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

[r3dbullxxx]

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.

I will look into that. I have since caught a bazillion Mayans, 3 Warmouths, baby Tilapia, and a ton of shrimp and crayfish.

-The Mayans only really do well when you catch them tiny...otherwise they stress, lose color, etc.

-The warmouths are my newest favorite...one is easily the size of my hand with awesome markings and will eat shrimp from my hand...the other 2 are smaller and will eat red worms and bloodworms...no shrimp as of yet.

-the tilapia are freakin troopers. I have 1 about the size of a silver dollar and like 5-10 that are fingernail size but, they have almost doubled in size in a week.

-the crayfish do whatever and carry on...I just realized tonight my blue female crayfish is completely gone...either climbed out or was eaten by the big male crayfish...with not a trace left behind. I've moved everything and am about to lift the couch now...grrr.

-the pond shrimp die easily as well...I tried keeping them with bumblebee gobies in a brackish tank to see if I could get the ones with eggs to hatch and be a self-sustaining food source for the gobies, but about half of them have died in my efforts so far.

 

[r3dbullxxx]

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.

That is my chain of ponds on the left...so, I'm going to try to go to the bridge by the car dealership and bait shop then maybe check Kiwanis Park or whatever...I've looked into the seasons of black, red, and white mangroves and I'm gonna see what I can find...

Appreciate the tips...I kinda stalled out on my ideas and this got me wanting to go try tomorrow...

 

[r3dbullxxx]

That is my chain of ponds on the left...so, I'm going to try to go to the bridge by the car dealership and bait shop then maybe check Kiwanis Park or whatever...I've looked into the seasons of black, red, and white mangroves and I'm gonna see what I can find...

Appreciate the tips...I kinda stalled out on my ideas and this got me wanting to go try tomorrow...
View attachment 1517972

SCORE!!!! I have a friend who is a cruise ship captain and lives right on the river...he has mangroves and let me grab a bunch....thanks for your help!!!! I also found this weird hermit looking crab thing....any ideas?

Weird Crab:


Mangrove stash with driftwood:

 

[r3dbullxxx]

-the crayfish do whatever and carry on...I just realized tonight my blue female crayfish is completely gone...either climbed out or was eaten by the big male crayfish...with not a trace left behind. I've moved everything and am about to lift the couch now...grrr.

[/QUOTE]

UPDATE: sad news...my blue girl is no more...she escaped the tank thru a hole in the lid for the cannister tubes...travelled 425 feet into my bedroom and into a pair of my shoes. I picked the shoes up to go to the store this AM and plop. Out falls my girl. What a way to go...

 

[r3dbullxxx]

SCORE!!!! I have a friend who is a cruise ship captain and lives right on the river...he has mangroves and let me grab a bunch....thanks for your help!!!! I also found this weird hermit looking crab thing....any ideas?

Weird Crab:
View attachment 1517992View attachment 1517993

Found it:

 

[CHOMPERS]

Sorry to hear about your crayfish. It happened to me too, but with a baby turtle. And a moray eel...

I literally grew up one mile north of you on Davis Drive (off of Banana River Drive). (And later lived on Hall Rd, north of the barge canal.)

Those hermit crabs are pretty common. They are excellent bait for sheepshead. You will need to break the shell off without smashing the crab.

 

[r3dbullxxx]

Sorry to hear about your crayfish. It happened to me too, but with a baby turtle. And a moray eel...

I literally grew up one mile north of you on Davis Drive (off of Banana River Drive). (And later lived on Hall Rd, north of the barge canal.)

Those hermit crabs are pretty common. They are excellent bait for sheepshead. You will need to break the shell off without smashing the crab.

Whoah...the eel musta been something...actually, the turtle too.
The racoons dig up all the eggs here and I find the empty shells in the AM...I've only seen 1 turtle in 3-4 years at this location and that was when I was fishing for gar (before I knew how) and used a massive hood and grizzly chunks of steak...It was at night and I saw the flash of a shell but, then he dove and went along the bank and my line was entwined in roots and it broke off.

After that, I learned the technique for gar and still no luck...gave up...and years later, saw one in a crappy tank in a chain pet store and bought him and he looks pretty good now...

A week later...I had a Mayan from my pond tank die and I used it for bait....and wouldn't ya know it...I freaking caught one.
Something took a chomp at it's tail fin and took half of it...nice and clean. I'm assumin a turtle...as people at the bar over here say there's a massive snapper...but, I've never seen it. I already had my gar...so, I took some photos and released it...

The photos are misleading and poor, but you get the idea.

Gar I caught (24-26"):




My gar (10-12"):

 

[CHOMPERS]

There's a secret about gar. Everyone says that you can't eat them. But if the secret got out, there wouldn't be any left. My brother was told that they taste just like lobster. So we caught one, and fixed him up according to the best internet redneck we could find.
...yep, taste just like lobster, and the texture was spot on too.

We live on a lake, but we have never caught another.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Btw, both of those gar are nice looking. The wild one would have been a nice addition if it was small enough.
I use to have a small one around 12". It was in a 250g but had a difficult time turning around. I never thought that the 250 would ever be too small for anything.

The moray eel has an interesting story. I actually had three of them (2.5-4 ft). The first one that I lost was dried up eel jerky laying on the floor when I found him. When I was in the process of making lids for the tank, another jumped. When I found it, its skin was bone dry but it was still alive...but barely. I held it in front of a power head and by some small miracle it recovered. It lived for several months but jumped again. There was a 2.5 inch gap at the filter that he went through. I was in the room when he jumped, but this time he landed square on his head and broke his neck. When I put it back in the tank, I could feel that there wasn't any life left. This time the powerhead didn't work.

 

[duanes]

Distantly related to fresh water gars, needlefish are very popular as dinner here in Taboga, the flesh is very delicate and tasty.
I can get fillets direct from fishermen for $1.50 to $2.00 per lb.