Gar stories....

SovietFireExtinguisher

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 22, 2008
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Canada
I'm sure that everyone who has kept Gars of one kind or an other has had funny moments they've witnessed or goofy unusual things their Gars do. So I started this thread to get everyone to share what theirs does.

I'll go first.(go figure.) I have 2 Spotted gars that I got when they were both about 7'' long. They are now 12'', and 13'' respectively. I have 2 SEIO M1100 superflow pumps on one side of my 8' tank blowing a stream of bubbler bubbles,(yeah I know that sounds wierd.) towards the other end of the tank. Well both of my gars like to take a swiming start at the pumps and swim straight into the flow until they are about an inch away and then let themselves tumble backwards in the stream like a falling leaf at all angles until they reach the other side. They then do it again, and again, and again. Like a little kid going back to the top of a water slide. My smaller Gar always comes up to my hand when it's in the tank and rubs up to it like a cat would. And my bigger Gar will eat any and everything off the bottom of the tank including Earth Worms, Massivore pellets, Market shrimp, and get this 2mm sinking New Life Spectrum pellets.

Who's next?:popcorn:
 

armac

Feeder Fish
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Apr 22, 2005
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South Texas
I have never kept a gar but I lived in Florida for many years, they were considered a trash fish and when we caught them, while bass fishing, it was normal procedure to to kill them. I have seen canals with literally hundreds of gars laying on the surface.

For those who have not lived and seen them everyday, where they are considered a nuisicance fish, they may be a cool fish.

The same goes for bowfin, in South Florida they are called mudfish.
 

SovietFireExtinguisher

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 22, 2008
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Canada
That's pretty sad, seeing as they are the native species and Bass are the introduced to make money species.
 

Gr8KarmaSF

Administrator
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2005
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Quarantine Tank
My pic says it all....lol

FYI - Gar was fine in the end. :D

PWNED.JPG
 

Ians aro

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Love that pic! LOL.

My spotted gar likes to swim up and down with my current in my 150g. I have a powerhead setup on the right side towards the top of the tank and have it facing the front of the tank. he goes to the front right corner, swims nose first into the corner, goes up and down in the corner for about an hour. my wife is always laughing at it! At first she thought it was chasing the bubbles coming out of the powerhead...
 

Polypterus

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2005
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Detroit
Over the years and Hundreds of gars I've seen them do some rather crazy stuff. Most however ended up with a dead gar. Gators by far seem to do the most crazy things followed up by Shortnose.

My old Croc 1 was a total psycho Nutcase. Being a cross between a Gator and Short was just too much for it I presume. It was the only Gar I have ever kept that would actively try to attack me when trying to clean out it's tank. I had to make a small plexiglass shield to keep it on it's own side of the tank. It nailed me more than once and even nipped my cat once. More than once it also jumped the tank under mysterious circumstances with no idea how it did it. Interestly it lived just fine with other gars it just hated people or any other land dweller..

Fish came to me under odd circumstances as it was found in the wild and was a presumed aquaria release (no doubt to it's psycho attitude). Weird fish and one I really wish now in Hind sight I never gave away.

Edit: If you notice the Blue eye on the fish this was really the case it actually did have Light blue eyes...Really odd fish

crocgar1.jpg

Allygar copy.jpg
 

all_or_nothin

Eastern Painted Turtle
MFK Member
Feb 4, 2009
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IN
i kno its not a gar but i had a needle nose fish and it was bout 6" and my 10" pacu ate it
 
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