Alligator Gar Trouble

[BlueFloooow]

Hi guys! I joined this forum solely to ask for guidance and advice.

3 years ago I bought this supposed to be “spotted gar” at a local pet shop. I boughy since having a community tank really amazed me and I wanted to buy another tank and buy a fish that grows somewhat big. But after a few years I noticed that my “spotted gar” has grown very big and thick. My gar is now arround 18” and I’ve got a friend who confirmed to me that it wasn’t a spotted gar but an alligator gar!

Now my problem is my gar is still housed in his/her 48”L 15”H 10”W tank. (i dnt know the proper way of putting out the measurements but those are in inches). My gar has broke the top part of its aquarium and the top 4 inches is now unusable. I’ve sealed the crack but I’m not willing to risk my aquarium collapsing.

I’m now thinking of tank upgrade maybe good for the gar for 4 years at least. As I don’t have the space and budget to make a pond, or a really huge aquarium for now as I’m just starting out college.

Giving my gar away isn’t an option since he/she is a family pet and me and my family have been attached to him/her. I also can’t release the gar since I am not in ranged of their natural habitat.

So what tank should I upgrade? How big? How thick?

 

[Leebtattoos]

If you aren’t able to buy or build a very large aquarium or pond, and you’re not willing to rehome the fish to someone who can, you are just signing a death warrant for the family pet. At current size (that won’t last) your fish needs a tank of at least 96”x36”x25”tall. That’s around 400 gallons. This won’t House an alligator gar for 4 years. That’s just what I feel most would recommend for an 18” growing fish. I can tell by the post you don’t want to hear that but that’s just what it is. Good luck.

 

[BIG-G]

I have to agree. You are dealing with a fish that can reach 8 plus feet and close to 300 lbs.
Granted it may never see that size in a captive setting.
I'm guessing the fish broke the tank in a quick burst, Alligator gar have very boney hard mouths and heads. I can easily see an 18" plus gar smashing the glass on a 30 something gallon .
If you plan on keeping it then im afraid its upgrade time or the fish will continue to suffer until it finally breaks the tank completely.
Check any local zoo or public aquarium and see if they will take it as a donation. At least then you could still go see it.
Just a thought, Good luck

 

[BlueFloooow]

If you aren’t able to buy or build a very large aquarium or pond, and you’re not willing to rehome the fish to someone who can, you are just signing a death warrant for the family pet. At current size (that won’t last) your fish needs a tank of at least 96”x36”x25”tall. That’s around 400 gallons. This won’t House an alligator gar for 4 years. That’s just what I feel most would recommend for an 18” growing fish. I can tell by the post you don’t want to hear that but that’s just what it is. Good luck.

Yeah but it seems rather unavoidable. if I’m building a pond how big would I need?

 

[BlueFloooow]

I have to agree. You are dealing with a fish that can reach 8 plus feet and close to 300 lbs.
Granted it may never see that size in a captive setting.
I'm guessing the fish broke the tank in a quick burst, Alligator gar have very boney hard mouths and heads. I can easily see an 18" plus gar smashing the glass on a 30 something gallon .
If you plan on keeping it then im afraid its upgrade time or the fish will continue to suffer until it finally breaks the tank completely.
Check any local zoo or public aquarium and see if they will take it as a donation. At least then you could still go see it.
Just a thought, Good luck

We don’t have local zoos or aquariums nearby. Nearest aquarium or zoo would need a flight

 

[Deadliestviper7]

We don’t have local zoos or aquariums nearby. Nearest aquarium or zoo would need a flight

Get a intex pool or similar

 

[Leebtattoos]

Yeah but it seems rather unavoidable. if I’m building a pond how big would I need?

For life? Big. Above ground pool. I dont know where you live though. I would think at minimum 2000 gal and that won’t last forever. I almost bought a grade b platinum spatula. But assuming it would get at least 4’ in captivity, I quickly realized that’s not in the cards for me.

If you can’t do huge tank/pond, I’d really try hard to find a suitable home and keep a smaller species. None of which could live for very long in the tank you mentioned in the OP. I’ll be honest, 10” wide for a 18” fish just bums me out even to read.

 

[BlueFloooow]

Get a intex pool or similar

I never thought of that! An intex pool would be excellent Thank you

 

[BlueFloooow]

For life? Big. Above ground pool. I dont know where you live though. I would think at minimum 2000 gal and that won’t last forever. I almost bought a grade b platinum spatula. But assuming it would get at least 4’ in captivity, I quickly realized that’s not in the cards for me.

If you can’t do huge tank/pond, I’d really try hard to find a suitable home and keep a smaller species. None of which could live for very long in the tank you mentioned in the OP. I’ll be honest, 10” wide for a 18” fish just bums me out even to read.

I guess I’ll go for an intex pool and just put it inside our house. I’ve contacted many keepers and the nearest willing to adopt him is a 4 hour drive and I have no experience transporting fish, especially of this size. I’ll post a picture when I transfer it to an intex pool. Replacing it wouldn’t be an option too since I don’t keep fish anymore except for this gar, I keep arachnids now since they don’t take up much space.

 

[Leebtattoos]

4 hour drive in a larger igloo cooler with a cheap battery powered air pump. Put the cooler on a floor Dolly before you fill up water so it’s easy to roll to your car. Only full as much as you can pick up. Obviously picking it up will take two people. But I’ve transferred wild caught gar this way with great success. If you decided am above ground pool won’t work.