Gar ID plz?

[zeeman]

Hey everyone!

This is my first post. Been reading a lot on this forum.

I was at lfs...saw some gars posted as alligator gars for $14.99...figured might be the real thing...interested in getting some.

I know they grow big...this is my first foray into monster fish...

Are these guys really alligator gars or mislabeled?

Thanks!

Zee

 

[E_americanus]

glad you have decided to post, but (if you have in fact been reading a lot on this forum,) i would suggest taking a look at the pinned topics for gar ID...they should clear up what this fish is.
it is not a true gator gar--
--solomon

 

[zeeman]

Thanks much appreciated!

I went thru the pictures in the stickied threads...I had trouble pinning down the exact species.

-Zee

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

its a florida man

 

[xander]

^^x2

 

[E_americanus]

Thanks much appreciated!

I went thru the pictures in the stickied threads...I had trouble pinning down the exact species.

-Zee

what did you come up with as options for potential species? why did you think others looked similar? gar ID is a constant learning process, and it will help you more in the long run not to have the ID just handed out to you without close attention to the ID keys.

you already know it's not an alligator gar, so that rules out 1/7 species. in truth, only 4 species look similar to this one at that size, and if you look carefully, only 3 species are options when length of the snout is taken into account--
--solomon

 

[zeeman]

I figured it was not a cuban...cuz of the price.
Probably not the long nose, cuz in my estimation the nose was not proportionally long.
Since it is not an alligator...
Should be tropical, short nose or florida? (probably not tropical)

The difficulty I encountered was the pattern in juveniles...for camouflage I am guessing, in particular the body stripe....didn't know if the striped would be replaced by dots/mottling.
I didn't know how much the patterns held between juveniles and young gars and eventually adult. So I couldn't pin down the exact type.

Thanks for the help!

Since I have brought them home, they have eaten a few guppies and minnows!
Pretty excited.

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

your gonna love these guys. just practice iding and youll get good at it. just make sure you got a big enough tank and just enjoy

 

[E_americanus]

I figured it was not a cuban...cuz of the price.
Probably not the long nose, cuz in my estimation the nose was not proportionally long.
Since it is not an alligator...
Should be tropical, short nose or florida? (probably not tropical)

The difficulty I encountered was the pattern in juveniles...for camouflage I am guessing, in particular the body stripe....didn't know if the striped would be replaced by dots/mottling.
I didn't know how much the patterns held between juveniles and young gars and eventually adult. So I couldn't pin down the exact type.

Thanks for the help!

Since I have brought them home, they have eaten a few guppies and minnows!
Pretty excited.

good job at breaking things down with the ID, that's better than most people do with their first crack at it!

and yes, juvenile patterns are useful for camouflage and they can vary even within the species. your fish is indeed a Florida gar, as these are what are most frequently encountered in the pet trade. they are a hardy, durable species and will do well for several years in a 2' wide tank (they can be moved up in tank size as the fish grows). plenty more info available on gar husbandry, so check those out.

i would feed the fish guppies and rosies (the latter after it reaches about 3-4") until the fish grows to ~8". then start experimenting with non-live food such as raw fish and shrimp.--
--solomon

 

[zeeman]

LOL Solomon...it was much easier to id them per your hints. =D
But next time, I will probably be able to do it...hopefully

It is interesting watching them eat...I still trying to figure out how they manuveur the fish into the right position to go down. The snakes I have kept would scrape the mouse on the ground to get leverage to reposition the mouse.

Definitely gonna try to wean them onto non-live items, I saw a few posts in this forum.
Gonna wait till they get a bit more settled before I attempt anything.