first time owning gar

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E

endi

Candiru
MFK Member
Aug 4, 2006
216
0
46
toronto, Canada
i picked up this gar from lfs yd, ive been told its an alligator gar and from the research ive been doing ppl say they reach 9ft??? i was wondering what you guys feed them besides feeders and shrimp? and if anybody has gotten these guys eating pellets or dry foods

heres a pic of my gar.. plz feel free to comment all is welcome

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its a blurry picture but that does look like an alligator gar to me, good luck as he will eat just about anything you put in the tank including yourself :whoa: they get around 10' and require a HUGE pond and can grow up to a foot a month under extreme conditions.
 
They can grow a foot a month :WHOA: !! Now thats monster!!
 
i have them with p.bass , NGT, fire eel and a stingray right now.. they're all around 6-7". how long would they live together?
 
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i hope these pics are better.. i'm not too good wif the camera ...lol >.<
 
I'D say your fire eel will be the first to be eaten, then pbass, then dat, and in a few years so will the ray. gotta love the gar though.
 
i have a florida gar and i got him eating pellets but it takes awhile for them to eat them and hes only 4 inches. its better when the gars a smaller since i had a gar 10 inches and would not take any pellets
 
it is def. A. Spatula (alligator gar). the tankmates wont last long. what size tank are you keeping this guy in?

in the wild they have been known to reach slightly over 10', but in aquaria i would say 6'-7' is max. their growth rate is extremely fast! in its first year you will be looking at least a 2'-3' fish. they are very easy to get eating pellets and other preped foods...given a little effort.
 
as stated above, it's definitely a gator gar. these fish won't grow a foot/month in captivity, but can reach around 3' (give or take) in the first year given the right conditions.

either way, this species is by far the largest AND most aggressive of the gar species. it will grow fast AND it will take out those tankmates in the next couple months, if not sooner. gators have an immense drive to feed, especially early on in life, so i would first off consider getting a smaller species of gar if possible (maybe trade in for a Florida/spotted). they will get big fast and they will take out tankmates...two issues that do not make them very well suited for most aquarists, and beginner gar-keepers.

i'm also curious as to the size of the current tank, we can give you an estimate of how long the fish can stay in there if you let us know. great fish, just not great for most hobbyists--
--solomon
 
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