Gar behavior - they're pretty smart

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C

CTU2fan

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 12, 2007
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Port Orange, FL
I think a lot of people have the idea that gar aren't all that intelligent, and that they just kind of swim around eating and that's pretty much it. Maybe you guys have noticed some different gar behavior? If so post it here.

I got up this morning and noticed that my gar's rock was tipped over. Anyway let me explain...I don't have a ton of structure in my tank, on one side I've got a fair sized piece of driftwood (3' long maybe) and on the other I've got one of those cave rocks (I think they call it lace rock) and a big piece of Texas holey rock. Anyway there's a 2-3" gap between the holey rock and the back wall of my tank and my gar generally lies in the space. He's made somewhat of a trench back there in the sand from his coming and going. Well I've got some cichlids in the tank and of course they dig as cichlids will, and the rock tends to shift. And that's how it was this morning, and my gar didn't seem too pleased about it...swimming back and forth almost like he was pacing. So I reached in and started to pick up the rock, to fix it...and the gar swims right over checking out what I'm doing which is unusual, usually when I'm in the tank doing something he stays clear. So he's right there watching me with the rock, and as soon as I set it down he swam right back behind it as usual. He was actually more concerned with the rock than with eating which surprised me. This isn't ususual for a fish of course but I was surprised to see it in my gar. He's not territorial about it by any means; my poly lies back there with him all the time...but he was clearly concerned.
 
Gars rock! Nice story...
 
lol. he still does. probably my most active gar was a gator, watching him watch for food above the water surface was awesome. he'd hit fish as soon as it touched the water.
also i used to have a f/s that would mess around with the water lettuce in the pond, kind of but not really making them bunch together so he could use the shelter.
 
alcohologist;1885665; said:
lol. he still does. probably my most active gar was a gator, watching him watch for food above the water surface was awesome. he'd hit fish as soon as it touched the water.
also i used to have a f/s that would mess around with the water lettuce in the pond, kind of but not really making them bunch together so he could use the shelter.
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haha.
good to hear hes doing well. :D
 
yeah, that big ol bigger was a beauty. thinking of getting another one. [i've do have a permanent home for it] [alex: one of the MG ponds is slider-free! haha.]

i'm sure there are loads of great smartgar-stories!
or maybe some that show your gar being a bumbling idiot? haha.
 
the amusing irony (although it's a good story) is that gars are in fact not so bright as far as fishes along the phylogenetic line go...they've been around since before many dinosaurs, and therefore have even smaller brains. as much as i dislike them, cichlids will always be smarter than gars (not to be confused with more successful or persistent, however).
gars/lungfishes/bichirs/bowfin can all recognize their preferred habitat in a tank and return to it, most know to associate owners with food, and some primitive fishes can even recognize their owner over another person...that's about it though :)
i'd be the last person to knock gars, but the truth is, in terms of intelligence, they're on the other end of the spectrum from cichlids, and what may be among the brightest fishes, the puffers--
--solomon
 
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