lowest water temp for gars

[scriving]

What i want to know is tempatures for these guys.

 

[HungDang]

What i want to know is tempatures for these guys.

well, most of them are from "Central America" to the "South of North America" so they can stand both the cold and the heat !

 

[Wiggles92]

What i want to know is tempatures for these guys.

Upper 70's to lower 80's should be fine.

well, most of them are from "Central America" to the "South of North America" so they can stand both the cold and the heat !

Some of the gars' ranges extend to the northern U.S. and southern Canada, so they definitely can take a wide variety of temperatures in the wild.

 

[scriving]

I mean whats the lowest temp

 

[HungDang]

I mean whats the lowest temp

as long as the water not freezing, they are good !

 

[E_americanus]

as long as the water not freezing, they are good !

no.

it depends on in what conditions you have previously kept the gar, how old the gar is, how large the gar is, and the species. tropical and Cuban gars won't do well in the lower temp ranges...they may survive for a while, but i wouldn't push them past 65F for extended periods.

yes, some gars survive in areas where the surface of the water body freezes, but these are wild fishes that are prepared for colder temperatures and have built up appropriate fat stores. captive fish may have fatty deposits, but they are usually not conditioned for cold.

are you talking about keeping gars indoors or outdoors? the OP's question is not a simple one. if kept indoors, gars will be fine in about 65-85, best kept at 70-80F. if you are keeping them outdoors you want to make sure they are well conditioned for colder temps if you are in a cooler climate.

just throwing a gar in a scenario where "as long as it doesn't freeze" will usually not guarantee survival (gar growth/feeding/cell replication stops at temperatures well above freezing).--
--solomon

 

[scriving]

no.

it depends on in what conditions you have previously kept the gar, how old the gar is, how large the gar is, and the species. tropical and Cuban gars won't do well in the lower temp ranges...they may survive for a while, but i wouldn't push them past 65F for extended periods.

yes, some gars survive in areas where the surface of the water body freezes, but these are wild fishes that are prepared for colder temperatures and have built up appropriate fat stores. captive fish may have fatty deposits, but they are usually not conditioned for cold.

are you talking about keeping gars indoors or outdoors? the OP's question is not a simple one. if kept indoors, gars will be fine in about 65-85, best kept at 70-80F. if you are keeping them outdoors you want to make sure they are well conditioned for colder temps if you are in a cooler climate.

just throwing a gar in a scenario where "as long as it doesn't freeze" will usually not guarantee survival (gar growth/feeding/cell replication stops at temperatures well above freezing).--
--solomon

Ok good info I was just curious because I know most people keep these fish at a tropical temp but there natural habitat isnt always so Thanks for the answer

 

[E_americanus]

Ok good info I was just curious because I know most people keep these fish at a tropical temp but there natural habitat isnt always so Thanks for the answer

yes, all gars can survive just fine in tropical temps, but not all of them do well at cooler temperate conditions. would not recommend temps below 60F for adult gars, and not below 65F for juveniles--
--solomon

 

[Wiggles92]

Ok good info I was just curious because I know most people keep these fish at a tropical temp but there natural habitat isnt always so Thanks for the answer

I had a pretty lengthy post in preparation for you asking about keeping them outdoors, but it's irrelevant to your question now.

Here's the post for anyone who may be interested (please correct me if I'm wrong on any of this):

As Solomon said, tropical gars and Cuban gars need to be kept at reasonably warm temperatures in order to thrive and survive. They're only suitable for an year-round outdoor setting if the previously mentioned temperature range can be achieved; otherwise, they should be kept indoors only.

