Gar and Fire eels?

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MonsterMinis

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 28, 2009
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Wisconsin
Title pretty much says it all. are these species compatable? and if so is a 220 going to be large enough? and would a florida be a good choice? or is their a better species? or is this a bad idea? my biggest concern is the gars teeth.
 
yes.. but it didn't answer the question.. perhaps asking if anyone has kept these fish together as adults is a better way to word it? I have limited experiance with Gars and have wanted one for a long time, but also will only realistically be capable of getting one large tank and since my fire eels are my priority I don't want to do something out of lack of knowledge, or flat ignorance. btw your sticky link was very helpful in IDing some of the commonly labeled ones I've seen at my LFS. saying it might or should work is great..makes me lean towards moving forward. but has anyone actually kept these species together long-term as adults?
 
I kept a frie eel with 2 florida gars for a while. None of them were near adult and my fire eel stayed hidden most of the time, but there were no problems at all. Fire eels are very fast and i doubt a lazy Florida Gar would try to grab one. Not sure about the other types of Gars though, i have never kept them. Plus, you could provide the eel with hiding places that a gar could NEVER get into just in case something did happen. That would give you time to remove the Gar so the eel doesnt get eaten, but thats about it. Not a very long-term solution.

**If it matters at all, the fire eel was about 8 inches and the bigger gar was about 7.5 inches. The smaller one was about 6 inches. Tank was a 135.
 
I agree that as long as the gar is not too much bigger than the fire eel then they should be fine. And also, remember to feed the eel bloodworms or something like that after you turn off the light, but the gar during the day so they each get fed. And also, maybe instead of a florida gar you should get a needlenose gar (false gar) for they stay much smaller and never attack things they cannot swallow. And does anyone know how to make a post yourself?
 
i have two 9-inch floridas in with my 8-inch tire track eel, among other fish. they have been together for about 9 months. my gars get along well with the eel. as long as you take size into consideration, you will be OK.
 
MonsterMinis;3893021; said:
yes.. but it didn't answer the question.. perhaps asking if anyone has kept these fish together as adults is a better way to word it? I have limited experiance with Gars and have wanted one for a long time, but also will only realistically be capable of getting one large tank and since my fire eels are my priority I don't want to do something out of lack of knowledge, or flat ignorance. btw your sticky link was very helpful in IDing some of the commonly labeled ones I've seen at my LFS. saying it might or should work is great..makes me lean towards moving forward. but has anyone actually kept these species together long-term as adults?
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how big are your fire eels? i would suggest going with a Florida gar of decent size so that the eels won't bother it and the gar won't attempt to swallow the eels. sounds like phillydog's response fits your long-term question best thus far, even if the sizes are kind of small.

i've kept gars with true eels (Anguilla) before with few or no problems...an occasional scratch from a gar, but nothing that didn't heal up. as long as they are of similar size there was no actual predation--
--solomon
 
phillydog1958;3893121; said:
i have two 9-inch floridas in with my 8-inch tire track eel, among other fish. they have been together for about 9 months. my gars get along well with the eel. as long as you take size into consideration, you will be OK.
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is that in your 125?
 
while u could do it, i would be afraid to try it. a scaleless fish bitten by a gar just doesnt sit well with me
 
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