help on keeping spotted gars

[marvinbaker]

i'm thinking of purchasing 2 x 7" spotted gars but have no experience of them so would appreciate some advice and info on them. they are not commonly kept in the uk and i have little knowledge of them, they would be going into a tank with dats, a black aro, poly's and a channa auranti. anyone foresee this being a problem? the tank is 7' x 2' x 2.5'.

 

[Miguel]

Hey Marvin..I type to death in your avatar!!!
I have Spotteds ( and alligators )..

as long as the spotted are of a compatible size for them not to be molested, they should be allright. They are not vey apt at defending themselves...

beyond that they are, up till now, easy to keep and fun to watch.. all mine are already eating floating pellets...

start them up ( if babies ) with red mosq larvae..
M

 

[eman b115]

I keep a 16" and a 13" florida and spotted gar in my community tank which includes 5 dats, 2 polys, a loach, a ray and the 2 gars, no problems at all...

 

[baracuda]

They are pretty hardy IME and dont require any "special" care...should be ok with the fish you listed since none of those are overly aggressive...the only thing i would watch out for is if the gar starts snapping at other fish...mine sometimes would snap the other fish by accident trying to compete for food(not out of aggressiveness) and they do sport some nice teeth. They are awsome fish though. GL

 

[demjor19]

as long as the gar doesnt recognize his tankmates as a potential meal and the tankmates arent bullies you should be fine. my gar has actually made pretty good pals w/ some of his old tankmates.

 

[marvinbaker]

picked up the gar today. thanks for the advice guys. pics in the photo lounge