What is the ideal for a tank Gar?

[Felipe C.]

Hello!

I'm new to forum and recently started to create Gar (Lepisosteus ocullatus and Lepisosteus platyrhincus) and even after much research on Gars, I wonder what would be the ideal tank to create them, size, measures, parameters of water, decoration, substrate , Lighting, plants and so!

I'm very grateful if someone can help me!

Excuse my English, not speak fluently.

Thanks! Regards!

 

[city_of_evil6661]

depends. what species are you interested in?

 

[xander]

someone should really sticky this. it's been said too many times.

Gars in general
:should be housed in a small enclosure when young. for example, a 6" gar in a 2x1x1. tank size should be stepped up stage by stage as the gars grow. this is because small gar get skittish and dart really quickly in all directions. a large tank gives the gar enough space to gain so much speed that when it does bump into the tank walls, they sometimes break their backs. however it is possible, albeit not advised, to keep small gars in large tanks.(for example i have 6 6"-7" spotted gars in a 120gal, which is 4'x2'x2') i credit my success to the heavy cover(branches and plants) and many hiding spots i have around the tank.

:imo for an upgrade the next tank, increasing the width is far more important than increasing length. imo a 5x2.5 would do better than a 6x2. a 6x3 would be set for many years, if not life. however this is only in my opinion. if you still want an upgrade, according to e_americanus, width still is more important. he said that a 6x4 footprint would serve better than an 8x3 footprint.

Spotted/Florida gar. Lepisosteus Oculatus/Plathyrinchus
:2x1x1 up till they are around 8"

:4x2x2 would last them a couple of years. mine got to 17" in a year and was still very comfortable in the 120gal

i have not kept Longnose gars or shortnose gars. however this is what i've read.

Longnose gars/ Lepisosteus osseus
"Osseus are capable of reaching 19 inches in one year however it is much more common for them to reach 12 to 14 inches during the growing season and then slow until the next years growing season at which time they quickly jump to 19 to 20 inches. Third year growing season they again quickly bounce up to 24 to 30 inches."
--cited Richard. Primitivefishes.com/Aquaticpredators.com

-Tanksize
: 4x2x2 would last them around a year or two

:a 6x3 for a long time, if not life

Cuban gars
start keeping these guys only when you have a 3' wide tank ready. i've done a lot of research on cuban gar sizes here in Singapore and it seems that they get to a minimum of 20inches within 2 years, with a diameter of 4-5inches, making them extremely robust fishes. results are inconsistant with the findings over in the USA, where 5 year old gars are 18". however, they are equally robust.

:4x2x2 lasts about a year or two

:6x3x2 would last you for a long time

i'll get to the other 2 in a while.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All information is not clearly researched mostly my own opinion. if you see any discrapencies please point them out. no 2 gars are the same, but these are general guidelines that i'd advise anyone to follow.

cheers

 

[Polypterus]

I think I'm going to have some issues on your Tristoechus stuff Xander but the rest is good..

I understand and am glad you mention the inconsistencies but at the same time I have not seen anything close to detailed information or reports that prove otherwise the findings that have been reported on the fish here in the states.

I am not finding my fish reaching 20 inches within two years despite being given very ideal conditions. Many of the fish in Singapore already where larger sized animals to begin with. These where not started young. they really should not be considered typical for a captive Tristoechus. Unless those in Asia care to actually give details regarding size on obtaining them as well as detailed husbandry much being said as of now is very questionable.

 

[xander]

I think I'm going to have some issues on your Tristoechus stuff Xander but the rest is good..

I understand and am glad you mention the inconsistencies but at the same time I have not seen anything close to detailed information or reports that prove otherwise the findings that have been reported on the fish here in the states.

I am not finding my fish reaching 20 inches within two years despite being given very ideal conditions. Many of the fish in Singapore already where larger sized animals to begin with. These where not started young. they really should not be considered typical for a captive Tristoechus. Unless those in Asia care to actually give details regarding size on obtaining them as well as detailed husbandry much being said as of now is very questionable.

they were actually. less than 10inch i believe. i will get you exact figures soon.

 

[channarox]

someone should really sticky this. it's been said too many times.

Gars in general
:should be housed in a small enclosure when young. for example, a 6" gar in a 2x1x1. tank size should be stepped up stage by stage as the gars grow. this is because small gar get skittish and dart really quickly in all directions. a large tank gives the gar enough space to gain so much speed that when it does bump into the tank walls, they sometimes break their backs. however it is possible, albeit not advised, to keep small gars in large tanks.(for example i have 6 6"-7" spotted gars in a 120gal, which is 4'x2'x2') i credit my success to the heavy cover(branches and plants) and many hiding spots i have around the tank.

