Questioning Minimal Florida Gar Tank Setup...Opinions/Information wanted.

[r3dbullxxx]

I have a Florida Gar, about 12", and his tank is bare aside from some black gravel. He tends to stay near the ends of the tank facing outwards and I am wondering what I can put in there to give him a more natural setting without cluttering the tank and making it harder for him to maneuver and/or catch his food. The tank is big enough to accommodate whatever I want to put in it...but, all I've generally seen posted or from Google are tanks with decorative backgrounds and a piece or 2 of driftwood. No real plants or anything for them to swim "through" or hide "amongst" which seems a tad sad to me. I've seen some high-budget tanks with something that looks like mangrove roots on one end...which I'd love to do if it wouldn't hinder him in some way I am not thinking of...

I appreciate any info, links, etc. as I tried to search the threads but, apparently all my searches are too short to generate matches for what I am asking. Please and thank you in advance.

 

[duanes]

Your gar probably doesn't feel very secure in a bare tank, and may be why it just sits looking out.
But predators like gar normally hang out in thick vegetation, camouflaged within swaths of plants, lying motionless waiting for prey to pass.
A bare tank is not the norm, and may be stressful for it.
You may not like clutter, but the gar does, in order to feel secure.
I happen to like junglish tanks.
So I keep mangroves in my tanks, planted in bamboo tubes filled with sand, the leaves need emerge above the water line.

I place the mangrove tubes along the back and side walls.

There are floating plants that might provide cover, and over head security for your gar, and not neseccarily clutter up the tank from the side view, such as Salvinia and water lettuce and have the added benefit of improving water quality.

 

[jjohnwm]

I think that something as simple as a layer of Duckweed on the surface might work wonders for your gar's sense of security. Floating plants like Duckweed, Water Lettuce, Salvinia, etc. provide shade, cover and a natural look and also improve your water quality by utilizing nitrates. With decent lighting, you would likely be able to harvest them by the netful on a weekly basis; every time you throw away a handful of Duckweed you are removing nitrates from your tank. If you have any herbivorous fish in other tanks they would likely be happy for some fresh Duckweed snacks.

Planting a couple of Sagittaria or Vallisneria in the bottom would also offer similar benefits, and they could be allowed to grow quite thickly before they would begin to impede the gar's movement. They'd be much less of a hindrance to him than driftwood, rocks or other hard decor.

 

[r3dbullxxx]

Your gar probably doesn't feel very secure in a bare tank, and may be why it just sits looking out.
But predators like gar normally hang out in thick vegetation, camouflaged within swaths of plants, lying motionless waiting for prey to pass.
A bare tank is not the norm, and may be stressful for it.
You may not like clutter, but the gar does, in order to feel secure.
I happen to like junglish tanks.
So I keep mangroves in my tanks, planted in bamboo tubes filled with sand, the leaves need emerge above the water line.
View attachment 1517303
I place the mangrove tubes along the back and side walls.
View attachment 1517304
There are floating plants that might provide cover, and over head security for your gar, and not neseccarily clutter up the tank from the side view, such as Salvinia and water lettuce and have the added benefit of improving water quality.

Awesome...I misspoke. It's not that I dont like clutter, I just wanna make sure he can move adequately...I tend to "overdo" my tanks and then get a nasty mess that I cannot clean and it spirals into disaster....and when I search for Gar Tank or Florida Gar Tank on google, they have all these tanks with other predator fish that are all but bare...I started with that but, I just feel that he's wishing for more so didn't know where to start.

Where did you get your bamboo or mangroves? I'm in central florida (Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral) and mangroves "should" be fairly easy to get. Appreciate you taking time to reply and show me photos.

 

[r3dbullxxx]

I think that something as simple as a layer of Duckweed on the surface might work wonders for your gar's sense of security. Floating plants like Duckweed, Water Lettuce, Salvinia, etc. provide shade, cover and a natural look and also improve your water quality by utilizing nitrates. With decent lighting, you would likely be able to harvest them by the netful on a weekly basis; every time you throw away a handful of Duckweed you are removing nitrates from your tank. If you have any herbivorous fish in other tanks they would likely be happy for some fresh Duckweed snacks.

Planting a couple of Sagittaria or Vallisneria in the bottom would also offer similar benefits, and they could be allowed to grow quite thickly before they would begin to impede the gar's movement. They'd be much less of a hindrance to him than driftwood, rocks or other hard decor.

OK. I was going to try that as well. I've ordered some seeds/plants for my smallers tanks with shrimp and snails in them....and...I live on a pond with loads of 3-4' gar and there's a section of floating plants I'm sure they love....and live/spawn in...however, that section of the pond is home to a monster gator and unless I can rig a fishing line thru the trees to snag some and pull it to me...lol...i'll have to start from scratch....

also....this is the gator I'm not brave enough to challenge in a kayak...hence why I am trying the fishing pole way...lol.

 

[duanes]

I pick mine up off the beach.
Bamboo branches readily wash up, and I cut them to the height of the tank water surface.
Mangrove pods also just wash up and I collect them after storms.
But pods are also easily ordered off the internet.
Mangrove tree pod washed up

 

[jjohnwm]

OK. I was going to try that as well. I've ordered some seeds/plants for my smallers tanks with shrimp and snails in them....and...I live on a pond with loads of 3-4' gar and there's a section of floating plants I'm sure they love....and live/spawn in...however, that section of the pond is home to a monster gator and unless I can rig a fishing line thru the trees to snag some and pull it to me...lol...i'll have to start from scratch....

also....this is the gator I'm not brave enough to challenge in a kayak...hence why I am trying the fishing pole way...lol.

View attachment 1517307

It's clear that you and I face completely different challenges in our collecting expeditions...

 

[duanes]

Gators are here too, one had its eye on me the other day when I feel in while collecting.

Luckily my friend wrenched me out the mud before it decided to approach.
As far as floating plants go, I do the same as jjohnwm and pull out at least a handful a day from my tank, to add to the compost pile.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Where did you get your bamboo or mangroves? I'm in central florida (Cocoa Beach, Cape Canaveral) and mangroves "should" be fairly easy to get.

Small world; I grew up on Merritt Island. I currently live in Deltona (30 minutes inland from Daytona).

You can get mangrove seeds at the the bridges crossing the Indian and Banana Rivers. You can also find them on the beach. Digging up saplings is frowned upon, let's just say. I don't know if cuttings will root, but it wouldn't hurt to find out. The seeds have about a month long season, but I don't recall when unfortunately.

When fishing for gar, let them run with the bait for about 30 seconds to a minute. They typically keep their prey in the bony portion of their mouth, and it takes a while for them to work it back to the fleshy parts.

 

[CHOMPERS]

By the way, even though everything in your area is considered brackish, I have tested the specific gravity (salinity) in the Banana River and it was full SW. Of course it varies a bit, but it would be a good idea to use one of the inexpensive salinity testers to get an idea of the salinity level of your pond.