question about gars

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the lion who ate the sun

the lion who ate the sun

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Mar 11, 2014
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georgia
I found a listing for a "spotted alligator gar" on ebay:
http://m.ebay.com/itm/281443421719?_mwBanner=1
This guy is claiming that they will not exceed 15", and that a 180 is fine to house them for life. Can anyone id this guy? His response when I asked for the taxonomy was, I cant tell male from female...

@_@

I would love to habe a pair of gar in my 180 polypterus tank, but I do not want to stock a creature that will be uncomfortable. In 3 years I will be building a truly enormous tank, and have begun planning and saving already. Still, sometimes life happens. Right now I have a 180. That is the only guarantee.

Any advice on this specific gar? Are there any gar that I can house in my 180 comfortably for at least 4 years?
 
It is not a gator gar. It is either a Florida or spotted gar. I'm leaning more tward spotted. They will reach a max of about the 24 inch mark. The sexual dimorphism of gar is pretty much nonexistant. I 180 could work but it would need to be at least 24 in wide so it could turn around easily. Also, 50 bucks is not a terrible price but might be a little steep. You could get a 8in or so for less than half that price and that would also buy you a little more time in case life happens like you said.

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He doesn't know what he's talking about.

Those are Florida Gars - and while they don't grow as huge, or as fast, as some of the other gars, they definitely grow bigger than 15 inches.

Stay away from somebody who can't give you real information - buy from a reputable source.
 
lunker65 said:
It is not a gator gar. It is either a Florida or spotted gar. I'm leaning more tward spotted. They will reach a max of about the 24 inch mark. The sexual dimorphism of gar is pretty much nonexistant. I 180 could work but it would need to be at least 24 in wide so it could turn around easily. Also, 50 bucks is not a terrible price but might be a little steep. You could get a 8in or so for less than half that price and that would also buy you a little more time in case life happens like you said.

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Click to expand...

You can tell the difference between gars sexes when they are bigger
 
Not that I know of. I have tried to find that out as well to find the gender of mine but all roads lead to the only way to tell is to cut them open.

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Here is a male and female for size comparison. I believe the female was the bigger gar (32"). uploadfromtaptalk1415724613899.jpg

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lunker65 said:
Not that I know of. I have tried to find that out as well to find the gender of mine but all roads lead to the only way to tell is to cut them open.

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Click to expand...

Females are rounder than males, females also have wider and overall larger anal fins than males (not longer). You can also tell the difference by placing multiple adult gars into one tank, the males will bump their noses against the anal fin area of the females , it's a sign of mating.
 
You can't tell the difference in sex of a gar externally. No matter what you think you can't do it.

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I was asking him about the taxonomy--not sex.
 
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