Is it normal for gars to come up to the surface every now and again to get some air? Just curious if this is normal gar behavior.
Is it normal?
- Thread starter bahamaqt00
- Start date
Thank you. I am interested in buying a pair of spotted gars and I have been trying to research as much as possible. And I went to the store today and was watching them and just noticed this behavior.
Thanks guys. Also are gars pretty strong? Meaning they can handle a little bit of ammoina spike or something? Or are they very sensitive to water conditions and whatnot? I know you should always keep your water in tip top condition but sometimes things happen.
from my experience they are pretty strong and are not really sensitive to water conditions. but even though i said that doesnt mean you dont have to check the water 
. and its normal for them to go up for some air. like someone said they breathe air.
. and its normal for them to go up for some air. like someone said they breathe air.
bahamaqt00;3881116; said:
Gar do not like Ammonia spikes at all. They can tolerate some poor conditions if older but are not at all good with Ammonia at any age. Do not put a gar in an uncycled tank and always keep a close eye for signs of Ammonia toxicity.
As already mentioned gar breath air. The frequency that they do so is regulated for the most part by the Temperature and to a part by Oxygen content in the water. After certain temps are reached the fish has an internal switch that just tells it that More oxygen is needed and they instinctively substitute oxygen in air for that which is in the water. This is essential for the fish as certain temps are reached. One big mistake some make with these fish in shipping or transporting them is to assume that if one adds an over abundance of oxygen into the water at higher temps that the fish will survive without breaching. Exact opposite often happens and the fish drowns. At certain temps the fish must switch to Atmospheric air as the gills can not supply it with enough oxygen for survival. Added oxygen will actually conflict with this necessary function of atmospheric "breathing". Gills will slowly shut down as the temp tells the fish to go atmospheric but the oxygen content says it is fine. This is a quirky thing about gar Physiology that should be well understood.
Breaching also has a certain social behavior aspect to it. Often when one gar surfaces most of the others will also in short order of the first. When in a group the more social gars such as Platostomus and Osseus will often do so in series repeatedly while schooling in small groups. They will breach far more often in groups than is physiologically needed. Reason for one breaching and then having a cascade effect on others could have several reasons and explanations. Most obvious being that one did not get eaten time to go.. But it could also be more than that and be a part of the social structure of the fish. Behavior research is on going in this area. It is truly rather fascinating to watch the fish in the wild in regards to this.
Thanks for the info. I have never seen any other fish do the breaching thing. I think it is pretty cool. What about gars and filtration. Do they produce a lot of waste and need mas filtration?