Florida Gar Tank For Life

[Polypterus]

haha, get an 8long, 2high, 3wide. that should be okay for life. i seen some old old old gars at seaworld few days ago. there about 3ft but its not dramatically huge. 8x3x2high would be okay in my opinion.

This would be fine for a typical platyrhinchus in captivity.

gars arent so bendy in the middle

This is not very true. I really do not know where this myth began but gars are just as flexible as any other fish long torpedo shaped fish. their integument is not as non-flexable as it may appear. The issue with gars is more with their head and Jaws which are quite rigid and require quite alot of space to maneuver.

 

[ethnics]

exactly what i was thinking. its only a florida gar. max length after years n years n years if this guy even keeps one that long would be about 4ft. but i highly doubt he'll reach that in this guys apartment even after 15 years. if he even lived in that apartment that long. 8 to 10ft long tank, 3 to 4ft wide tank, and 2 to 3ft tall would work out just fine for this guy. its not a aligator gar. gars are super flexable. i own 3 n i watch them atleast 2 hours a day. n the tank size i recommend was smaller then what u suggested. but more then enough room for a gar to be alive n happy in. yes a 20ft pool would work out. but it would also house like 3 gator gars. were talkin about a florida gar.

 

[Sarcosuchus]

This would be fine for a typical platyrhinchus in captivity.


This is not very true. I really do not know where this myth began but gars are just as flexible as any other fish long torpedo shaped fish. their integument is not as non-flexable as it may appear. The issue with gars is more with their head and Jaws which are quite rigid and require quite alot of space to maneuver.

I agree, due to them looking stiff which begins from their snout to head, they appear to look as if they can't bend much. I did think about this as I watched my Gar swimming, the body did become flexible when it needed to be, but due to their body shape it looks unique, different, but the problem is of course with their snout to head that requires space to move around, just like a Crocodile I would say.

 

[Polypterus]

A four foot Florida raised from a juvenile in captivity would be big old female fish. the largest one I have to date seen was just a little under 3 foot. It was housed for over 16 years in a roughly 15 foot X 18 foot tank at a public aquarium with little growth.

These fish have potentional for larger sizes but they do not regularly acheive them in captivity or in the wild really. These fish however are still not iddy biddy tiny and do require a wide tank for comfortable long-term keeping.

3 foot IMO is adaquate for Florida gar husbandry but wider is even better if it can be done.

 

[Sarcosuchus]

A four foot Florida raised from a juvenile in captivity would be big old female fish. the largest one I have to date seen was just a little under 3 foot. It was housed for over 16 years in a roughly 15 foot X 18 foot tank at a public aquarium with little growth.

These fish have potentional for larger sizes but they do not regularly acheive them in captivity or in the wild really. These fish however are still not iddy biddy tiny and do require a wide tank for comfortable long-term keeping.

3 foot IMO is adaquate for Florida gar husbandry but wider is even better if it can be done.

Thank you so much for sharing, I am aware of the female being bigger than male and it also lives longer right? But then how do I sex my Gar? It is very slender unless after feeding, I hope mine is a male. There's something I would like to ask here...is this a possible sex dimorphism in this picture below or is it just an individual characteristic? It's just like one of the ways to sex Bichirs...the male seem to have this muscle before the anal fin while the female lacks it. If possible I would like to have Gar keepers to describe the anal fin part of their Gars.

Tropical Gar

 

[Polypterus]

Thank you so much for sharing, I am aware of the female being bigger than male and it also lives longer right? But then how do I sex my Gar? It is very slender unless after feeding, I hope mine is a male. There's something I would like to ask here...is this a possible sex dimorphism in this picture below or is it just an individual characteristic? It's just like one of the ways to sex Bichirs...the male seem to have this muscle before the anal fin while the female lacks it. If possible I would like to have Gar keepers to describe the anal fin part of their Gars.

Tropical Gar

There is no real defined sexual dimorphism in gars that one can use reliably with steady results outside of hormone analysis. Size and relitive bulk of the fish can be used as suspected indicators in spawning condition fish. Actively Spawning fish do have specific traits and can be sexed with some degree of certainty. Males will readily expel milt and females show a pretuberance in the Urogenital region.

The below pic is of a spent female Shortnose that was caught during spawning. This same pretuberance has been seen in Longnosed that have been recently spawning or spawning.

 

[Sarcosuchus]

Thanks a lot Polypterus, that is great to know. Very interesting indeed, I hope mine is a male so it wouldn't be so big. I have new pictures to update in that particular thread, I read your reply, thanks for your comment. I will see you there!