Ver nice shortnose gar! However, what's wrong with the nose of your florida gar? Very nice specimen as well though =)
Short Nose Gar arrived today......
- Thread starter koltsixx
- Start date
Nice shortnose gar you got there. I don't see anything wrong with it except is a bit thin and looks like your average LFS shortnose,they tend to have the bump on the head when they are younger. How long is it? I would bet that it will darken up as it gets use to the tank since you have dark substrate. One thing I have noticed with shortnose is they tend to get obese fairly quickly compared to other gars I have kept.
refer to my post in your previous thread reGARding the tankmates. i don't blame you for wanting to hoard a wide assortment of different fish (i do too on a regular basis), but it really is far more beneficial for the gars to have a tank to themselves + more appropriate tankmates (i've found that african aro, polys, SAL/AUL, rays and of course, other gars) work best.koltsix;4423370; said:
agreed. with shortnose gars you can never be too certain that you won't end up with a "belly up" fish for no particular reason.Lepisosteus platyrhincus;4423772; said:
perhaps a better suggestion for decor then would be to get plants (fake or real work fine), as they would provide the sense of security and don't cause as many deaths by trapping/wedging fish.
assuming there are no outstanding circumstances, having more gars usually help with skittish issues. the only negative point about having multiple gar in the same tank is that if one of them decides to spaz out, the rest will likely follw suit (forgot what this is called). however as i said before, the occurence of freaking out will likely be reduced overall due to the added security with more gars in the tank.koltsix;4423779; said:
the "sudden death thing" is dissimiliar to that which is found with Scombs (i'm assuming you're comparing the two). in the case of shortnose gars, the causes of death are mostly physical (for example, ramming into tank walls, getting wedged into tank decor, jumping out and more) and is a result of their spastic and unpredictable nature. i've not kept shortnose gars before, so i'm not too clear if this is a behavior pattern that is prevalent throughout it's life. perhaps solomon, richard, lep plat or conner can chime in further on this.
last of all, good looking gar! i'd really work on getting rid of the tankmates if i were serious about keeping this particularly challenging species of gar well. good luck with the fish.
xander
Shortnose gars do seem to calm down the longer they are kept in captivity. I would also say having a constant, unchanging environment is very important for keeping them calm as well.
When I first got my shortnose gars, I had 7 of them. 1 died less than a month after I got them, from a broken back. The rest did fine for months. Then I started transferring them to a larger tank. Within a month or two of transferring, I had another die from a broken back. I think the change in surroundings caused them to become more skittish again.
I do think being in a group helps, as when I had a lone shortnose in the larger tank, even though their were 2 florida gar with him, he was much more skittish. The more shortnose I added to the larger tank, the more the original shortnose seemed to calm down. I'm sure the passage of time and becoming used to his surroundings helped as well.
As far as decorations, I only use driftwood and large rocks in my gar tanks, although I recently added a large flowerpot. They WILL get themselves stuck if you provide something with holes in it. I had a very branchy piece of driftwood for a while, because it looked awesome, but the shorties were ALWAYS scratched up from trying to get into the middle of the wood, and then spazzing out and thrashing to get out of it. I had to remove it from their tank for fear they'd seriously injure themselves.
As far as tankmates, I've tried quite a few different kinds of fish, and I believe compatibility depends more on the individual fish than the species of fish. I keep several cichlids and catfish with my gars, but the cichlids and catfish completely ignore the gars. If any of the tankmates were to appear to start bullying the gar, I'd have removed them immediately. Xander's suggestion's are pretty much good, and if you want to try other species, I would start with something small, but too large to be eaten. That way there is less likelyhood of the new tankmate being very aggressive (although it can still happen).
Good luck with your shorty, he's gorgeous! He should calm down and start to develop more patterning over time. And while they are the most spastic of the gar, they are very rewarding to keep. It saddens me that I'm down to just 3 of these wonderful gar, and now I don't get to see them very well because they're in my pond...
When I first got my shortnose gars, I had 7 of them. 1 died less than a month after I got them, from a broken back. The rest did fine for months. Then I started transferring them to a larger tank. Within a month or two of transferring, I had another die from a broken back. I think the change in surroundings caused them to become more skittish again.
