alligator gar?

[odalisay]

Here are some pics finally of the supposed alligator gars that I picked up from lfs that got them through Aquascape online. I had my suspicions but, actually one looks different than the other. One has a different shaped head than the other. I just need to know if they are both alligator gars or I only have one alligator and the other one is a spotted/florida gars. Thanks in advance.

 

[odalisay]

more pics......

 

[E_americanus]

both fish are Florida gars, much like the three i received from them (only mine were much smaller and growing larger now). gator gars will have a much broader snout and body.

good news is you don't have to worry about the same size/aggression potential of the gator; however, if you were after a true gator you may have to continue your search (i'm still looking for some as well) --
--solomon

 

[demjor19]

nice floridas! how big are they?

 

[vinson lim]

im not a specialist, but frm da point of my view, those r not ali gars... and.... looks not fully like florida too. Wat i want to say is, HYBIRD maybe?

 

[demjor19]

im not a specialist, but frm da point of my view, those r not ali gars... and.... looks not fully like florida too. Wat i want to say is, HYBIRD maybe?

thats not an impossibility but i would just say they are floridas. they tend to vary in looks pretty widely.

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

0 - nice garz!

 

[odalisay]

both fish are Florida gars, much like the three i received from them (only mine were much smaller and growing larger now). gator gars will have a much broader snout and body.

good news is you don't have to worry about the same size/aggression potential of the gator; however, if you were after a true gator you may have to continue your search (i'm still looking for some as well) --
--solomon

This news does not make me happy! That is just wrong for Aquascape to advertise a specific animal then send out a different kind. When I first bought them, they were tiny. They could only eat guppies, now they are eating small feeders and rosies! I guess I am not the only one that got jacked! That lfs got like 10 in.
Solomon, Do all true gar sp. look the same when they are born? Are you able to tell between the different sp. when they are tiny? Thanks.

 

[E_americanus]

This news does not make me happy! That is just wrong for Aquascape to advertise a specific animal then send out a different kind. When I first bought them, they were tiny. They could only eat guppies, now they are eating small feeders and rosies! I guess I am not the only one that got jacked! That lfs got like 10 in.
Solomon, Do all true gar sp. look the same when they are born? Are you able to tell between the different sp. when they are tiny? Thanks.

hello,

sorry you were mislead, unfortunately a lot of LFS do not know how to properly ID their gars, and i can definitely sympathize as this has happened to me when ordering fishes several times. now i generally ask for a photo confirmation of the fishes (or at least from the same group) that the supplier is sending out, at least this way i can be sure i'm getting the right fish. again, sorry for your luck, and hopefully the right species will soon be available. i am awaiting photo-confirmation from at least one supplier right now, and will let you guys know what i find out.

as for ID'ing juvenile gars, people like myself and richard (polypterus) study gars quite closely and frequently get together to discuss all the species. either he or myself (i am sure there are other individuals that could help out too) can definitely ID very young gars down to genus (Lepisosteus or Atractosteus) and can usually give a well-educated guess as to what species you have, so if anything comes up, feel free to post a pic!

i also have a juvenile gar ID key that you can check out here:
http://aquaticpredators.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2739
(mods if there is any sort of violation with the link post, feel free to remove)

hope that helps!--
--solomon

 

[demjor19]

i have a question. not to go off topic. but why do you guys want a gator gar so bad? obviously knowing how big they get? do you guys have huge tanks??? not trying to offend you just curious.