Keeping a gar in 20-25 sg?

[LadAShark]

I've read that spotted, longnose, alligator, and cuban gar can withstand levels of salinity even above 25 sg, with the alligator and longnose being able to withstand even 31 sg, but my question is, would it be feasible to keep them in such a tank for their entire lives after acclimating them. I'm in the process of building a shark tank, and I would love to include a spotted gar if possible for a really out of this world tank. My two favorite fish, gar, and sharks, coexisting is the goal! Now, if this doesn't work, I can always put the spotted into the sump which would naturally be large enough for him (looking at 200+ gallons).

So are gar able to withstand such salinities for long terms? I could probably even play around with it and get it to stabilize at 18-19 sg without too many problems for the other inhabitants. Ultimately, if you guys give me the go ahead, I'm going to try it. If it's futile in the first place, then I'd rather not harm a gar in the process of trying something doomed to fail.

 

[pharmaecopia]

This is a topic that has come up in the past. The search function should be able to add some more information.

There is a public aquarium that houses some adult gator gars in full salt. So they can be kept in that. Your not going to find much hobby experience regarding this though.

There is probably also the question of whether all individuals of a species will tolerate those salinity levels.

I personally would recommend setting up 2 tanks. Safest option for both of the fish.

 

[LadAShark]

This is a topic that has come up in the past. The search function should be able to add some more information.

There is a public aquarium that houses some adult gator gars in full salt. So they can be kept in that. Your not going to find much hobby experience regarding this though.

There is probably also the question of whether all individuals of a species will tolerate those salinity levels.

I personally would recommend setting up 2 tanks. Safest option for both of the fish.

Ah I see. Thanks for the help.

As for the two tanks, I mean, you're right in that that is probably the safest option. What I'm intend to do now is actually still try to acclimate the fish to saltwater, test it out with some acrylic wall between it and the sharks to see whether they can get along, and then watch for a long time after that. The first sign I get I will put him/her in the refugium (basically a second tank connected to main tank). And if it really can't acclimate to salt, I'll just have to get it in a large freshwater tank.

 

[pharmaecopia]

If you are determined to do this I guess the next question is what species are you looking to get for both the shark and gar?

In your 1st post you mentioned spotted gar. These are really not that available in the hobby unless you live in an area where they are found and capture one yourself. I'm not sure on the salinity tolerance of Florida gars, which would be what you will generally come across. Out of what is readily available a gator gar probably has the best chance of living at higher salinitiea.

I'm also kinda curious what shark species you are looking into. Something like a catshark/bamboo/epaulette would likely work best. Horn sharks and many other sharks that can show up for sale are going to require a chiller to keep it cool enough. Nurse sharks and wobbigongs will generally try and eat everything. I'm assuming you are not looking into any of the requiem sharks.

 

[LadAShark]

If you are determined to do this I guess the next question is what species are you looking to get for both the shark and gar?

In your 1st post you mentioned spotted gar. These are really not that available in the hobby unless you live in an area where they are found and capture one yourself. I'm not sure on the salinity tolerance of Florida gars, which would be what you will generally come across. Out of what is readily available a gator gar probably has the best chance of living at higher salinitiea.

I'm also kinda curious what shark species you are looking into. Something like a catshark/bamboo/epaulette would likely work best. Horn sharks and many other sharks that can show up for sale are going to require a chiller to keep it cool enough. Nurse sharks and wobbigongs will generally try and eat everything. I'm assuming you are not looking into any of the requiem sharks.

Obviously I'm considering a great white, I can keep that in a fish bowl right?

Kidding aside, I've found studies suggesting that the spotted gar and florida gar have similar salinity tolerance, as well as the ability to tolerate fully marine water on the part of the spitted gar. Honestly if spotted and florida gar behave perfectly the same with only minute differences, it doesn't matter which one I obtain.

I'm looking into the following species for sharks:
coral catshark, balinese catshark, marbled catshark, whitebanded bamboo shark, and short tail nurse shark. Note: the short tailed nurse shark only gets to around 3 feet at maximum, so I do not believe it to be a risk to the gar. If anything, any fish that doesn't outright fit in a shark mouth isn't prey or at that much risk. That is to say, I'm more worried about the gar hurting the shark than the shark hurting the gar. Naturally, I'm not looking into the coldwater sharks, and temperate sharks (horn sharks) are off my list because it's a lot easier to keep the water at 72-78 where I live. In fact, that's sort of the range that my house is always at.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

I would have to imagine...that gator gar and florida gar would have the highest salinity tolerance due to their natural ranges in the wild...but I have no clue otherwise. I imagine those fish come into contact with higher salinity if not full on salt water from time to time in FL and the other southern states.

 

[kno4te]

I've caught a few Florida gar in high end brackish water so it can be done (I live in fl). A buddy of mine caught a 6 ft gar in a fully salt area where he fish's for reds/snook/etc. Near a boat ramp and not too far out in the ocean but salt water for sure. I assume it was a gator cause of the size but was never ID'd. These fish are always moving in and out of these zones. Not sure about long term exposure but if done in the past then it must be safe for the fish.

The potential problem I see is mixing sharks and gars.

 

[LadAShark]

I would have to imagine...that gator gar and florida gar would have the highest salinity tolerance due to their natural ranges in the wild...but I have no clue otherwise. I imagine those fish come into contact with higher salinity if not full on salt water from time to time in FL and the other southern states.

Several apparently outright live on the coast.

I've caught a few Florida gar in high end brackish water so it can be done (I live in fl). A buddy of mine caught a 6 ft gar in a fully salt area where he fish's for reds/snook/etc. Near a boat ramp and not too far out in the ocean but salt water for sure. I assume it was a gator cause of the size but was never ID'd. These fish are always moving in and out of these zones. Not sure about long term exposure but if done in the past then it must be safe for the fish.

The potential problem I see is mixing sharks and gars.

It's good to know they can be kept in saltwater.

As for sharks, they're the rather passive kinds that are in the range of 24"-36"
I'm actually kind of worried about the gar killing the sharks though :/