Spotted Gar Diet and Life

NOLAfisher · Jul 9, 2009

I catch all of my fish and the place where I catch them is home to some Spotted Gar. I really want a gar to add to my collection of fish.

I recently caught one but i caught it on a fishing pole and was about 2 ft. and 3 pounds. Problem is, my pond is only 250 gallons and too small to hold a gar this big. I have caught 2 more before this in a net. The first one was about 2'' inches but I couldn't get it to eat anything and it died. The second one was about 6-8'' and I got it to eat minnows but one day it disappeared. I think it was eaten by a bird (egret) because this has happened before with goldfish and i have seen these birds scouting my pond for lunch.

I don't know when to find the baby gar so I was wondering if anyone knew when th spawning times of Spotted Gar were. I was also wondering if anyone knows what to feed a 2'' gar in case i catch another one.

Thanks in advance,
Dean

pagojoe · Jul 9, 2009

Last year the major spawn in your area was about the middle of April. They prefer flooded pastures and shallow marshy areas, usually less than a foot deep. I don't know exactly when they spawned this year. I saw some 1" juveniles about a month ago in east Texas, so they apparently didn't all spawn in April this year. In high water years, you may get a secondary spawn in October, so be on the lookout if the drought breaks.

There's a video on youtube about the Kentucky fish and wildlife guys, discussing what and how they feed their tiny alligator gar (they're reintroducing them to parts of their former range). I'd guess that feeding baby spotted gar in the same way would work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FB43cJ_yuoY&NR=1

GL,

Don

jdec · Jul 9, 2009

just go to the store and buy a needle fish its about 15 dollers(us) and its basicly the sme thing thats what i did

Gar Keeper2 · Jul 9, 2009

jdec;3268024; said:
just go to the store and buy a needle fish its about 15 dollers(us) and its basicly the sme thing thats what i did

Wow...

The guy wants a Gar not a Needlefish.
I have 4 Needlefish, and as cool as they are, they are no where near as cool or as fun as a true Gar.

For the TS, I would try using a net at night with a large spotlight out. Try to catch one that is about 4-6", that's a good starting size. From there just feed them guppies until they are large enough to eat minnows or shiners. As far as the birds, just try to put a net or something over the pond to prevent the Gar from being snatched up as food.

Conner · Jul 9, 2009

In another 5-10 years, maybe I'll be catching some gator gars up here in KY!!!

For the OP, I don't know about catching them, but you could string bird netting around and above the pond to help prevent them from getting any more fish out.

NOLAfisher · Jul 10, 2009

I tried feeding my 2'' gar froen brine shrimp but he never ate it so il try to catch a bigger one next time

The water where i find the gar is fairly deep so ill try looking in october

Thanks again,
Dean

asimriz · Sep 8, 2013

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I have a 9inch long snout spotted gar called Rex. I got him 2 days ago. At first when I put him in, he was getting used to the new tank so he sat at the bottom. I put in a small fish & Rex took his sweet time in attacking it & devouring it. Then I transferred Rex to a bigger tank 2ft x 1ft x 18inch. I put in a goldfish this morning & he caught it once but then it got free & Rex did not attack the goldfish again. I put in another fish & he tried to take a nip at it but didn't seem too bothered abt it. I'm in the process of constructing a larger tank 4ft x 2ft x 18inch for Rex. Do you think it's because of the small tank cuz the shop I got it from, well that jackass LFS owner was keeping it in a small tank. So what should I feed him ?

Plz help....


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Spotted Gar Diet and Life

NOLAfisher

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Gar Keeper2

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Conner

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NOLAfisher

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