New spotted gar

[MonsterKeeper12934]

I just recently bought a spotted gar online and it arrived with no pectoral fins. It is about 3.5 inches and it is eating little amounts of krill, bloodworm and mysis shrimp. I am quite concerned as it is just floating at the top with some of its back out of the water. It rarely moves from the top but when it does it just drops. Is this because of its pectoral fins and will they grow back because they are right down to it's body? It just floats around the tank and sits on the plants when not at the top. There are guppies in with it so if it wants to eat it can. It is in a 55 at the moment and I will upgrade it to a 300 shortly. I am just wondering if everything is just because of stress or his missing pectoral fins.

 

[MonsterKeeper12934]

Some pictures

 

[kno4te]

Maybe got damaged while in transit or at the fish store. A bit skinny looking Florida gar. Hard to make it where it starts but have a feeling it should grow back despite how it looks.

 

[Siddons11]

Gar are very tough critters, as long as it is eating I am confident that it will pull through. The floating at the top is normal behavior for young gar as that is what they do in nature to camouflage. I'd suggest adding some floating plants (real or fake) to make it feel more comfortable.