Would an alligator gar be okay in a 12x7x3ft deep pond that is 1750+ gallons? It would be intoduced as a juvi in the summer and be kept sdafe in a mesh livewell until 12 in and then set to roam in the pond. The pond will not freeze over because of the waterfall that is keeping movement. Not enough for a large amount of current, just to keep the water spinning. The water can get to about 30 or so in the winter, if slowly acclimated to the cold from summer to winter, could it live? I don't want to spend 80$ on a fish just to have it die after 4 or 5 months, actually more like 6 months. Thanks!
gator gar in pond?
- Thread starter troppond
- Start date
troppond;5055307; said:
As long as you're prepared to put a decent chunk of money into feeders for it and watch its growth carefully, then I don't see why it wouldn't work for a few years. However, it would be preferable to keep the gar indoors for its first year (or more if necessary) if at all possible.
I think that any gar that is expected to prepare itself for winter and then survive that winter needs to have food available at all times to ensure that it can build up the necessary body mass that is needed for it to succeed. Having food available at all times restricts you to only feeding feeders, so be prepared to be buying 1000's of them over the course of the summer and early fall. In this case, you'll need more feeders in there at once than you would in a smaller pond or aquarium in order to ensure that the gar can easily get ample amounts of food when its hungry.
You'll have a decent provider of "free" feeders if the bluegills that are in your pond breed, but all of them will eventually be eaten by the gar.
You need to make sure that the gar is putting its resources into putting on body mass rather than growing longer as the temperatures begin to cool. If it doesn't appear to be getting fatter, then its chances of survival will be much lower.
I do not think that your pond is a suitable for housing an alligator gar for life, but it will work for a few years. My main reasoning is that the pond seems to be a bit shallow for an adult alligator gar that will be expected to make it through the winter; the depth guidelines listed in the Gar Captive Care Guide are a less than what one would need for an outdoor pond versus an indoor pond or large aquarium. I can almost guarantee that ice will form on part of the pond even with good circulation which would be another issue with housing a large alligator gar.
I would not personally risk it.
This is what someone who knows far more than me has to say on the topic.
This is what someone who knows far more than me has to say on the topic.
Pejelajarto;4556762; said:
pharmaecopia;5055910; said:
That covers it...Originally Posted by Pejelajarto
60 is minimum temp nothing lower to be safe.. Without knowing the exact locality your fish are from I would not go lower than this.
Would it work if the locality of the alligator gar was found to of a similar climate?
I figure that I may as well run that by the experts before I go and get a couple of alligator gar for my big pond (~96,000 gallons with an average depth of around 4 ft that drops to around 8 ft for about 1/5 of the pond).
I figure that I may as well run that by the experts before I go and get a couple of alligator gar for my big pond (~96,000 gallons with an average depth of around 4 ft that drops to around 8 ft for about 1/5 of the pond).
Wiggles92;5056313; said:
Seems difficult to come by northern latitude gators...Even then I'm not so sure it is good to mess with them. Gators in cold is iffy.I really would not push any fish under 2 years to under 60. Captive conditions are just so different that the fish can not condition just right. A lot of work still needs to be done on this stuff. This is something I'm working on but it will be a bit for a conclusion to come out.
Pejelajarto;5056345; said:
Okay, so I guess I'll either have to locate older alligator gars or just not bother with it.
I figured that I'd ask after I reviewed the historical range of the alligator gar again and realized that it occurred in areas with a climate that is similar to both the OP's climate and my climate. I thought that I might be able to pull it off after getting my two YOY longnose gars (~17") through the winter just alive and well; I grew them out to a bit over 12" from 1" over the course of about two months starting in mid-June before adding them to the pond in early August along with regular additions of feeders to ensure that they had enough food to build up enough body mass to survive the winter. I guess that this method might not transfer to alligator gars especially if their locality is against me...