to all the folks saying its cruel or not right buy any standers; we all are part of the cage culture witch to aloooottttt of people is cruel so chill diffrent strokes for diffrent folks damn you all a=sound like Jesus people............. its an abomination!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHA idiots
I don't think its really cruel. Like solomon state, there is a very low chance of it being a result of selective breeding.
IMO, SB fishes are, relating it to human, like midgets. We treat midgets the same way like other human beings right?
If not you need some lessons in moral education...
So why cant we just treat this gator gar like a gator gar?
to all the folks saying its cruel or not right buy any standers; we all are part of the cage culture witch to aloooottttt of people is cruel so chill diffrent strokes for diffrent folks damn you all a=sound like Jesus people............. its an abomination!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAHAHA idiots
If you fail to see the difference between profiting off of poor genetics and internally-damaging mutations compared to fish-keeping as a hobby then I think you should reconsider who you are calling an idiot.
Also, there is no better place to discuss and debate 'different strokes' than on a forum dedicated to the topic. If you can't participate without resorting to name-calling then there are many pictures of florida gars in the other threads that you can look at.
The fish pictured from Big-in is quite old and even though it is a SSB, it's a pretty big size.
I could be wrong, but the Stones one is 13", so I don't think these 2 fish are in any way related.
And @Madding, I agree the "idiot" name calling is not wanted in my thread.
They are appearing more and more though. Given that they can breed short body floridas with some regularity, it's not unreasonable to think that they might do it with gators. Combine that with the premium price charged and there is a lot of incentive to breed these fish.
The two fish could be from the same fish farm, hard to know. but if they are not already being produced, they will probably start being produced.
2nd, the "man made thing was actually aimed at user "Pejelajarto" comment - "It is sick what humans do to perfectly good animals just to make a buck or two...".
And I stick by this, no-one can say if this was human interaction or not.
Only because the farms over there refuse to detail what they are doing.... I'm sorry but these fish are showing with quite some regularity in the Asian bred fish.. Why is it you do not see this with the American hatchery fish or even the Mexican farmed fish? Is there not just as likely a possibility for them in these cases? Why do the Asian farmed SB gars also very much seem to fit a standardized aesthetic form?
When Gar are young it is very possible to manipulate the growth of them to easily conform to this SB aesthetic.. This is exactly how the SB Polys are produced and now there is a move to perfect it in Gars. They are not aberration of a fish born like this at birth they are a produced fish.... I stand by this given both my knowledge of the fish and my knowledge of the Asian fish culture industry.
My two kopeks and think about it...
Personally I do not like these fish at all.. And I'm not going to be shy about not saying that. As someone whom has dedicated a good deal of my Blood sweat and tears to Gar research, conservation and education seeing this being done to these fish is heartbreaking at worst and just plain silly at best...
personally I do find these types of fish an "abomination" .. because they aren't just a color morph or selectively bred for traits that will not effect it's health or long-term propigation of the species. as stated in SB's much like stunting... these fish have internal complications that shorten their life -spans and often result in a slow death. painful or not the body does shut-down... and as "the smarter species" I could not knowingly do this to a pet. imo it's not better then intentionally stunting your fish so they dn't outgrow your tank. be that the goal of the owner or not.
But with all of that said I can't blame the OP for appreciateing the oddness of this fish.. I just persionally think it's worth far less then a "normal" specimin. seems like all to soon our "wild types" will all but be gone... and like the wolf... our pets will be like the designer dog breeds that pale in comparison to their wild counterparts. I enjoy my Gar for the fish that nature made them. Just like the OP appreciates his Polys it sounds like the way nature designed them.
I just find it interesting how he feels the way he does about Polys as many of those here with Gar feel... yet he views the gar differently.
have seen at least 3-4 of such specimens in singapore in recent months. nothing much to do but watch sadly as gars become yet the latest casuality in the SB fad.
Yes, like you said, I like the look of the pictured fish as it looks different to me. No I would not pay high price for it or any other SB fish for that matter.
And I do understand why Gar enthusiasts don't like such fish, as I said I feel the same way about Polypterus.
Only I feel people shouldn't be made to look like "bad fish keepers" for liking such fish. it is each to their own of course!
Me, I like Gars, but I am not a Gar enthusiast. My Gar keeping experience is limited to Florida, spotted, and short nose.
