeping gars mainly hold atractosteus sp gars. and there aren't a whole load of 20+" spotted gars floating around here.

point noted, i probably should take a little more time in thinking out my replies.

E_americanus · Jan 13, 2009

xander13;2640744; said:
i have 4(17"-22"), but i plan on having 4-6(2 cubans and the rest spotteds/trops) eventually. in retrospect, i realised i should have been clearer in giving my opinion, and by not doing so i gave pretty poor advise.. i meant that 10 was the highest he could/should go with the 8' footprint tank. correct me if i'm wrong but i am still inclined to believe that one could have 10(maybe a little overkilled, perhaps 8?) spotted gars in the 8x3, mainly because even at 20", they're not nearly as stocky as atractosteus gars? i cannot really visualise it as the few tanks on forums that are dedicated to keeping gars mainly hold atractosteus sp gars. and there aren't a whole load of 20+" spotted gars floating around here.

point noted, i probably should take a little more time in thinking out my replies.

in response to green:
sounds good/reasonable; 8 could work, 10 is a bit much.

stockiness doesn't necessarily indicate more space taken up when it comes to gars, as a stockier species seems somewhat less inclined to broken backs (that has been my experience, and i know that of some others as well), therefore a longer/skinnier gar may be more volatile. a group of gars can often be hit or miss...to some extent a close group may keep each other calmer, but often times once one is set off into a dash, others tend to follow.

and as you alluded to...there should be more primarily gar-dedicated tanks!

--
--solomon

njackson · Jan 13, 2009

thanks for the information i think iam going for the 6ft idea and have 4 gars and can gars live outside in the uk , but not in winter


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