quick ID

[E_americanus]

i take it at 6" they're still too small to go in with a 14" gator in my main tank and will need to go in the growout tank til they're a better size?

the gator will eat it at that size...or kill it. if you want to put it in with a gator i would wait until the other species is the same size or bigger than the gator...unfortunately, since you're dealing with a gator, this is unlikely to be possible given gator growth rates. when putting a gator together with pretty much anything, especially other gars, it's best that the gator is the smaller individual and the others are larger. i'd suggest looking for a bigger Florida/spotted as this 6" will never be an appropriate tankmate given their differences in sizes/growth--
--solomon

 

[DanProwse]

ok then, thanks for the advice

 

[DanProwse]

out of interest, how fast do spotted/floridas grow?

 

[E_americanus]

out of interest, how fast do spotted/floridas grow?

YOY (young of the year) can easily reach 12" in their first year, often 14-16". they will usually plateau at this stage and grow gradually from this point onward. i have a spotted that's about 4 years old and 14-15", and a Florida gar (definitely Florida because it's a wildcaught specimen with locality info) that i've had for the same period (although may have already been a year old when caught) that is around 16-17". hope that helps with some reference points--
--solomon

 

[DanProwse]

thanks for the extra info, think i've sourced a larger one a foot or so just 30 miles from the other ones