Gar and Pickerel?

[billabongboy]

First post here,

Has anyone ever kept a pickerel (grass or redfin) with a gar? Specifically, a florida gar? I have about a 12 inch florida gar that I took in when someone said they were just going to release him (not such a good idea here in northern Kentucky). I've always wanted a pickerel and was just curious to see if anyone has had any success with these two or heard of them cohabiting together.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[Wiggles92]

First post here,

Has anyone ever kept a pickerel (grass or redfin) with a gar? Specifically, a florida gar? I have about a 12 inch florida gar that I took in when someone said they were just going to release him (not such a good idea here in northern Kentucky). I've always wanted a pickerel and was just curious to see if anyone has had any success with these two or heard of them cohabiting together.

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Not a good idea; the gar will kill the pickeral or vice versa (most likely the gar will win).

 

[Ambervikings91]

I have never kept a pickeral before, however I have kept gars, it is hard for me to imagine the gar killing a fish that big, if it can't fit int he gars mouth it probably wont do much, at least that is the experience i've had with gars, if anything the pickeral might pester the gar to much but i don't see the gar being that much of a problem.....

Thought I suppose I could be wrong....

Pikes can be pretty aggressive so its something you'll want to certainly be careful with

 

[BOTR]

This is exactly what I was planning to do. I have FL Gar and Bowfin. Will be lloking to add a few Pickerel.

 

[Ambervikings91]

This is exactly what I was planning to do. I have FL Gar and Bowfin. Will be lloking to add a few Pickerel.

do it!

 

[BOTR]

Trust me, the feelers are out. If anyone has them now, Ill have some soon.

 

[Umbra]

They will be fine together as long as they're of similar size. Neither are aggressive fish, just predatory. Pickerel actually do poorly with tankmates like black bass and the more aggressive Lepomis sp. that will hog all the food and bully them.

 

[billabongboy]

Well you guys convinced me, I'm just going to have to try it. I was planning on planting my tank somewhat heavily since both gar and pickerels are more ambush predators. Now just time to find one for sale that is a decent size.

 

[Wiggles92]

Here's what I was talking about before:

it may seem hard to believe but it shouldn't be. fish in the wild have much more space, habitat complexity, volume of water turnover and food (that list is just for starters) than anything we can put together in the home aquarium. if you think about it it's not hard to believe at all.--
--solomon

PS-- gar and grass pickerel of the same size can work, but the problem is that all gar species will outgrow grass pickerel in captivity pretty fast, at which point the pickerel can become an easy meal.--

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

Don't Florida Gars get up to 4 feetish? If so it will eventually eat the grass pickerel, since they don't get all that big.