If you wish to keep gars outdoors year-round, starting during Summer, give them a few weeks (preferably a month or longer) to acclimate to living outdoors. Be sure to provide them with plenty of food and check on them as often as possible. I personally had to make the tough choice of either placing my two YOY longnose gars in my goldfish pond or get rid of them before heading back to college for the Fall; they were 12" and 14" at the time. I ended up placing them in my unheated goldfish pond, along with plenty of feeders, during early August in order to give them time to fatten up and get used to living outdoors. To make the transition easier, I made sure that their aquarium temperature matched that of the pond prior to transferring them. I was not able to check them myself during the majority of Fall, but my family made sure that they had food and were alive & well. I finally was able to check on them towards the end of November during Fall Break. Both gars were fat and happy; they were both 16" long. I had to head back to college for Winter Quarter, and I was unable to check on them (on account of a layer of ice on the pond) until yesterday. I found both of them to be alive and well; they were still 16" and had lost little weight. So there's my personal example of keeping gars outdoors; I hope it helps.

Only longnose gars, shortnose gars, and spotted gars are appropriate for living year-round in the unheated outdoor setting in the upper states of the lower 48. Alligator gars and the previous list will be fine year-round outdoors (unheated) in the lower states of the lower 48. Florida gars are only appropriate for the southernmost states of the lower 48 when keeping them unheated outdoors; even then one must be careful. Tropical gars and Cuban gars are strictly for heated environments only. One must also make sure that their pond/other outdoor container does not freeze all the way to the bottom to avoid any fatalities.

So in short, do your research on a gars' natural range, give them time to get used to their new setting and fatten up, and be sure to make sure that the outdoor container is deep enough to prevent it from completely freezing.

 

[E_americanus]

I had a pretty lengthy post in preparation for you asking about keeping them outdoors, but it's irrelevant to your question now.

Here's the post for anyone who may be interested (please correct me if I'm wrong on any of this):

As Solomon said, tropical gars and Cuban gars need to be kept at reasonably warm temperatures in order to thrive and survive. They're only suitable for an year-round outdoor setting if the previously mentioned temperature range can be achieved; otherwise, they should be kept indoors only.

If you wish to keep gars outdoors year-round, starting during Summer, give them a few weeks (preferably a month or longer) to acclimate to living outdoors. Be sure to provide them with plenty of food and check on them as often as possible. I personally had to make the tough choice of either placing my two YOY longnose gars in my goldfish pond or get rid of them before heading back to college for the Fall; they were 12" and 14" at the time. I ended up placing them in my unheated goldfish pond, along with plenty of feeders, during early August in order to give them time to fatten up and get used to living outdoors. To make the transition easier, I made sure that their aquarium temperature matched that of the pond prior to transferring them. I was not able to check them myself during the majority of Fall, but my family made sure that they had food and were alive & well. I finally was able to check on them towards the end of November during Fall Break. Both gars were fat and happy; they were both 16" long. I had to head back to college for Winter Quarter, and I was unable to check on them (on account of a layer of ice on the pond) until yesterday. I found both of them to be alive and well; they were still 16" and had lost little weight. So there's my personal example of keeping gars outdoors; I hope it helps.

Only longnose gars, shortnose gars, and spotted gars are appropriate for living year-round in the unheated outdoor setting in the upper states of the lower 48. Alligator gars and the previous list will be fine year-round outdoors (unheated) in the lower states of the lower 48. Florida gars are only appropriate for the southernmost states of the lower 48 when keeping them unheated outdoors; even then one must be careful. Tropical gars and Cuban gars are strictly for heated environments only. One must also make sure that their pond/other outdoor container does not freeze all the way to the bottom to avoid any fatalities.

So in short, do your research on a gars' natural range, give them time to get used to their new setting and fatten up, and be sure to make sure that the outdoor container is deep enough to prevent it from completely freezing.

although likely holding true in several sets of circumstances, i would be wary of some of those generalizations. gator gars used to range into OH, so they probably can survive in "unheated settings of the upper 48" similarly to LNG, SNG, SPG.

FLG, although some evidence suggests their being somewhat more susceptible to cooler temps than other LEP-genus gars, can probably deal with cooler temps as well - they have been introduced in Canada and other upper states.

again, although likely holding true in most circumstances, the natural range correlation can be plastic--
--solomon