I do think being in a group helps, as when I had a lone shortnose in the larger tank, even though their were 2 florida gar with him, he was much more skittish. The more shortnose I added to the larger tank, the more the original shortnose seemed to calm down. I'm sure the passage of time and becoming used to his surroundings helped as well.
As far as decorations, I only use driftwood and large rocks in my gar tanks, although I recently added a large flowerpot. They WILL get themselves stuck if you provide something with holes in it. I had a very branchy piece of driftwood for a while, because it looked awesome, but the shorties were ALWAYS scratched up from trying to get into the middle of the wood, and then spazzing out and thrashing to get out of it. I had to remove it from their tank for fear they'd seriously injure themselves.
As far as tankmates, I've tried quite a few different kinds of fish, and I believe compatibility depends more on the individual fish than the species of fish. I keep several cichlids and catfish with my gars, but the cichlids and catfish completely ignore the gars. If any of the tankmates were to appear to start bullying the gar, I'd have removed them immediately. Xander's suggestion's are pretty much good, and if you want to try other species, I would start with something small, but too large to be eaten. That way there is less likelyhood of the new tankmate being very aggressive (although it can still happen).
Good luck with your shorty, he's gorgeous! He should calm down and start to develop more patterning over time. And while they are the most spastic of the gar, they are very rewarding to keep. It saddens me that I'm down to just 3 of these wonderful gar, and now I don't get to see them very well because they're in my pond...
This thread is making me realize I did not (rather, do not) know how to ID a juvenile Shortnose gar (Lepisosteus platostomus).
In my knowledge, this gar should have been much more likely to be from the Atractosteus group than the Lepisosteus group.
I was thrown off by the "hump"-like forehead which, I think, is more closer to Atractosteus rather than the Lepisosteus group.
The pattern (which is almost definitely NOT a good indicator) also is a lot different in this picture from those in the ID websites (from the stickies).
I am sure I am wrong and the experts IDing this as Shortnose are correct. I am just trying to figure out what are the identifying features.
Cheers,
Sid
In my knowledge, this gar should have been much more likely to be from the Atractosteus group than the Lepisosteus group.
I was thrown off by the "hump"-like forehead which, I think, is more closer to Atractosteus rather than the Lepisosteus group.
The pattern (which is almost definitely NOT a good indicator) also is a lot different in this picture from those in the ID websites (from the stickies).
I am sure I am wrong and the experts IDing this as Shortnose are correct. I am just trying to figure out what are the identifying features.
Cheers,
Sid
I hope he stays just the way he is as far as coloring. Day 2 and he's still light colored and thankfully feeding. I appreciate the compliment and info as well, thank youRedDwarf;4424231; said:
Thanx and the Florida was bought like that eveyone in my thread about him speculated he must have been in a small tank in the LFS(which he was) and panicked and damaged his nose on a wall of his tank. Still he's a looker. Lol!Tendou Souji;4424207; said:
Thanx Conner for all that info. I really appreciate it. I think I've been hit with Gar-itis cause I'm totally planning to change my set-up so these guys can thrive. I already have my Armatus's and Silver Dollars up for sale in the classifieds and anyone else in the tank that might mess with my Gars. Don't know if it's the charm of the Gars or just how helpful everyone one this sub forum is that's got me obsessed. I think it's a little of both. So thanx to everyone.
Special thanx to Xander and all the MOD's that take the time to reply to our threads. I know being a MOD is taxing at times so I really appreciate it when you guys go out of your way to help us out.
sounds great. not as many people are are as willing to streamline their collections so that their gar can thrive (i know it took me a while), so i definately have to commend you on that.koltsix;4426489; said:
gars definately have a quiet grace about them. they're really something one must appreciate at a deeper level as opposed to the mere/simple "omg aggressive fish!" factor in some of the more popular "fads" nowadays (not that i'm immune to this either). i think we have a great sub forum that helps spread Gar-itis around AND do it in an intelligent and educational way. we have several members to thank for that.
haha! being a mod doesn't mean we are detached from the community! (neither does it mean we always have right answers) plus, one should be even more appreciative of "regular" members posting to help.koltsix;4426492; said:
