Alligator Gar Questions....

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J

jdamian13

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 11, 2008
53
0
0
Argentina
I recently bought an Alli. Gar (16") and I have it in a 135gal. Tank is only for Gar, and as it get larger I will be buying a "Larger" tank. I've been researching and reading a lot of info about them but I have not found good info on Growth Rate and I haven't read of a person having one thats over.... 2'-3'.
I've read they grow fast (6"-12"/year) and only living for 20/30 years. Explaining the size of the gars they have found in the past.
AND...
I've also read they grow fast the first year then slow down to (4"/year) and living up to 70-80 years, explaining the reason they have found such big ones in the past, no one was fishing for them. Now that they have become somewhat of a popular game fish, (reel/rod & bow fishing) it seems they are getting wiped out and I have not found any info of Gars over 6'.
So I'm interested in finding out if someone has or had an alli. gar.

1- For how long? (period of time) Have you had yours? or had till getting rid off?

2- How big was it? or is? (size of gar)

3- What size of tank do you or did you have it in?


Any other related info would be much appreciated.

-Cheers!
 
One more thing. :D
If you have pictures of the Gar, Tank or whole set-up, please post.

Cheers!
 
my ally was 20 inches in about a yr and a couple months. (then it committed suicide and jumped out of the tank :( from my reading they get about 20-24 inches in the first yr and only grow an inch or so after that. they will live 50 plus yrs! im sure in capitvity where they have constant food and temps they might grow a little faster. i dont think an aquarium is gonna cut it. i was thinking of moving mine to a big rubbermaid stock tank ( i have a 300 gallon stick tank for my alligator snapping turtle. they work great). somewhere on this site some one in the past had a link from an online site that sold these and other sizes that shipped. or look at your local farm and tractor supply stores or something like that. also look in the classifieds. i think last week someone was selling a 600 gallon rubermaid stock tank that had a 10 foot diameter..........but i see you are in la and this i think was in chicago. at the time of death i had it in a 120. 4x2x2 tank


p.s. im pretty sure alligator gars (all gars) are illegal in cali. someone that knows for sure can go ahead and correct me if you want.
 
you've not been reading the right things, first off, alli gars will get up to 24" in their first year if fed well. currently, my gator's growing 2.5" per week. they can get up to 5' within 3-4years. and a 135gal is not large enough to keep a gator for more than a year. good luck
 
jdamian13;1510828; said:
I recently bought an Alli. Gar (16") and I have it in a 135gal. Tank is only for Gar, and as it get larger I will be buying a "Larger" tank. I've been researching and reading a lot of info about them but I have not found good info on Growth Rate and I haven't read of a person having one thats over.... 2'-3'.
I've read they grow fast (6"-12"/year) and only living for 20/30 years. Explaining the size of the gars they have found in the past.
AND...
I've also read they grow fast the first year then slow down to (4"/year) and living up to 70-80 years, explaining the reason they have found such big ones in the past, no one was fishing for them. Now that they have become somewhat of a popular game fish, (reel/rod & bow fishing) it seems they are getting wiped out and I have not found any info of Gars over 6'.
So I'm interested in finding out if someone has or had an alli. gar.

1- For how long? (period of time) Have you had yours? or had till getting rid off?

2- How big was it? or is? (size of gar)

3- What size of tank do you or did you have it in?


Any other related info would be much appreciated.

-Cheers!
Click to expand...

This is always a constant question so please bear with me:

Are you sure it is an Alligator gar (Atractosteus spatula) ??? No I'm not calling you an idiot I'm just asking you to reaffirm that you do know the ID of the fish. Often times all gar are called Alligator gar by an LFS and if this is a Lepisoteus platyrhincus or L. osseus we may be wasting a lot of time going in the wrong directions before getting to details that you need to know..

Detailed photos of all species can be found here: http://www.primitivefish.com/index.htm

If you do have a photo it would be great to see it..
 
yes its an Alli. Gar. I will put some pics I took from my phone in a little while.
Please inform me w/what you know.
 
ya, he will out grow that tank soon. nice looking gar. mine was 26" in just over a year and he then commited suicide like 2 weeks ago. jumped out. make sure you keep weight on the lid cause they will push them open and end up on the floor. if you custom build a wide 3'/6' tank, should keep him for at least 3 years. the growth rate will slow down. tanks arnt that expenive, and they show better then a livestock water tank. although in the end he will out grow all aquirium. it is an aligator, what do ya expect.
 
what do you want to know that hasn't already been covered in the forum?
 
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