Alligator Gar in 500gal pond

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Fire Eel
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2010
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Milky Way Galaxy,
hey guys, i want to put a Alligator Gar in my pond. its 500 gallons and heated to 75F. I will also have one RTC(Red tail catfish) living with him. I was thinking of putting a friend with him but am not sure? the RTC is a bottom dewler(sp?) and the Alligator Gar lives up top so there should be no fighting... But i was wondering if 2 Alligator Gars will have enough space in a 500gallon. i dont think so but i want to know cuz i dont want a sad lonely gar, cuz they hunt in packs i read. thanks.:nilly:
 
the gar is mid to bottom most of the time YAMA on here a good friend of mine has one in his indoor cichlid pond and it spends most of the time laying on the bottom unless it gets hungry

what are the dimensions of the pond they usually put on about 2-2.5ft. in the first year and slow down from there but will eventually top out somewhere between 5-10ft. so no a 500g. pond will not hold 2 alligator gar at all one will be fine by himself ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO UPGRADE from there at some point and time
 
fwlion;4107465; said:
the gar is mid to bottom most of the time YAMA on here a good friend of mine has one in his indoor cichlid pond and it spends most of the time laying on the bottom unless it gets hungry

what are the dimensions of the pond they usually put on about 2-2.5ft. in the first year and slow down from there but will eventually top out somewhere between 5-10ft. so no a 500g. pond will not hold 2 alligator gar at all one will be fine by himself ONLY IF YOU PLAN TO UPGRADE from there at some point and time
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really?? i read almost everywhere they stay up top, i forgot the dimensions ill check in a few minutes. but i know its more long and less depth.

Spatula;4107531; said:
Pics or Work
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sorry cant have pic's up till Friday.
 
Dimensions are key to answering this question. Gallons alone does not really matter much to these fish

To clear up just a couple things though:
Gar do not hunt in packs. However it has been noted they can be cooperative, Short and Longnosed are noted for this. Alligator gar in particular tend to be loners and not an overly social species. They can live together OK but they certainly could care less for additional competition and generally do not care for companionship beyond spawning.

Alligator gar do not get 10 feet long. There is little evidence to support this presumption aside from some ancient untrustworthy literature and likely doctored photos. In captivity this size is reduced even further. Five foot however is still not a Guppy sized fish.... Prepare accordingly.

Size the RTC and gator carefully. They can in fact be kept together but it is difficult to sync them to each other. A small RTC becomes Gator munchies a Small Gator becomes RTC munchy. They grow at vastly different rates at different times so need to be placed together only when growth in both has been stabilized and is steady. This is particularly tricky to do for the first few years in both of these fish. Growth in both can be explosive and seasonal in nature.

Gator gar are not at all "Top" water fish.... They are everywhere and in your face fish.
 
thanks for clearing that, so ill put them at the same time when they are both pretty much the same size, cuz i heard when some fish grow up together they dont eat eachother. like my red ear slide turtles and my blood parrots. i know the RTC grows faster cuz when i get the RTC he'll be 4" and idk about the Gar so ill tell my petshop dude to get me one the only feeds on pellets...
 
Perun;4107622; said:
If the 1.5 means 1.5 feet deep forget any of these fish and get some swordtails.. That is far to shallow for these fish.
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Sorry failed to mention each step in my pond is 1.5 i have 3steps so its about 3.5 feet deep
 
That pond does seem a bit shallow for fish that grow that large. It will be ok for a while but eventually your fish will have like 4 or 5 inches of space above them while resting on the bottom. Not ideal.

Edit: Sorry, didn't see your last message. However, you still may need to upgrade down the line somewhere. Good luck with the fish though!
 
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