Florida gars are recorded to get around 52" in the wild, but in captivity they will most likely max out around 3', perhaps smaller depending on the individual, feeding, housing, etc. either way, you generally not get a fish to reach its wild max (especially with gars) in captivity because of those factors and others.
a Florida gar can be housed in a 2' tank (if you get it as a young of the year fish) for around 3 years, give or take...and could live for much longer in a 3' wide tank.
as ricky said, shortnoses are quite cheap; if you are in the US you should be able to pick one up for around $20. i believe the seller 'tropical fish distributors, or www.tfdfish.com' has plenty and you can go to their website and they will tell you where they have supplied them to.
in terms of aggression, it's difficult to say as this often times varies with the individual. the alligator gar, however, is definitely an aggressive species, probably moreso than any others. Cubans and tropicals are also quite aggressive. longnoses and shortnoses tend to be the most skittish, and spotted/Florida are somewhere in the middle. i would go with the spotted/Florida since you should have an easy time finding them and they aren't terribly aggressive or skittish. good luck--
--solomon
ps-- thanks to whomever referenced www.primitivefish.com
i'll be updating that with more info in the near future!
a Florida gar can be housed in a 2' tank (if you get it as a young of the year fish) for around 3 years, give or take...and could live for much longer in a 3' wide tank.
as ricky said, shortnoses are quite cheap; if you are in the US you should be able to pick one up for around $20. i believe the seller 'tropical fish distributors, or www.tfdfish.com' has plenty and you can go to their website and they will tell you where they have supplied them to.
in terms of aggression, it's difficult to say as this often times varies with the individual. the alligator gar, however, is definitely an aggressive species, probably moreso than any others. Cubans and tropicals are also quite aggressive. longnoses and shortnoses tend to be the most skittish, and spotted/Florida are somewhere in the middle. i would go with the spotted/Florida since you should have an easy time finding them and they aren't terribly aggressive or skittish. good luck--
--solomon
ps-- thanks to whomever referenced www.primitivefish.com
i'll be updating that with more info in the near future!