:imo for an upgrade the next tank, increasing the width is far more important than increasing length. imo a 5x2.5 would do better than a 6x2. a 6x3 would be set for many years, if not life. however this is only in my opinion. if you still want an upgrade, according to e_americanus, width still is more important. he said that a 6x4 footprint would serve better than an 8x3 footprint.

Spotted/Florida gar. Lepisosteus Oculatus/Plathyrinchus
:2x1x1 up till they are around 8"

:4x2x2 would last them a couple of years. mine got to 17" in a year and was still very comfortable in the 120gal

i have not kept Longnose gars or shortnose gars. however this is what i've read.

Longnose gars/ Lepisosteus osseus
"Osseus are capable of reaching 19 inches in one year however it is much more common for them to reach 12 to 14 inches during the growing season and then slow until the next years growing season at which time they quickly jump to 19 to 20 inches. Third year growing season they again quickly bounce up to 24 to 30 inches."
--cited Richard. Primitivefishes.com/Aquaticpredators.com

-Tanksize
: 4x2x2 would last them around a year or two

:a 6x3 for a long time, if not life

Cuban gars
start keeping these guys only when you have a 3' wide tank ready. i've done a lot of research on cuban gar sizes here in Singapore and it seems that they get to a minimum of 20inches within 2 years, with a diameter of 4-5inches, making them extremely robust fishes. results are inconsistant with the findings over in the USA, where 5 year old gars are 18". however, they are equally robust.

:4x2x2 lasts about a year or two

:6x3x2 would last you for a long time

i'll get to the other 2 in a while.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All information is not clearly researched mostly my own opinion. if you see any discrapencies please point them out. no 2 gars are the same, but these are general guidelines that i'd advise anyone to follow.

cheers

some very good info here.
follow this and you'll be set!

 

[xander]

I think I'm going to have some issues on your Tristoechus stuff Xander but the rest is good..

I understand and am glad you mention the inconsistencies but at the same time I have not seen anything close to detailed information or reports that prove otherwise the findings that have been reported on the fish here in the states.

I am not finding my fish reaching 20 inches within two years despite being given very ideal conditions. Many of the fish in Singapore already where larger sized animals to begin with. These where not started young. they really should not be considered typical for a captive Tristoechus. Unless those in Asia care to actually give details regarding size on obtaining them as well as detailed husbandry much being said as of now is very questionable.

Disclaimer: all information i've gathered is by word of mouth and has no credibility whatsoever except for a high correlation amongst answers.

well, I've asked around, and i'm told that the gars in question arrived sometime 2+yrs back at 4-6inches. they were at the shop run at the time by Jason, the guy who got Solomon his cuban.

Around 2005, cubans were being imported in, i am aware that some were already in the 12inch range, as seen from these threads.
http://arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=182915&highlight=cuban+gar
(look at #9)

However these thread shows that there are indeed some that were imported from small sizes
http://arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203588&highlight=cuban+gar
http://arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=200461&highlight=cuban+gar

after running a quick search on the local forum, at least 2 of these gars(my old cuban included) were already 20inches by october 2007. I was told by the previous owner that they were bought when they were around 5"-6". assuming they arrived in early 2005, this makes them 20inches by the time they were about 2yrs old.
--http://arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303183&highlight=cuban+gar
looking at post #8, you can see another guy had his @ 18-19inch by this time. however i'm unsure if they are from the same batch.

I'm getting 2 more cubans when the pond is done, and similarly, they were 5"-6" when bought. Now at 20". ive seen them in person and there are indeed about that size. they've been kept for slightly more than 2 years
http://arofanatics.com/forums/showthread.php?t=295267&highlight=cuban+gar

I'm still waiting for more info, however the smallest i've heard of or seen is 20inches. the rest being more towards 24inches.

 

[channarox]

interesting...
since they were imported at around 6 inches,
is it possible that theyre around 2.5 to 3 years old?

 

[xander]

interesting...
since they were imported at around 6 inches,
is it possible that theyre around 2.5 to 3 years old?

i'd say 2.5yrs old is a safe estimate.

 

[channarox]

from the posts on arofanatics,it seems like many of them were already about a foot in 2005,so its possible they could be close to 3.5 years old even?
they usually reach about a foot intheir first year right?