You better be joking with me...E_americanus;2621266; said:
I just paid $50 for him because he was sold to me as Atractosteus spatula.
He has no spots or anything on him except for the line running down his back and side
Alligators on MFK
- Thread starter Ramesh
- Start date
I just paid $50 for him because he was sold to me as Atractosteus spatula.
He has no spots or anything on him except for the line running down his back and side
sorry to hear you paid the extra $$ for a gator, but that's definitely not an alligator gar, and most definitely a Florida/spotted gar. spots will develop further as the fish matures. snout width is far too narrow to be a gator as well...you can compare photos of juvenile gars at the following for ID:ViperCLKGTR;2621908; said:
www.primitivefishes.com
Juvenile Gar ID Key:
http://aquaticpredators.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2739
--
--solomon
You can not believe how angry I am right now....E_americanus;2621924; said:
Anyone want to trade a Florida for a Gator? I'll pay for shipping and everything....
Did you not bother to look up anything about this fish? If you did you would have very well known that the fish you have is not a gator.ViperCLKGTR;2621932; said:
If you do not know simple ID you do not need or have place for a Gator.. It will be too much for you very quickly. Keep the Florida / spot. It is a better fish for you at this time.
definitely agree. trust us, you're better off with the Florida/spotted--Polypterus;2624494; said:
--solomon
yeah, floridas are cool too and they also get pretty big. but not bigger than ur couch unlike gators are expected to. good luck with that.
Yes I've been looking up Alligator Gar daily for the last 6 months... When in the shop when I was iding him I was 90% certain it was a AlligatorPolypterus;2624494; said:
-1. His snout was wider than the rest of his body and rather short compared to my Florida and Spotted snouts when they were as big as he was
-2. I have never seen a Florida/Spotted Gar at 6 or 7 inches in which the primary color was brown
-3. Again at this size they should already have developed spots on their body.... When my Florida was 5 inches long and when my Spotted was 5 inches long they both already had very well defined spots, the Gar in question has no defined spots on his body at 6 inches only markings are a dark brown stripe down his back and side and faint spots on his fins and a few faint spots running in a straight line between the 2 dark brown lines.
-4. There is no white on him? Which I thought was weird??? Florida, Spotted, Gator all have a primarily white body. He's dark brown on top and tan on this bottom
And maybe I jumped to conclusions, when you search hi and low almost everyday for 6 months straight looking for a specific fish, you have all 3 habitats set-up or in the process of being set-up and you see Alligator Gar "Atractosteus spatula" on his tank your heart stops, you drill the owner and he answers every question right you go for it. Maybe I jumped the gun on him and I'll learn from my mistakes but don't say I'm not ready for a Gator. I'm more than ready.
As for Florida and Spotteds, I'm not denying how cool they are, I have both a Florida and a confirmed Spotted(Although I completely disagree with how they ID them) I love them but I don't want another I want a Gator, I've been planning for a Gator, I'm ready for a Gator
- in response to your last statements...how did you research the ID for a gator gar? for a Florida? spotted? how did you confirm your spotted gar's ID, was it based on locality?ViperCLKGTR;2627990; said:
if you looked up alligator gar ID you should have surely come across the AP ID threads or at least primitivefishes.com...at which point those photos clearly indicate that the fish you have is not a gator...alligator gar juveniles are quite distinct from all other gar species juveniles in that they have a much stockier body (relative to other species) and a very short, broad snout. the photo here shows a typical alligator gar juvenile at about 6"
if you compare this to your fish you will see that they look nothing alike other than they are both species of gars.
richard is correct in that a lot of these basic fish ID skills should be in place before moving to one of the most challenging species of the family. best of luck regardless--
--solomon
in reality the talk is much more useful than just random posting of gator gar pics...even if the pics are interesting to look at, they do nothing for actual advancement of knowledge of the species or group--Ramesh;2643749; said:
--solomon
