Garfish with Garfish?

[Polypterus]

IMO the only good tankmate for a gar species is something placed in there with the intent they should eat it.

Gar are not generally community fish.

 

[Slippery]

Agreed but then is a shovelnose or a ornate?

predators do at times have respect for each other especially if they feel that they can't get the upper hand which is usually to do with size difference.

I fly Birds of Prey and this is especially the case. Providing a animal is well fed there is 'Usually' not a problem.

I really can't see why a garfish should be a one species tank?

But we all have opinions

 

[Polypterus]

I really can't see why a garfish should be a one species tank?

The answer to that is simple. It is how they do best in captivity.

 

[Slippery]

Yes to a degree but remember that in the wild there is so much more space. Do we really know who gets on with who.
I don't know my neighbour but if i met him i might like him but then maybe not but we are in the same area just not confined.

I might like to talk to him in the garden but to live with him in my front room that's a different story all together.

Sharks get on with Dolphins, they tolerate but would you put them in your swimming pool.....I think not

Also like i said a Oscar Should not get on with a Fahaka but it does....

There is no simple answers at all

 

[E_americanus]

Yes to a degree but remember that in the wild there is so much more space. Do we really know who gets on with who.
I don't know my neighbour but if i met him i might like him but then maybe not but we are in the same area just not confined.

I might like to talk to him in the garden but to live with him in my front room that's a different story all together.

Sharks get on with Dolphins, they tolerate but would you put them in your swimming pool.....I think not

Also like i said a Oscar Should not get on with a Fahaka but it does....

There is no simple answers at all

these analogies are getting pretty asinine and ridiculous given the topic at hand. when it comes to gars in captivity, they do best on their own or only with other gars...even with other gars there are often shredded fins (regardless of feeding frequency...trust me, we've experimented with this over and over).
these fish can even be intolerant of conspecifics in the wild (where there is plenty of space) as they can be observed nipping at each other while congregating to spawn and/or feed.
some comparisons may be made from one species to another or even birds to fishes, etc etc...but in this case reason and facts beat out anthropomorphic analogies. that and i've said several times in recent past, we have to follow many generalizations as rules instead of following the exceptions, otherwise there is no point asking for advice...throw your oscar in with a 3' West African lungfish and see what happens...or your fahaka in with a conspecific of twice its size...i think we can follow the general pattern instead of counting on exceptions in those cases.--
--solomon

 

[Slippery]

in terms of the other gar tankmates, it should be stated that if this is your first time keeping gars, you should not consider all the species as good tankmates by any means. i would go for other Florida/spotted or tropical gars. particularly stay away from shortnose (too skittish), alligator (too aggressive/large), and Cuban (too sensitive) gars. longnose gars are often available, but are not the best gar for (gar) beginners. hope that helps--
--solomon

It is my first time keeping gars as stated but is there something that I should know about them to keep it on its own because of it?
So what and why should I as a novice to gars keep it on its own?
There seems to be a variation of views on this with others saying it can be kept with other gars and they also knew it was my first time.
You have given your reasons for each gar but why is there a exception for the novice not to keep them with one.

Not saying you are at liberty to it but I find it perplexing?


Thanks

 

[E_americanus]

It is my first time keeping gars as stated but is there something that I should know about them to keep it on its own because of it?
So what and why should I as a novice to gars keep it on its own?
There seems to be a variation of views on this with others saying it can be kept with other gars and they also knew it was my first time.
You have given your reasons for each gar but why is there a exception for the novice not to keep them with one.

Not saying you are at liberty to it but I find it perplexing?


Thanks

not sure i understand the highlighted portion of your response...in giving background for the other gar species, i was suggesting species that would make decent tankmates for the gar at hand, and those other species of gars that are not great tankmates...particularly for the beginner.

even those of us who have been keeping gars for years still face the extreme unpredictability and skittishness of the shortnose gar...they will commonly freak out, bound across the tank, and are the most prone to breaking their backs. if you're new to gars, why waste your time (and risk the fish) with a specimen that will likely kill itself unless kept under specific conditions (often those conditions don't agree with other fishes, and even then we're not sure exactly what sets them off). Cuban gars need a very consistent pH and are very expensive...why waste ones money on a gar that is that sensitive right off the bat? it's best to go with a more durable species first, learn the ins and outs of keeping the hardier gars, then move on. gator gars are the most aggressive and grow the largest the fastest...again, best to go with a specimen you can keep for much longer and one that will get along with other tankmates and not beat on them, kill them, or eat them.

gars can be kept with other tankmates...bichirs are a good combo, some lungfishes, some bonytongues. there are other riskier combos that have worked for some in the past, and not for others...i find no need to list them as i don't recommend them and won't waste my time. they are just more simply kept with other gars, and certain species of gars get along better with each other than other species combos.

hopefully that answers your question. if i were (for some ridiculous reason) getting into keeping cichlids, i would start with the hardier, easier-to-keep species first, learn the basics and then move on to the rarer, more exotic species. this is the same with many fish species. i may be good at keeping primitive fishes, but i'm not going to buy a T. pustulatus as my first puffer or a paradise threadfin as my first....threadfin --
--solomon

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

for your first gar, learn to ins and outs then try tank mates.
God i miss alot with my new job, this conversation was getting interesting, but no i had to miss alot of it.

 

[Slippery]

Thanks Solomon (by the way I did not high light the sentence...Strange one that).
Anyway, that has answered my questions with detail and thanks for that and Lepisosteus platyrhincus too.

I can give you old hand guidance too on puffers after owning just about everyone.
The T. pustulatus is going right in at the deep end. They are first of all very hard to find and quite often get passed off as a Fahaka. If you manage to get one be ready to pay a heavy price. And MAKE SURE it’s not a Fahaka

they fundamentally have the same mind-set as a Fahaka and that's brutal. Of all the fish I have had pound for pound so to speak the T. pustulatus and the Tetradon leanatus are the most malicious.
They will take anything on and just carve it to bits. I could hear mine crunching into a muscle shell in the upstairs bedroom while he was downstairs and if the wife wanted to watch a movie or we listened to music he waited unless I gave him something with no shell on.
But then like I said my mate has an Oscar in with him?
But I am just waiting for a telephone call one morning to say it's dead as I see signs of it happening at this moment.

Good luck with finding a T. pustulatus.
Post some piccies if you get one, I have not seen one for years apart from on Google but that is not the same is it