Proper Husbandry for Your Gar

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xander

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Proper husbandry for your gar : Tank size

Polypterus said:
Gars are not a one size fits all fish and you can not treat one in the same manner you treat and keep another. It has long been assumed and wrongly so that you can just treat all the same. This is really a rather asinine concept. The more that we have been learning about gars the more it is becoming very clear that each species is very different and each species requires a different method of husbandry.
The Step-up Rule of Thumb

The most appropriate way to house a gar from yoy to adulthood is to step it up accordingly to its size. This means that one cannot just have one big tank for the same fish. Instead, a small fish should be housed in a smaller tank, and as it grows, appropriate upgrades in tank size should be made.

There are several reasons for this rule.

  • Food source
Too large a tank could result in your yoy gar having a tough time locating and or hunting for food. This will negatively impact the fishes growth and possibly stunt it (small gars need to have easy access to food as and when they please).
  • Stress
Too large a tank will stress out small gar; a smaller tank would help a yoy gar feel more secure. Covering the sides of the tank, along with adding plants/decor would further improve this.

  • Safety
When scared, gars tend to dart very quickly in random directions. Given enough space, any gar can gain enough speed so that when it hits the tank walls, it breaks it's back. (A 6" gar in a 20 gal will not gain enough energy to kill itself. however, put the same fish in a 120 gal and you might have a dead fish/one with a broken back).

The important thing one needs to know is that gars have a unique opisthocoelous vertebrae system, which isn't found in any other fishes except a couple gobies. So although gars may seem to dart in the same way that your payara, ATF or other fishes do, the damage potential and morphology are completely different.

Most gars take time to learn the boundaries of the tank, but they do learn them...better to increase the tank with the size of the gar so they learn these boundaries and when to stop before ramming the glass

Obviously, one cannot be upgrading the tank with every inch the fish grows. Hence, the best thing to do would be to do research (reading this thread is a good start, another tip would be to look out for which sources of information are reliable when it comes to gar), apply what you learnt when during your reading, ask questions when in doubt, and perhaps most importantly, use your common sense.

What then, constitutes as “appropriate”? It is important to first know that there is no fixed guideline for these fish, and care should be both species and individually specific. However, as a very generic guideline, one is probably safe using the following rubrix.

Juvenile Gars

(Gars under 12")
Length: 3 – 4 times longer than the fish is long
Width: 1.5 – 2 times wider than the fish is long
Height: 1 – 2 times higher than the fish is long

A standard 15gal (2x1x1) tank is your best bet for small fishes (2-5"). Although they probably do even better in smaller tanks, their growth rate is so rapid that you'll find yourself having to upgrade the tank in no time. Remember to keep tanks with such small gars dimly lit and provide lots of shade/cover.

You might start to think about upgrading the tank to a 50gal (3x1.5x1.5) when they hit 10", or one might consider a 4x1.5x1.5 to hold it out a bit longer.

Sub-adult Gars
(or Gars under 18")
Length: 3 – 4 times longer than the fish is long
Width: 1.5 – 2 times wider than the fish is long
Height: 1 – 1.5 times higher than the fish is long

For gars at the smaller end of that spectrum, you might look into a 3-4' long, 1.5' wide tank. But as they get larger (15-16"), you should get them into a 2' wide tank at least.

These fishes do not need very tall tanks and will do fine in a 1-2ft tall tank.
Adult Gars
(or Gars above 18")
In this case, bigger is always better. For gars under 24", nothing under 5' long and 30" wide is advisable, and going at least 6' long by 3' wide is highly recommended. For extra-large gars, ponds or large enclosures are recommended.

However, it still holds true that these fishes do not need very tall tanks and will do fine in a 1-2ft tall tank.
Relevant threads to the topic of tank sizes are listed in the reference list below.

References:

Monsterfishkeepers.com

 

xander

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Proper husbandry for your gar : Tank set-up
 

xander

Manjuari
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Sep 6, 2007
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Proper husbandry for your gar : Tank mates
 

xander

Manjuari
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Sep 6, 2007
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Proper husbandry for your gar : Tank maintainence
 

xander

Manjuari
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Sep 6, 2007
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555
Singapore
Author(s): Xander (Alexander Eng)
Photos by:
Edited, Arranged, and Referenced by Xander


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Proper husbandry for your gar : Feeding

Providing a proper diet for your gar depends greatly on the size of your fish. For that reason, this section will be written accordingly.

Gars between 2" and 8":
Feed item:
Feeders that the gar can swallow easily

Feeding frequency:
The important thing at this stage is for the gars to have access to food ad libitum (as and when one wishes). This is because small gars put a lot of energy into somatic growth in order to put on size quickly (in the wild, this is to reduce chances of predation and to cope with winter). So unless you have the time to feed several times during the day, it really is easier to simply leave feeders for the fishes to feed ad libitum.

Gars between 8" and 16":
Feed item:
Pellets, shrimp, fillet, whole fish, quarantined feeders

Feeding frequency:
At some time or other, you will notice your gars growth rate greatly slowing down. This is because they are switching over from somatic growth (putting on size) to reproductive growth (developing reproductive organs). Gars that start to plateau before one year of age tend to demonstrate stunting effects later on in life. The actual size in which this happens varies depending on the species of gar. Even within each species, there is a range to what size the switch in type of growth occurs. For larger gars (Alligator, Longnose) this is usually at around 14"-16". For smaller gars (Cuban, Tropical, Florida, Spotted, Shortnose), it occurs at ~12"-14".

For this reason, it is recommended to regulate feeding once your gar reaches 8". If you were to feed daily, try to cut down the amount you give each day. It is also common to feed on alternate days/once every 3 days.

References:

MonsterFishKeepers.com

 
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