Is there any gar I could keep for in a 150?

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For life? Or at least for 2-3 years? I have a 150 that I am going to set up in about a month when I get into my new house. My 55 is stocked with all natives and I think a young gar would make a fantastic addition.

From what I've read, it appears that FL gars, spotted gars and Cubans seem to top out at about 24" under most circumstances. My goal would be to get a baby of about 6-9" (the same ball park as the largest fish in my current stock). If I got a gar and fed sparingly (I always feed sparingly), would I be able to house it in a 150 of 72x18x28 lwh for about two years? I would REALLY like a longnose but I know they get waaaaaay too big.

I get out of the Army in February 2014 and I'm moving home to Florida and will have a house built which will have an outdoor pond in my screened sunroom of about 1500 gallons, so I really only need the fish to last in the 150 until then.

Given my circumstances and requirements, would I be ok to stock an young gar of one of the species listed? Or another species I may have missed?

Thanks in advance!
 
Florida gar, Spotted gar, Short nose and tropical gar can live in a 150G for a few years. As far as I know, Cuban gar grow to the same size as Long-nose.
 
I'd put a long nose in there. I have a 14" in a 90 gal right now gar really just hang out in one spot most of the time

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815billybob said:
I'd put a long nose in there. I have a 14" in a 90 gal right now gar really just hang out in one spot most of the time

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did you really read what he posted? he need it to live in there for a few years!
 
What is your current stock? Gars typically do not fare well with most other fishes including most natives. You also may run into temperature issues with a Cuban gar or tropical gar as they need warmer water than is typically recommended for natives (not to mention actually finding one for sale).

Also, it sounds like you're going to stunt the gars by not feeding them enough...
 
LMB, SMB, cats and sunfish. I don't care if the sunfish get eaten and the cats and bass would be too big for him to eat.

I feed my fish daily, and occasionally miss a day when work keeps me out for a long time. What I mean by sparingly is that I simply don't powerfeed. I give a combo of Hikari pellets and krill and I catch and chop up trout to feed them 'trout chunks' which the fish absolutely adore. They also get live feeders on a rare occasion, normally wild caught mollies, minnows or shiners. Feeders are always quarantined, too. Don't let the low post count fool ya, I'm not a noob. ;) I know you guys are just looking out for the well being of the prospective gar. :)

edit- also, my cats don't bother anything, they're very even tempered. The sunnies don't go after anything other than each other, and since my LMB found out that other big fish bite back (the blue cat), he's stopped actually harassing the other fish, he'll just run them off at times.
 
quadcam said:
For life? Or at least for 2-3 years? I have a 150 that I am going to set up in about a month when I get into my new house. My 55 is stocked with all natives and I think a young gar would make a fantastic addition.

From what I've read, it appears that FL gars, spotted gars and Cubans seem to top out at about 24" under most circumstances. My goal would be to get a baby of about 6-9" (the same ball park as the largest fish in my current stock). If I got a gar and fed sparingly (I always feed sparingly), would I be able to house it in a 150 of 72x18x28 lwh for about two years? I would REALLY like a longnose but I know they get waaaaaay too big.

I get out of the Army in February 2014 and I'm moving home to Florida and will have a house built which will have an outdoor pond in my screened sunroom of about 1500 gallons, so I really only need the fish to last in the 150 until then.

Given my circumstances and requirements, would I be ok to stock an young gar of one of the species listed? Or another species I may have missed?

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...

I wouLd do Florida gar because they can survive in a 150 for several years, and are the most common/cheap


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