search function didnt help. i was just wondering whats the ratio between the florida gars tankmates, in terms of size? i mean should they be at least half the size of the gar or 2/3? whats a good rule to go by? i currently have a couple of 8-9" florida gar. any advice would. be appreciated. thanks in advance.
If the fish has atleast the same girth as the gar and close to 1/2 length they should be alright. The gar wont try to eat anything it cant swallow whole.
If the fish has atleast the same girth as the gar and close to 1/2 length they should be alright. The gar wont try to eat anything it cant swallow whole.
I've seen gar on multiple occasions try and eat things that were way to big for them to eat.
In general you can use common sense when determining size 1/2 to 2/3 the size of the gar would work. Taller bodied fish can be on the shorter end of this size spectrum, shorter bodied fish in general should be on the upper end of this size spectrum.
What sort of tankmates were you considering? With gar you will want to avoid aggressive fish, sucker mouthed fish and silver coloured fish for the best chance of success. If you haven't already I'd recommend reading some of the stickies relating to gars and tankmates.
thanks for the replies.. i actually have a senegal in a different tank. about 5" now but i still feel he is too small. he is pretty thin and i dont consider him beefy yet.
I doubt the senegal will ever by large enough to live with a gar. Picture the gar hollowed out, If you think the tankmate could fit into that space then the gar will think the same thing !
I've seen young ones cannibalize other gar's who were almost identical in size. GAr's will do fine but you'll want large growing species that will remain similar sized or larger then the gar's.
I'd avoid anything long and slender build unless it's equal sized or larger. Avoid anything aggressive and anything with a sucker mouth as mentioned above. tall bodied fish is a good suggestion as well, harder to swallow less tempting to try.
Other species of Bichir will work, as long ad they are larger species who will always be equal sized or larger. Other bottom dwellers like catfish or clown loaches are options, again as long as they are large enough not to be tempting prey. Dat's, or Pearch species. Larger peaceful cichlids are all avenues to take. They also do well in sub tropical setups, opens the doors for a few other interesting tank mates that arnt commonly seen.
So far the best tank-mates to keep with gar.. are other gar. But I have been successful longest with spiney eels ( the larger species that get 24"+), panque plecosomus species ( ie Royals), So far they have been doing well with my cats.. but it can be hard finding cats that will work long-term... I imagine at some point my TSN and hybrid will need a different set-up then the gar ( particularly my small floridas) Most species with an adult size of 12"-24" that are non-aggressive/territorial do well, and non-silvery ( ie silver arrowana, and false gar ime just didn't work at all.)
Floridas are some of the smallest of the gar species ( usually 14"-20" tops in captivity) and ime the most docile of gar species. So look for large docile community fish. I've heard mixed things about Dats ect.. imo it would depend heavily on the individual fish.
I've found its actually much harder to find suitable tank-mates then I originally planned for. But gar will utilize the whole tank if not bullied by other tank-mates.
okay... i guess the senegal will be staying in his own tank. btw, i got him from a friend who couldnt take care of him anymore. there are endlicheri available at my lps but i have black sand and in read that the fish lose their contrast.
are spiny eels active? i never took care of one and i read that they are difficult to feed. so, i never really considered them. my gars are take pellets among other food. will the eels do the same? i dont think my wife would let me keep earthworms lol.
I kept my 14" gar with an indo dat several large Endlicheri & ornate bichirs An RTG arowana and a large 16" oscar. (The oscar i do not recommend Mine had been tank raised from a small size with many tank mates was fairly docile for an oscar) It worked well for some time but the Arowana ended up killing the Gar , my arowana at about 15" became VERY aggressive and wouldn't/will not tolerate anything at the surface of the tank he just kills them and quite brutally. He killed the oscar as well as a few others! But The Large Bichirs/Dat/Gar mix worked very well.
In my experience Florida gars are very peaceful fish, Highly predatory toward anything they can swallow but other then that they are essentially floating logs lol wont bother anyone and wont defend themselves .
i keep my FLGs one 16 in and one 10in with a 9 in jade gobi, and a 8in green sev. if your worried the gar could potentially eat it, it probably will. do not under estimate them. And stay away from shiny silvery fish because they are attracted to them lol
