I've had Florida gars for years. I assume that thats what your actually going to get as they are nearly impossible to tell the differance from spotted gars. That coupled with the fact that in the tropical fish industry, Florida gars are primarily whats available. They are a very mild manered fish that gets quite large over a long period of time. They can be trained to eat just about anything including pellets. However, they are a predetor so they will also eat fish. That means if your gar can not tell the differance between his tank mates and lunch, it will become the ladder. It is also important to keep food in his belly if there are tank mates that are of the size where they are close to being snack size. They can be trained to be hand fed and once in a while I will, though you've got to be carefull, as they have very sharp teeth. If he gets you..... lets just say "ouch, and then blood". Cool fish to own. I highly recomend them.