Housing alligator gar with oscar

[Dubeckyj]

I like to encourage setups that will produce happy, healthy fish. Not setups that will look pretty and the fish can "handle a little picking on".

Alligator gar are aggressive compared to the other species, but they aren't anywhere near as aggressive as an oscar. They aren't setup to fight in the same way; they can't push back when being harassed. They're also slower to find food. Don't stress your fish out.

And to say that growing up with a fish will make them think it's not a food item is false. My gator ate three of the floridas it lived with for over a year once it had the stomach room.

It's possible to house the two together, but that's the exception and not the rule.

 

[Dahawkster15]

you've seen it doesn't mean it will work out for a long time!
Oscar, especially male oscar usually tend to attack and kill their tank mate when they reach the mature age. An oscar that about the same length as the gar is a much larger fish and will try to bully and eventually kill the gar! other than that, if the gar can out grow the oscar(this might only happen if the gar is a gator gar), thing will easily be other way around!

+1

 

[Dahawkster15]

I have had jaguars and gars in the same tank for over a year and they do fine together. Even after the gar out grows the Oscar if they have been together for a Long time the gar will not look at it as a food item the Oscar might get rough with the gar at first but gars are tough fish they can handle a little picking on just keep an eye on the to make sure it don't get out of control. These people that are saying no probably have never tried it

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Lots of issues in this post...but I will say you are right about one thing, and that is that I've never tried. Mainly because I use common sense, along with advice from members that have been keeping gar and have tried combos and different setups and tank mates. If you want to let your fish get picked on, stressed out, possibly eaten, then go for it. But don't kill somebody else's fish just because your combo happened to work. It's obviously possible to house the two together, but what we are saying is that it's not RECOMMENDED.

 

[HungDang]

the cabela's near me had their bowfin with the TSN in the same tank for 7 years! they got along very well, never have any problem until last winter, the TSN turn around and took a chunk out of the bowfin's tail!

 

[Dubeckyj]

the cabela's near me had their bowfin with the TSN in the same tank for 7 years! they got along very well, never have any problem until last winter, the TSN turn around and took a chunk out of the bowfin's tail!

Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? I didn't think TSN had teeth. Also, wouldn't a 7-year-old TSN be able to swallow a bowfin?

 

[HungDang]

Are you sure it wasn't the other way around? I didn't think TSN had teeth. Also, wouldn't a 7-year-old TSN be able to swallow a bowfin?

but a bigger 30'' male(that is what i guess) TSN is still more aggressive than a smaller 27-28'' female Bowfin!

 

[pharmaecopia]

One of my gator gars came from a tank with roughly a dozen oscars in it. All were to big to be eaten yet every one of them had torn fins and scales missing form the gator gar attacking them. Not an advised combo as the gar forum regulars have already said.

 

[E_americanus]

I have had jaguars and gars in the same tank for over a year and they do fine together. Even after the gar out grows the Oscar if they have been together for a Long time the gar will not look at it as a food item the Oscar might get rough with the gar at first but gars are tough fish they can handle a little picking on just keep an eye on the to make sure it don't get out of control. These people that are saying no probably have never tried it

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and how long have you had your gator gar with your oscar to advise that "if they have been together for a long time the gar will not look at it as food"??? you've had your combo for hardly a year (judging from the size of your gator gar) and therefore your advice is mere conjecture at best, and actual bad advice in reality (not even at worst).

the combo is highly advised against for a reason, and they have been brought up several times in this thread and many others. keep large predatory fishes responsibly, and that means no gator/aggressive cichlid combos. good luck with your fishes--
--solomon

 

[815billybob]

This Gator gar is new. But the jags have been with longnose and Florida gars.

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[Dahawkster15]

This Gator gar is new. But the jags have been with longnose and Florida gars.

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Gator gars are in a whole class of their own. Floridas are way more passive and will actually most likely due to the cichlids in there. Gators are the exact opposite. They're true monsters.