florida gar,spotted gar and long nose gar

ESJBond007

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 24, 2007
731
0
0
37
Southgate Michigan
how can u tell the difference between a spotted gar,florida gar,long nose gar when they are 4 inches long
 

Polypterus

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2005
2,839
8
68
49
Detroit
Long nosed is obvious at 4 inches as the snout is very long and the body in general very thin.

There is no perfect method to ID Spotted from Florida at 4 inches..Often what us 'educated' gar folks go off of is timing of availability and where they where obtained. LFS fish are frequently Florida gar and statistics seem to back this up. Actual spotted gar are very rare in the hobby these days.

In short without detailed information regarding where the fish came from trying to ID a spotted from a Florida at 4 inches is futile...
 

demjor19

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2006
4,119
12
68
41
PA/OH
Polypterus;1029416; said:
Long nosed is obvious at 4 inches as the snout is very long and the body in general very thin.

There is no perfect method to ID Spotted from Florida at 4 inches..Often what us 'educated' gar folks go off of is timing of availability and where they where obtained. LFS fish are frequently Florida gar and statistics seem to back this up. Actual spotted gar are very rare in the hobby these days.

In short without detailed information regarding where the fish came from trying to ID a spotted from a Florida at 4 inches is futile...
how about a florida and a shortnose? i have never seen a shortnose in person.
 

Polypterus

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2005
2,839
8
68
49
Detroit
demjor19;1029479; said:
how about a florida and a shortnose? i have never seen a shortnose in person.
Shortnosed are distinctive in a few different ways from the Florida/spotted complex. In particular there is a much deeper caudal peduncle and thicker body on a younger Shortnosed than what one will see on a Florida / spotted. Coloration can be a secondary key as it is rare that a Shortnosed will have a distinct and dark dorsal stripe that later breaks into large dark spotting along the back and head.

LPO-001-MO-1.jpg

lpy-001-LFS.jpg
 

demjor19

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2006
4,119
12
68
41
PA/OH
Polypterus;1029910; said:
Shortnosed are distinctive in a few different ways from the Florida/spotted complex. In particular there is a much deeper caudal peduncle and thicker body on a younger Shortnosed than what one will see on a Florida / spotted. Coloration can be a secondary key as it is rare that a Shortnosed will have a distinct and dark dorsal stripe that later breaks into large dark spotting along the back and head.
i figured they were pretty obvious, but never saw them side by side before.
 

Polypterus

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Aug 17, 2005
2,839
8
68
49
Detroit
Just a note: Chubby butt there at the bottom is not the best fish to use for typical body shape of Platyrhincus.. typically they are a bit narrower and not so chunky..general proportions are still pretty close though..I think you can get that but I feel the need to further elaborate on this.
 

ESJBond007

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 24, 2007
731
0
0
37
Southgate Michigan
i have seen 2 short noise gars for sale and they were all silver color with no spots.My gar looks like the first picture.is the bottom picture a spotted or short noise?
 

demjor19

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2006
4,119
12
68
41
PA/OH
ESJBond007;1030860; said:
i have seen 2 short noise gars for sale and they were all silver color with no spots.My gar looks like the first picture.is the bottom picture a spotted or short noise?
man...i want a shortnose really bad, but have never seen one for sale.
 

ESJBond007

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 24, 2007
731
0
0
37
Southgate Michigan
well i seen one that was 8 inches long but it got sold a month ago because me and my friend whent back there again and it was gone.The only way u will find a short noise gar is if the store gets a trade in.They cost less to that gar was only 16 dollors.
 

demjor19

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2006
4,119
12
68
41
PA/OH
ESJBond007;1030906; said:
well i seen one that was 8 inches long but it got sold a month ago because me and my friend whent back there again and it was gone.The only way u will find a short noise gar is if the store gets a trade in.They cost less to that gar was only 16 dollors.
thats not really true. longnose and shortnose turn up in stores w/ out being traded from time to time. i think it is more of a seasonal thing. i picked up a nice longnose a few months ago that was only 4 inches. i just really want to find a short nose. i think it would fit in w/ the others nicely.
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store