Gars aggresive to each other?

[RayRookie]

Hi, I'm new here,
looking for some hints on gar keeping..

i have a 4 -5 inch gar,
but he seems lonely..

if i buy another one at size 6/7 inch,
will they try to kill each other?

growout tank size is 4 X 2 x 2
how many baby gars can i keep in it?

thanks!

 

[phillydog1958]

i've never seen gar attack one another. i bought my first gar and introduced the 2nd gar 4 months later. upon introducing the 2nd gar, they swam towards one another and immediately connected. they've been buddies ever since, and that was over a year ago.

 

[RedDwarf]

In general, the only time your going to have problems with gars is if there is to big a difference in size between them, where one could possibly eat the other. Some gator gars can become very aggressive as they get larger and just snap. The other gar species will usually get along as long as they get enough food.

 

[cichlid0405]

I have had multiple gar together without any problems as well.

 

[Madding]

You can generally mix all species of gar, except the gator. Note that individual personalities may be an issue, especially during feeding.

 

[nishant_datta]

the size diff isnt much so should be alright. in fact go ahead and add 3-4 more, if your tank size permits. I've got three 16 inchers with two 6 inchers without any agrression problem.

 

[Conner]

I currently have 6 gar together in a tank (at one point there were 9), with 3 different species represented. There is NO aggression between gars. The only issues I've seen is during feeding time. They can get so excited they'll accidentally nip each others fins while going for food.

Again, you'll want to make sure they're fairly close in size. But I put an 8" spotted gar in with a 16" Florida gar, and they didn't pay any attention to each other.

 

[E_americanus]

I currently have 6 gar together in a tank (at one point there were 9), with 3 different species represented. There is NO aggression between gars. The only issues I've seen is during feeding time. They can get so excited they'll accidentally nip each others fins while going for food.

Again, you'll want to make sure they're fairly close in size. But I put an 8" spotted gar in with a 16" Florida gar, and they didn't pay any attention to each other.

generally agree with this...the exception being gator gar and gator gar hybrids...these fish can be very aggressive towards other gars, but this can be controlled to some extent with feeding (particularly in hybrids), but an aggressive gator rarely calms down.

in short, species other than gator/gator hybrids will get along well with each other provided they are similar sizes. there will be some fin-fraying from time to time, but these minor injuries heal up very fast. they do quite well together compared to other fishes and conspecifics, etc.

if you are just starting out with gars, i would suggest getting 2-3 Florida gars at a small (and similar) size. these are relatively inexpensive, easy to find, and are very hardy. from there you can expand to other species, etc. good luck!--
--solomon

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

fin fraying will happen, sometimes severe. my gar have actualy lost almost thier entire rear fin from attacks around feeding time. that is the most common time but anytime fin nipping can occure.

they heal very easily and quickly. my gar do have some minor scarring from the attacks but they all have healed and are good.

 

[E_americanus]

fin fraying will happen, sometimes severe. my gar have actualy lost almost thier entire rear fin from attacks around feeding time. that is the most common time but anytime fin nipping can occure.

they heal very easily and quickly. my gar do have some minor scarring from the attacks but they all have healed and are good.

yeah, my oldest FL gar now has a forked tail from fin nipping and irregular healing pattern...guess i should consider the possibility that it's a rocket gar now --
--solomon