Alligator Gars in coldwater ponds
- Thread starter Chub_by
- Start date
A little update ?
Construction of the pond have startet, it will hopefully be finished by the start of April.
And the Gators are closing in on 50 cm
(The Gar picture is a month old)
I am so excited for this project!!
Construction of the pond have startet, it will hopefully be finished by the start of April.
And the Gators are closing in on 50 cm
(The Gar picture is a month old)
I am so excited for this project!!
I didnt even know this was a thing until a guy on a whatsapp group on shared his pond with gators frozen over last week. He's in the UK like me and its always cold here 
But his have fine now and this is their second winter
The only point he does make is that its a very boring pond!
But his have fine now and this is their second winterThe only point he does make is that its a very boring pond!
I think there is a bit too much concern over the possible necessity to maintain open water for gar during the winter. Longnose Gar are pretty ubiquitous throughout southern Ontario, and are found in many bodies of still water that are frozen solidly over for a few months each winter. Are they finding submerged bubbles of air for breathing? Kinda doubt that. I think it's simply a case of cold water lowering their metabolism to a point where they can obtain sufficient oxygen strictly through their gills. Would this ability extend to other species of gar? Bowfin and Mudminnows are other species that are common in Ontario and manage to get by without access to open water during the coldest months.
I'm more interested in the results of using Alligator Gar from bloodlines that originated much further south in ponds that are much colder and more northerly. If the species as a whole can survive temperatures of X degrees, will individuals from warmer climes still adapt to colder? There have been several other threads over the years by people who claimed to be successful keeping Pacus, Redtail Cats and other truly "tropical" species much colder than those species would ever be subjected to in nature; most of those threads seem to mysteriously peter out after awhile (or maybe it's not so mysterious after all). I'm curious to see how this current experiment turns out.
Gars certainly aren't colourful, in-your-face active fish like koi, so they don't make for an "exciting" pond...but they are fairly surface-oriented, so they are still more visible than many of the smaller natives that people seem to want to try. Members have mentioned wanting to keep sunfish, darters, sculpins, perch, etc. From above, those are all pretty invisible; that's boring.
I'm more interested in the results of using Alligator Gar from bloodlines that originated much further south in ponds that are much colder and more northerly. If the species as a whole can survive temperatures of X degrees, will individuals from warmer climes still adapt to colder? There have been several other threads over the years by people who claimed to be successful keeping Pacus, Redtail Cats and other truly "tropical" species much colder than those species would ever be subjected to in nature; most of those threads seem to mysteriously peter out after awhile (or maybe it's not so mysterious after all). I'm curious to see how this current experiment turns out.
Gars certainly aren't colourful, in-your-face active fish like koi, so they don't make for an "exciting" pond...but they are fairly surface-oriented, so they are still more visible than many of the smaller natives that people seem to want to try. Members have mentioned wanting to keep sunfish, darters, sculpins, perch, etc. From above, those are all pretty invisible; that's boring.
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I keep mine in tanks while small and put them in ponds once they hit 2 to 3 ft I currently don't have heat on their tank but they are native to where I live
how cold does it get in the wild where they live then?
I live in europe and i always would have liked an indoor pond with gars. Sadly heating costs will be massive. It gets as cold as 15C in the house. If thats possible for gars that sounds awesome to me. But only if they will have a decent live in that kinda low temperature.
I live in europe and i always would have liked an indoor pond with gars. Sadly heating costs will be massive. It gets as cold as 15C in the house. If thats possible for gars that sounds awesome to me. But only if they will have a decent live in that kinda low temperature.
I think at 15C you are fine. It is very cold in their northern range. Below is the Jan-June 2021 2022 USGS temp data for the red river at Texarkana. While the comment was last year, I wouldn't think about Florida raised Alligator Gar. That isn't legal in Florida. Most of the farmed ones are coming out of Asia.
I've never understood the fascination with Alligator Gar. Not only are they the biggest species and thus the least suited to captivity...but they are also just about the least gar-like in form and structure.
Longnose Gar are much smaller (still 4-feet-plus), much more elongated and exotic in appearance. As a bonus, they range so far north that they live under ice for months during winter, and yet tolerate warm summer temperatures very easily. They are easy keepers, accept frozen foods readily and are surprisingly easy to train onto pellets and/or DIY gel foods.
I cannot keep gar...all species are illegal in my province...but if I could I would put a Longnose into my 360-gallon tank and be happy as a clam.
Longnose Gar are much smaller (still 4-feet-plus), much more elongated and exotic in appearance. As a bonus, they range so far north that they live under ice for months during winter, and yet tolerate warm summer temperatures very easily. They are easy keepers, accept frozen foods readily and are surprisingly easy to train onto pellets and/or DIY gel foods.
I cannot keep gar...all species are illegal in my province...but if I could I would put a Longnose into my 360-gallon tank and be happy as a clam.
