My question to the "big dogs" is, what is the lowest temps that "true" gars in general can tolerate? Any info would greatly be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Ollie
Ollie
Lowest temp?
- Thread starter odalisay
- Start date
The answer depends on the species. Longnose gars occur more northerly than other species. Therefore, they can tolerate lower temps that can seasonally reach near-freezing. Spotted, Florida, and gator gars have higher temp requirements than longnose gars and they can tolerate seasonal water temps down to the 50s with air temps dropping to the high 30s. And, Tropical gars from S. America require higher temps than N. American gars with seasonal drops to the mid 70s.
Figure on N. American gars being OK in home room temperatures while heating is needed for tropical gars.
Figure on N. American gars being OK in home room temperatures while heating is needed for tropical gars.
Thanks Oddball, your knowledge is always greatly appreciated. It always good to learn from a Master Jedi of the the tropical fish hobby.
So Oddball, N.American gars could be kept at room temperature constantly?
Would a room and water temperature of 65F all year round be okay?
And do lower temperatures have any affects on the gars?
Would a room and water temperature of 65F all year round be okay?
And do lower temperatures have any affects on the gars?
The lower the temp, the less active they'll be. Longnose gars would be just fine at 65 year round. FL, spotted, gator gars would survive but, would be more active and act more naturally with seasonal rises in temp to between the mid 70s to mid 80s.
Joshy;609372; said:
I'm not oddball but I sure know about gar fishys
A year round temp of 65 while a little low is fine for Longnosed, spotted and shortnosed but no where near optimal. I have personally kept all of the above fish in seasonally fluctuating temps ranging from a high of 90 to a low of 55. Alligator, Florida and tropicals can easily stand temps down to the low 60's but these temps should not be sustained for a long time. I have no data on Cuban gars and temp preference / tolorance.
What would be advised if you cannot raise the temp above 65 as an average is to supply the tank with a basking light. Gars do like to bask and this simple piece of equipment allows them a spot that is a bit warmer than the rest of the tank when the room and water temp is lower.
The only effect colder temps have on gars is reduced growth, feeding and activity.
Thanks for the information Oddball and Polypterus.
Something tells me that as i spread my interest into the gar categories of this hobby, i am going to become a pain to you both lol.
But do not fret, I’ll be doing more private study the more interested i become in gars.
The reason i ask is, in the future i want to set up a large indoor pond. Size/volume is not much of a boundary, but electricity is (primarily heating). Seeing that i am located in England, we do not share the nice temperatures of you lot in the States.
Longnose gars are now certainly at the top of my research and private study list.
However i can not shed my love for the gator gars...what temperature range would you think are allowed for the gators all year round?
I am looking into heating the as apposed to just the pond…
Again, this is just foundation research for the years to come.
Something tells me that as i spread my interest into the gar categories of this hobby, i am going to become a pain to you both lol.
But do not fret, I’ll be doing more private study the more interested i become in gars.
The reason i ask is, in the future i want to set up a large indoor pond. Size/volume is not much of a boundary, but electricity is (primarily heating). Seeing that i am located in England, we do not share the nice temperatures of you lot in the States.
Longnose gars are now certainly at the top of my research and private study list.
However i can not shed my love for the gator gars...what temperature range would you think are allowed for the gators all year round?
I am looking into heating the as apposed to just the pond…
Again, this is just foundation research for the years to come.
since phil and richard covered the majority of the questions already, i'll just add in where i can without repeating too much:
Cuban gars seem to be more along the lines of their other Central American cousins, the tropical gars, however, they seem to be more sensitive across the board to water quality issues, one of those being temperature.
they could do just fine into the lower 70's, but i have never tested it beyond that as they are just too risky to really experiment with (richard can sympathize with this as he and i have discussed these fish and gars in general for hours on end
).
that being said, i'm currently keeping all 7 species and they are all at about 80-82F. i generally do this to maintain a decent level of activity, but also to prevent any potential health problems which are associated with stress due to lower temps, slower metabolism, etc etc. keep in mind, however, that gars are quite robust in terms of resistance to disease and (as stated by phil/richard) changes in temperature.
since you had also asked about this, the alligator gar i have is kept at the same temperatures, although they could handle the broad range richard noted, just not for prolonger periods of time nor would it be optimal for the fish.
good luck!--
--solomon
Cuban gars seem to be more along the lines of their other Central American cousins, the tropical gars, however, they seem to be more sensitive across the board to water quality issues, one of those being temperature.
they could do just fine into the lower 70's, but i have never tested it beyond that as they are just too risky to really experiment with (richard can sympathize with this as he and i have discussed these fish and gars in general for hours on end
). that being said, i'm currently keeping all 7 species and they are all at about 80-82F. i generally do this to maintain a decent level of activity, but also to prevent any potential health problems which are associated with stress due to lower temps, slower metabolism, etc etc. keep in mind, however, that gars are quite robust in terms of resistance to disease and (as stated by phil/richard) changes in temperature.
since you had also asked about this, the alligator gar i have is kept at the same temperatures, although they could handle the broad range richard noted, just not for prolonger periods of time nor would it be optimal for the fish.
good luck!--
--solomon
In my main tank that I house my Gars I do not use a heater, I allow the temp to change to a cooler inthe winter just like mother nature does. I have had great success with this method except for this year when other commitments caused me to pay less attention to my tank and it got hit with a fungus infection due to my plecos eating the protective slime coat off my Gars. The cooler water caused the fungus to spread quicker that I anticipated and when I decided that I should take action it was too late for one of the Gars, I will not make mistake twice.