Is this a black gar?

[sjick]

Hi all,

I am not into gars but i have a Q.

Today i found this gar in a local fishstore. I beleave it's a gator?!? His head is completely black and so is his back. When you look closely to the second pic you can see some spots at his belly and fins. So my gues is that this is not a "black" gar but just a darker coloured fish?

What's your opinion?

 

[peewee]

it definitely has majority black. but i think it would fade?

 

[pwmin]

think it would fade?

depends on what's wrong with it

 

[E_americanus]

lots of gators look like that at some point as juveniles...it will likely fade or change after a while in consistent care. some do stay darker than others, but i wouldn't call this a true case of what we normally call "melanistic" gars--
--solomon

PS - nice fish though, i always liked the darker looking gators--

 

[vaine111]

Could that be a stress induced color?