Leopisosteus Platyrhincus (MELANISTIC) VIDEO!!!

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

hope u catch something awesome is there any way to prove they're true genetic melanistics?

they have the black slime coats

 

[Motoxs3th]

so jealous...

 

[peewee]

cool!

 

[snookn21]

I need to find some more of these guys. Just watched the video and forgot how cool it was having 2 at one time. Man I miss my blacks. I know of one member on here who got one. I dont remember your username but please post some updates if you see this! It would be appreciated, thanks John

 

[Madding]

Yes, I would also like some more of these to pop up on your aquabid.

 

[fwlion]

I don't think those are true Melanistics they seem to be reg. gar just blind so all they see is darkness there fore faded their pattern to black to mimic there "surroundings" so they think

 

[E_americanus]

I don't think those are true Melanistics they seem to be reg. gar just blind so all they see is darkness there fore faded their pattern to black to mimic there "surroundings" so they think

there may be some relationship between the blindness and pattern (richard and i were actually discussing this earlier today), but the reasoning doesn't necessarily hold up...gars actually flush out most of their pattern at night and are very lightly colored, not dark...so if the fish truly "thought" it was in darkness, the dark pattern doesn't seem like the appropriate response.

also think about most "blind" or cave-dwelling fishes and even some amphibians...they almost all lightly colored, not dark.

still quite a mystery that the black ones (at least in this locality) are all blind...perhaps something is taking out the eyes early in life--
--solomon

 

[snookn21]

there may be some relationship between the blindness and pattern (richard and i were actually discussing this earlier today), but the reasoning doesn't necessarily hold up...gars actually flush out most of their pattern at night and are very lightly colored, not dark...so if the fish truly "thought" it was in darkness, the dark pattern doesn't seem like the appropriate response.

also think about most "blind" or cave-dwelling fishes and even some amphibians...they almost all lightly colored, not dark.

still quite a mystery that the black ones (at least in this locality) are all blind...perhaps something is taking out the eyes early in life--
--solomon

Myan cichlids (red terrors) are very thick here and tend to eat the eyeballs out of alot of the fish down here in the dry season. This guy was melenastic and blind. He had the black slime coat and I kept him for months and he never faded. I have had dark gars that look black and lack the black slime coat. This was not the case in either of the blind black gars they were both indeed melenastic gars. That stayed jet black!

 

[snookn21]

I spoke with one of the owners of the black gar yesturday. He mentioned his is still jet black pigmentation so I guess these were TRUE black gars.

 

[E_americanus]

I spoke with one of the owners of the black gar yesturday. He mentioned his is still jet black pigmentation so I guess these were TRUE black gars.

i don't think we were debating whether or not they were "true" black gars or not (and there are various levels of melanism in the condition anyway), it was whether or not the blindness was the cause of the black gar condition.

as we had discussed in the earlier post, i think the blindness was merely because of the cichlids eating the eyes out of the fish...and that was generally independent of the melanism.

i still very much believe you found several black gars (and let me know when you find one with eyes ) --
--solomon